Discover the Magic of Whole Home Audio in your Smart House! | Part 1

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  • Опубликовано: 27 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 35

  • @adrift4days
    @adrift4days 10 месяцев назад +3

    Good stuff! Appreciate all your time & effort you put into this. Looking forward to seeing your channel grow in 2024

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  10 месяцев назад

      Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoy part 2 as well! :)

  • @bobk3840
    @bobk3840 10 месяцев назад +7

    Actually low impedance is harder on an amplifier than higher impedance. You can drive two 4 ohm speakers in series on the same channel easier than driving two 4 ohm speakers in parallel on the same channel. In series the two speakers look like an 8 ohm speaker where two 4ohm speakers in parallel look like a 2 ohm speaker to the amp. A lot of amplifiers cannot drive a 2 ohm load

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  10 месяцев назад +3

      Thank you for the clarification! I knew I shouldn't have said anything at all about that topic since it's not "my thing", but I also didn't want to just completely skip it. Hopefully people at least get the takeaway that "lots of speakers without mitigating controls = bad". I honestly feel like I used to have a more solid grasp on this concept when I was younger with car stereos, and from running all speakers on one channel at my last house. Here, I only run one pair per zone, or one speaker per channel, so the volume controls are strictly that - volume controls. :(
      Thanks for watching!

  • @EvanWasHere
    @EvanWasHere 9 месяцев назад +1

    This is an amazingly detailed and interesting video. But I don't understand one thing. You have to spend a lot of money on tech as well as the power requirements for keeping all this equipment on.
    Why not just purchase a $200 Arylic streaming amp for each room? You can then wire the ceiling speakers to the small Arylic you can leave in the room or put them in your rack. Arylic works with Home Assistant and Music Assistant and can play from multitudes of sources. It's 4-5x cheaper than Sonos and will do everything you mentioned in these 2 videos.

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  9 месяцев назад +2

      Thank you! I'm glad you were able to get the detail from it that I intended to include. :)
      As for the Arylic - I guess there's a couple reasons I didn't go that route. First, I already had one Yamaha receiver, so when we bought this place and started remodeling, I initially only had two zones: The first floor, and the second floor. Because of having multiple speakers on each zone, the volume knobs shown in the video were a necessity for me - not only to ensure the music was only playing in the room(s) I wanted it in, but also to impedance match and make sure not to damage the receiver's amps.
      Then I ran across the TSR-700 receivers, which were on sale for $400. I already knew Yamaha stuff integrated really well with Home Assistant, so I picked up a few more of them. At the $200 you mention, the Yamaha receiver cost me the same money as the Arylic (each Arylic only has a single zone, whereas the Yamahas have 2 zones) - which just leaves the Chromecasts that I use to actually stream. I like the flexibility of the Chromecasts, since I can stream to them from any device, anywhere, without the need for any type of client software whatsoever. That's really what won me over. Normally, I just use Home Assistant to do that, but from time-to-time a friend will drop by and want to stream something from their phone, so it's super convenient for quick one-offs like that.
      As for Sonos - I am DEFINITELY not a fan of them, either. I feel they are FAR too expensive for what you get.
      But back to the Arylic - I haven't looked into their Home Assistant Integration at all, so I'll just take your word that it's solid. One other big difference I see, though, is that the $200 Arylic only does 50 watts per channel, whereas the Yamahas I'm using do 100 watts per channel. That means you'd have to run the Arylic WIDE open to drive a 50 watt speaker, and in the case of my deck and my den where I have different speakers, they wouldn't even be up to the task (those speaker pairs are 85W continuous).
      I'm certainly not saying that Arylic doesn't have it's place in the market, but one other application that I mentioned (but sort of glazed over in the video since that part of the house has not yet been remodeled) is the ability to use this exact same setup to drive a home theater. So, say you get a nice 7.2 or 9.2 or even 11 or 13.2 receiver. Figure out where you want all those speakers (no doubt some of the ATMOS speakers will wind up in the ceiling), cut your holes, run your wires, get them all mounted up, etc. Then just add that receiver to Home Assistant and you can take other actions based on, say, input selection for example. Create some automations that when you switch the receiver to HDMI2, you want the volume set a certain way, enable dialogue enhancement, set the subwoofer level, dim the lights, close the blinds, etc. The decoding of home theater streams and multiple discrete inputs/outputs provides a bit of additional flexibility - or at least, in my mind.
      If I were doing it all over again, and I didn't have the space for the big shelf of nonsense? I'd most CERTAINLY look at those Arylic drivers. In fact, I especially like the fact that they all have subwoofer outputs. I frequently find myself wishing that my whole home audio system had a bit of "thump" to it, but alas...
      Great question, and thank you for pointing that out! Hopefully future viewers see this brief exchange and consider them for their solution.
      Thanks for watching!

