Dear Members,
I'm struggling a tiny little bit how to solve the "one touch interface for controlling all my speakers in my flat" challenge.
1. living room + kitchen together, 4 monitor-sized speakers in 4 corners
2. bedroom, 2 monitor-sized speakers in 2 corners
3. cabling is done, normal OFC, can't be modified, place is fixed.
4. cables run together an come out of the wall at the expected place of the hi-fi stack, just below the TV.
What would be an appropriate solution to control all speakers with a single app ?
What I'd like to control:
- switch on/off the 2 zones (the 2 rooms) with a single tap on a screen
- play music (Tidal subscription there)
No indedependent zones are required. What I mean: same program can run in both rooms, no need to listen to program A and B in them.
Would a Roon setup be suitable ?
What we have:
- the DIY monitor speakers, soon to be placed to their final places in the corners
- cabling
What I don't know:
1. can I switch on/off an amplifier (ON/standby of course) serving these 6 speakers ? Via a touchscreen app with a single tap.
2. I have a Pi4/4G unused laying around. Can it be used as a Roon Core with Hifiberry's Beocreate ?
3. Beocreate is a 4-channel dac+amp together. That would fit perfectly with the Pi. What to you think ? 2x60W to the 4 living room speakers (they in series per pair), 2x30W for the 2 bedroom speakers
4. Would we this way get a reasonably priced all-around solution ?
I assume Hifiberry's hardware stack with Roon on it CAN do this indeed, so everything nicely connected together we could actually have our 2 listening zones, with the ability to control them right out of the bed.
OR miniDSP SHD Power ? 2x120W streamer, amp, dac, everything in one + a normal, nice case of course. A seemingly out-of-the-box solution, but then Volumio Multi Room I assume.. but there I could integrate Tidal too + switch the 2 zones on/off, I assume.
What do you think ?
Thank you.
PS: passive speakers and we stay passive, cabling is done. I just need to provide a great user experience on top of the hardware, in conjunction with it. It's for a friend of mine who's a lady, not really keen in technology, audio, whatsoever. Just wants a nice "lounge feeling" at home, background music for dinners, reading, etc.
I'm struggling a tiny little bit how to solve the "one touch interface for controlling all my speakers in my flat" challenge.
1. living room + kitchen together, 4 monitor-sized speakers in 4 corners
2. bedroom, 2 monitor-sized speakers in 2 corners
3. cabling is done, normal OFC, can't be modified, place is fixed.
4. cables run together an come out of the wall at the expected place of the hi-fi stack, just below the TV.
What would be an appropriate solution to control all speakers with a single app ?
What I'd like to control:
- switch on/off the 2 zones (the 2 rooms) with a single tap on a screen
- play music (Tidal subscription there)
No indedependent zones are required. What I mean: same program can run in both rooms, no need to listen to program A and B in them.
Would a Roon setup be suitable ?
What we have:
- the DIY monitor speakers, soon to be placed to their final places in the corners
- cabling
What I don't know:
1. can I switch on/off an amplifier (ON/standby of course) serving these 6 speakers ? Via a touchscreen app with a single tap.
2. I have a Pi4/4G unused laying around. Can it be used as a Roon Core with Hifiberry's Beocreate ?
3. Beocreate is a 4-channel dac+amp together. That would fit perfectly with the Pi. What to you think ? 2x60W to the 4 living room speakers (they in series per pair), 2x30W for the 2 bedroom speakers
4. Would we this way get a reasonably priced all-around solution ?
I assume Hifiberry's hardware stack with Roon on it CAN do this indeed, so everything nicely connected together we could actually have our 2 listening zones, with the ability to control them right out of the bed.
OR miniDSP SHD Power ? 2x120W streamer, amp, dac, everything in one + a normal, nice case of course. A seemingly out-of-the-box solution, but then Volumio Multi Room I assume.. but there I could integrate Tidal too + switch the 2 zones on/off, I assume.
What do you think ?