    • @EvanWasHere
      @EvanWasHere 9 месяцев назад

      @@fasthowto Thanks for the detailed reply. I am currently closing on a house in Miami and have been researching the best method for whole house music so your install video was very important in my quest.
      Like you, I'm not a Sonos fan because of price. My plan is to save the money and go with Arylic as I'm starting from scratch. Currently, I am considering 2 Klipsch CDT-5800-C II speakers per room, which are rated at 50W (200 peak) and 95dB. I will buy a pair and test before the bulk purchase and putting them in the ceiling, but this should be loud enough for most rooms. If more wattage is needed, I can purchase the Arylic that is a preamp and add my own mini amp in each room for 100W to each speaker. I've seen them as low as $20 on Amazon and they come with volume dials, which was a requirement for your install. (edit: I just googled and someone actually created a volume control knob for Arylic and sells it for $15 as well.. interesting!)
      For the theater, I will be putting in a Sony receiver that will connect to Home Assistant along with all the other tech in that room.
      And thank you for reminding me about the sub output. I had forgotten about it. I guess I will need to redesign the location of the Arylic modules so I can add subs to some of the bigger rooms.

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  9 месяцев назад

      @@EvanWasHere I was thinking about that - the subs. You don't really need to redesign the placement of the Arylic, you'll just need to extend the subwoofer out to wherever you want the sub to be. So, you cna leave all the Arylics in a closet near home assistant, and just pull a bunch of wire. Then terminate the L/R in the ceiling at your 5800s, and use a wall plate with a single RCA for the signal for the sub.
      Let me know what you think of the 5800s. I bought the 2650s when we had a LOT of other stuff going on financially, so budget was definitely a consideration. If the 5800s have a much better bass response, I'd have no issues opening the holes up and replacing the 2650s.
      Looking forward to hearing about how your project goes, it sounds like fun!

  • @lifewithTomnJerry
    @lifewithTomnJerry 10 месяцев назад +1

    Great video and thanks for breaking the video into different parts!

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  10 месяцев назад

      You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

  • @wadeolson7874
    @wadeolson7874 10 месяцев назад +1

    I like my Soundavo WS66i multi zone setup. Up to 18 zones and 6 sources. I can select different sources for different rooms. The volume/zone wall controllers are via RJ45 CAT5e/6.

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  10 месяцев назад

      Looks like a pretty nice solution, but a quick glance at the specs mentions nothing about any smart home integration, and a browse at the Home Assistant integrations doesn't list one for that, either.

  • @HristoJelev
    @HristoJelev 10 месяцев назад +2

    Nice video, but maybe you can look at logitec media server. I am using this at home and it saves you the need to run audio cable across the house. Audio is transmitted via network and all controled via Home Assistant, with the option to play music in sync in all rooms or pick different music for each room.

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  10 месяцев назад

      I believe you've missed the entire point of this video. Networks do not play sound; you still need a device to convert that electrical signal to noise. For that matter, networks don't even transmit sound - they transmit packets. You need something intelligent on the other end of that network to take those packets and convert them to an audio signal - which is a significantly more complex operation than simply sending an electrical signal down a wire. There is no "decoding" required with traditional speakers and speaker wire - the speakers just make whatever noise is fed to them. The components are more reliable, and last much longer. There are no drivers, no firmware updates, no compatibility issues, no microchips to wear out or die, and there are infinitely more options in terms of speakers and receivers to produce sound quality that network-connected devices can only dream of being capable of.
      Not to mention that there is no product that currently exists to do what you describe (convert a network signal to noise) with in-ceiling speaker placements. Not even SONOS offers that - their $659/pair speakers sill require a SONOS amp somewhere, and then those speakers STILL need to be wired to that SONOS amp. That is OBSCENELY expensive for what is inarguably a lesser-quality solution.
      However, even if we set that fact aside and pretend that there is some speaker that you could put in the ceiling that could connect directly to a wireless network and play sound, it would still require some form of power. So now, you're still running cable - for power - or you're climbing a ladder to replace batteries - constantly. Either of those two solutions is demonstrably worse than what is shown in this video: In the former, you are now working with line voltage, in which case you can seriously injure yourself (or worse!), or have to pay for an electrician to perform the installation, and in the latter, it's not very convenient to have your batteries die in the middle of a party. I'm old enough to remember how long 8 D-cells lasted in a boombox, and it wasn't nearly long enough to cover an entire evening - and those didn't also have to power all the additional circuitry to support network connectivity!
      Regardless that fact, LMS isn't a solution for audio playback, it's a SOURCE to play back the audio FROM - which is not what this video is about. This video is about the stuff that makes the noise. Connecting an LMS to my whole home audio setup would be trivial.
      For a media server, I use Plex, and I also use Music Assistant in HA. Music Assistant has the ability to connect to RUclips Music, Spotify, and many other sources, and that combination of solutions meet my needs presently.

    • @JamesKehoeDO
      @JamesKehoeDO 9 месяцев назад

      Not to go into to much detail but I agree LMS provides a much more robust whole home audio solution. I have 12 zones that I am converting to LMS just to be able to integrate with my home assistant automation. Most volume controls are placed near an existing power source so rather than using a volume control you can use a 120v ac to 24v DC board connectied to a raspberry pi(even a zero w) with an inexpensive DAC/Amp hat. The DAC outputs to you speakers. You can connect to ethernet if you want to run cable, and if you don't need loud volume I have considered a POE solution for those areas. My house was wired in early 90's so existing system is 2 250w monoblock amps to an old Phoenix gold distribution block to the 12 zones. For most of the zones a 8 input 16channel matrix amp is used connected to individual Rpi4's with passive dac hats running moode. LMS lets me control everyzone independently or create groups and almost every radio station is available streaming now so no need for a tuner. @@fasthowto

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  9 месяцев назад

      @@JamesKehoeDOSure, all that may well be true - but you, as well, have missed the point. You even TOLD me about all the other stuff you're using - RPIs, DAC/amp hats, Phoenix Gold (my goodness, there's a blast from the car audio past!) distribution blocks, monoblock amps, all manner of other stuff to "make the noise".
      That's what this video is about - the making of the noise. LMS has *NOTHING* to do with the making of the noise. LMS is software. It has no amplifier. It has no speaker connections. It has NO WAY to make any noise. It doesn't have a way to allow you to control any zone - at all. LMS is a competitor to Plex, NOT a competitor to an amplifier and speakers. LMS may allow you to select a zone that you'd like to play back something to, using LMS as the source for that playback - but the actual zone, and all the associated amplification, signal decoding and transmission, and other required noisemaking bits - are ALL created, owned, and controlled by something else.

  • @gnospanker
    @gnospanker 10 месяцев назад +1

    Lookin forward to part 2 😊

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  10 месяцев назад

      Glad to hear it! It's already recorded and mostly edited, should be up within the next day or two. :) Thanks for watching!