Thank you.PS: passive speakers and we stay passive, cabling is done. I just need to provide a great user experience on top of the hardware, in conjunction with it. It's for a friend of mine who's a lady, not really keen in technology, audio, whatsoever. Just wants a nice "lounge feeling" at home, background music for dinners, reading, etc.
Last edited:
Before You plan to pay for Roon, since You already have the PI, check out Picoreplayer.
It's free open source & multi-platform.
Can do synched multiroom / players / Devices.
Does streaming & Bluetooth.
You can switch off / stand-by the players (RPI'S).
Not sure about multichannel functionality, but seems to work.
Server & player works on the same PI.
I run one on a RPI4 8G with jivelite with music served from my NAS, but can be used headless & the files can be also hosted on a local USB stick.
It's free open source & multi-platform.
Can do synched multiroom / players / Devices.
Does streaming & Bluetooth.
You can switch off / stand-by the players (RPI'S).
Not sure about multichannel functionality, but seems to work.
Server & player works on the same PI.
I run one on a RPI4 8G with jivelite with music served from my NAS, but can be used headless & the files can be also hosted on a local USB stick.
Roon Core requires a lot of processor power, there is no core for Pi4 and there won't be.
I am a Roon user and run ROCK (Roon Optimized Core Kit) on an Intel Nuc8i5 and am very happy with it. (Linux based)
I use 2 RPI 4 4GB and 2GB as end points as well as an Allo USBridge Signature in the main system.
I am a Roon user and run ROCK (Roon Optimized Core Kit) on an Intel Nuc8i5 and am very happy with it. (Linux based)
I use 2 RPI 4 4GB and 2GB as end points as well as an Allo USBridge Signature in the main system.
Back when apple was selling their network gear, I used airport expresses to 5 zones in my house. For non-critical stuff I used the line out on the airport, and for more critical stuff I used the digital out to a DAC. I still use two of them with roon.
The reason I bring this up is that airplay does multi-rooms and multi-zones and because it's by apple (10000 lb gorilla) all manufactures will support airplay at some level. You can also run airplay clients on your rPi's. But airplay control does push you more or less into iTunes as your GUI. just another option...
I split my listening between Roon and iTunes, I subscribe to Qobuz and Apple music.
Sheldon
The reason I bring this up is that airplay does multi-rooms and multi-zones and because it's by apple (10000 lb gorilla) all manufactures will support airplay at some level. You can also run airplay clients on your rPi's. But airplay control does push you more or less into iTunes as your GUI. just another option...
I split my listening between Roon and iTunes, I subscribe to Qobuz and Apple music.
Sheldon
Roon runs on an annual subscription, and up until now a lifetime license has been available - it's quite expensive. I have an annual subscription and it the life time option is still available at renewal time next year I will consider whether I want to pony up that much money at one time.
IIRC it was about $179 for the year subscription.
Hardware cost was substantial because I was replacing a Sony HAP Z1-ES with a new Nuc server, and purchased 3 end points, two of which are RPI 4 based that I put together, and the Allo which I just loaded Ropieee into. It all worked immediately..
IIRC it was about $179 for the year subscription.
Hardware cost was substantial because I was replacing a Sony HAP Z1-ES with a new Nuc server, and purchased 3 end points, two of which are RPI 4 based that I put together, and the Allo which I just loaded Ropieee into. It all worked immediately..
Picoreplayer players can be switched off (standby) or even the RPI powered down. As You pretend to switch both zones at the same time, since they are synched it will work.
There are buttons both on the Jivelite interface & on the LMS interface.
I don't know how the amps behave regarding background noise etc when the RPI is in standby. You'll have to ry.
Set up LMS on an unused computer with a small library.
Download Squeezelite-x for pcs', Squeezer & Squeezeplayer (paid but also available outside the store) for Android phones & give it a try. As You already have a PI. Try it also in the mix. It's just a matter of burning a card & configuring it.
Gentlemen, lots of great ideas here, this is all gold for me. I appreciate your comments, thank you, I'll have the opportunity to try these options.
Last week a big box arrived from the U.S. and I was more than happy opening it and confirming all goods are in mint condition, no damages. Here they're opened to accomodate room climate.. all were ice cold during transport (obviously).
And a quick test just for fun with a second order Bessel @ 3800K I could combine from the passive XO elements of my old, scrapped 3-way:
The HiVi tweeters are huge, I thought they're smaller, however they still seem to blend very nicely with these midbass drivers after half a meter or so. Btw they have metal front plate, I think aluminum, but they feel like built like tanks. The Aurum Cantus drivers are worth the price I think.. despite trying them in such a very 'suboptimal' way they already showed me such smoothness and detail in the midrange, wow. Can't wait to put them into their final boxes and place.
Next step will be having a prototype box made by the carpenter out of mdf.
Final boxes will be made from oak, most probably - if you think thick birch plywood would be even better, just tell me, we're not there yet so I can change this.
DSP & DAC - need your confirmation
Due to 2-wire existing cabling - which we can't change at all - I need to go passive with the 6 boxes. But then I thought I'm stilly trying to improve sound a bit with a DSP.
Considerations:
- shall I use external DAC with an all-digital miniDSP or will miniDSP's built-in DAC do the trick ? (Quality-wise)
- I have 2 rooms. Living room with 4 speakers and bedroom with 2. One source feeding both rooms is fine, source being either the Philips Android TV (Tidal app installed) via optical TOSLINK, or a RPi via USB. But this wouldn't make a full ecosystem in itself, still.. I think.
- or a different setup, maybe 2 RPi-s ? (One for each room). With aforementioned player software they might just do the magic of controlling the rooms on one interface, but then how about DSP integration ? Can I measure and set up 2 different zones, or better said, 2 different "profiles" for the 2 rooms, within 1 DSP ?
- or maybe I need 2 RPi-s and 2 miniDSP modules, either with or without built-in DAC, depending on if I prefer external DAC or not.
- 1x 6-channel amp or 4ch+2ch amp or 3x2ch amp modules - is there a difference really ? (DIY case and electronics + some kind of TPA3116 Class D amp modules).
How would you solve all this, focusing on ease of use and user experience ?
<- This question is regarding remote control via 1 interface and the possibility of DSP-correcting both zones. In both zones, at least 1 smaller sub will be added, nicely hidden behind a sofa. Maybe 2 for the living room. 
Last week a big box arrived from the U.S. and I was more than happy opening it and confirming all goods are in mint condition, no damages. Here they're opened to accomodate room climate.. all were ice cold during transport (obviously).
And a quick test just for fun with a second order Bessel @ 3800K I could combine from the passive XO elements of my old, scrapped 3-way:
The HiVi tweeters are huge, I thought they're smaller, however they still seem to blend very nicely with these midbass drivers after half a meter or so. Btw they have metal front plate, I think aluminum, but they feel like built like tanks. The Aurum Cantus drivers are worth the price I think.. despite trying them in such a very 'suboptimal' way they already showed me such smoothness and detail in the midrange, wow. Can't wait to put them into their final boxes and place.
Next step will be having a prototype box made by the carpenter out of mdf.
Final boxes will be made from oak, most probably - if you think thick birch plywood would be even better, just tell me, we're not there yet so I can change this.
DSP & DAC - need your confirmation
Due to 2-wire existing cabling - which we can't change at all - I need to go passive with the 6 boxes. But then I thought I'm stilly trying to improve sound a bit with a DSP.
Considerations:
- shall I use external DAC with an all-digital miniDSP or will miniDSP's built-in DAC do the trick ? (Quality-wise)
- I have 2 rooms. Living room with 4 speakers and bedroom with 2. One source feeding both rooms is fine, source being either the Philips Android TV (Tidal app installed) via optical TOSLINK, or a RPi via USB. But this wouldn't make a full ecosystem in itself, still.. I think.