  • @lidbergtech
    @lidbergtech 9 месяцев назад +1

    Nice video!

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  9 месяцев назад

      Thank you for the kind words, and thanks for watching!

  • @EsotericArctos
    @EsotericArctos 8 месяцев назад +1

    I wish Google had not discontinued the ChromeCast Audio devices. They were perfect for mulit-room audio as they had a 3.5mm line out, and you could use a 3.5 to RCA to hook them to the receivers. They were great devices. Hdmi to RCA adaptors, have to make sure you get the good quality ones, as the sound quality can really be reduced on cheap ones.
    Given most radio stations, if not all, have online streaming services and often more variety of channels, I don't think we really need mulitple receivers anymore. I can ask google to play BBC radio 1 as an example and it just plays it :) I beleive that can make an interface in Home Assistant pretty easy too.

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  8 месяцев назад +1

      I've not noticed any difference in sound quality between the hdmi source and the rca sources, and the ones I bought were far from expensive. ??
      Thanks for watching!

  • @LiveeyePhoto
    @LiveeyePhoto 10 месяцев назад +1

    Wow this looks awesome

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  10 месяцев назад

      It really is. We are huge fans! Thanks for watching!

  • @BreezySlasher
    @BreezySlasher 7 месяцев назад +1

    I heard the juke audio is good for muilt room audio is there any major reason why i might not want to get it.

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  7 месяцев назад

      You mean aside from the fact that it's more expensive than what was shown in the video and has fewer connectivity options? About the only benefit that I see at a cursory glance is that it's more compact. If space is at a premium (and I have to think it's not if you're looking at 6-zone audio systems), then it might be a decent choice for your application.

  • @jr456
    @jr456 10 месяцев назад +1

    Great video 👍👍👍

  • @TecSanento
    @TecSanento 9 месяцев назад

    As most of the rooms in my home Are not suitable for stereo audio anyway - could we use the surround Speaker output and compose the sound for those 6 speakers as a 6 Channel dolby audio stream and play different sources on each channel?

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  9 месяцев назад +1

      While the answer to your question is technically "yes", I have no idea how you would encode the stream to do so. I'd imagine there would be some additional expense involved.
      Likely an easier solution would be the way that my last house was wired, and that was to have single speakers in each of two smaller adjoining spaces such as a hallway and a laundry closet, or a smaller bedroom and ensuite bath.

  • @krisbrightspirals
    @krisbrightspirals 9 месяцев назад

    I host my audio via Plex and playback with Plex Amp. Is there any way to integrate that into Home Assistant? I'd love a way to control Plex Amp via HASS

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  9 месяцев назад +1

      I also use Plex to host my audio library, and I used to use Plex for playback as well. Never tried Plex Amp. Now, for playback, I use Music Assistant. Check out my latest video about the top 10 add-ons for a brief run-down on it. I'll be doing a more in-depth video in the future once I've spent some more time with it, but so far I like it. Time will tell.

  • @thisisreallyme3130
    @thisisreallyme3130 Месяц назад

    Don't cut large holes in drywall please. You want a fire-rated speaker enclosure (if the room you are installing to is adjacent to any habitable room). They're expensive -- $150ish.
    (This is per NFPA, which is "code" that may or may not be required in your area. But besides that, your insurance company might want excuses to avoid payout so there is that. Pointing this out so I don't get pulled into any debate.). It is good to see an endorsement of "in-wall rated wire", and the video is otherwise excellent. Cheers.

    • @fasthowto
      @fasthowto  Месяц назад

      I get the point that you're trying to make, but if you know of a better way to install something IN the wall or ceiling, without making a hole in said wall or ceiling... I'm listening. Lol

  • @andre_warmeling
    @andre_warmeling 8 месяцев назад

    Always funny to remember that american homes are made of drywall.
    By the way, nice video!