- or a different setup, maybe 2 RPi-s ? (One for each room). With aforementioned player software they might just do the magic of controlling the rooms on one interface, but then how about DSP integration ? Can I measure and set up 2 different zones, or better said, 2 different "profiles" for the 2 rooms, within 1 DSP ?
- or maybe I need 2 RPi-s and 2 miniDSP modules, either with or without built-in DAC, depending on if I prefer external DAC or not.
- 1x 6-channel amp or 4ch+2ch amp or 3x2ch amp modules - is there a difference really ? (DIY case and electronics + some kind of TPA3116 Class D amp modules).
How would you solve all this, focusing on ease of use and user experience ?
<- This question is regarding remote control via 1 interface and the possibility of DSP-correcting both zones. In both zones, at least 1 smaller sub will be added, nicely hidden behind a sofa. Maybe 2 for the living room.
Last edited:
Hi.
I've just set up a simple multi-room, multi-zone set-up for myself, which may meet your requirements...
Initially I was looking at Sonos - but the price tag soon put me off, and I wanted to make use of the several existing amps and speakers around the house that I have amassed over the years - and I came across the Arylic line of products ( see arylic.com ). These provide a long list of options to stream from almost any source, and with a very "customer-friendly" pricing!
I'm using a combination of two products : the A50 amplifier (2x25W) for my living room speakers, and Up2Stream Mini boards as inputs for existing amps.
The A50 is small, and quite good-looking - and if you don't like it, then it's also easy to hide:
... and the Up2Stream Mini boards are TINY - half the size of a credit card, so perfect for DIY projects!
For the moment, mine is installed in a box my guitar pick-ups came in - and plugged into my home studio mixer:
Set-up was mostly straight-forward, and I'm very happy with the sound - It may not be suitable for a true audiophile hifi buff, but for most of us mere mortals, the sound is perfectly good enough. I would probably recommend the mini-boards over the A50, as you'll get more audio tuning possiblities with a 'real' amp than the A50 provides.
Everything's controlled by an App (4Stream), which connects to all the devices, and links/unlinks them as you want. Sound sources can be streaming from the phone, or a NAS, or internet streaming service, or ... (long list) - via WiFi or BlueTooth (or wires). The devices connect to the WiFi/Internet themselves, so the phone's battery is saved.
... so overall I'm very happy with my set-up, and it all cost me less in total than a single Sonos device!
I've just set up a simple multi-room, multi-zone set-up for myself, which may meet your requirements...
Initially I was looking at Sonos - but the price tag soon put me off, and I wanted to make use of the several existing amps and speakers around the house that I have amassed over the years - and I came across the Arylic line of products ( see arylic.com ). These provide a long list of options to stream from almost any source, and with a very "customer-friendly" pricing!
I'm using a combination of two products : the A50 amplifier (2x25W) for my living room speakers, and Up2Stream Mini boards as inputs for existing amps.
The A50 is small, and quite good-looking - and if you don't like it, then it's also easy to hide:
... and the Up2Stream Mini boards are TINY - half the size of a credit card, so perfect for DIY projects!
For the moment, mine is installed in a box my guitar pick-ups came in - and plugged into my home studio mixer:
Set-up was mostly straight-forward, and I'm very happy with the sound - It may not be suitable for a true audiophile hifi buff, but for most of us mere mortals, the sound is perfectly good enough. I would probably recommend the mini-boards over the A50, as you'll get more audio tuning possiblities with a 'real' amp than the A50 provides.
Everything's controlled by an App (4Stream), which connects to all the devices, and links/unlinks them as you want. Sound sources can be streaming from the phone, or a NAS, or internet streaming service, or ... (long list) - via WiFi or BlueTooth (or wires). The devices connect to the WiFi/Internet themselves, so the phone's battery is saved.
... so overall I'm very happy with my set-up, and it all cost me less in total than a single Sonos device!
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.