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The benefit of the DiskStation is that it’s always on, unlike my PC. I don’t have to pay a single cent to get AirPlay whole-house audio because I already have a bunch of AirPlay devices. I have an Apple TV in my family room, my old Apple TV in my master bedroom, and I have a Firestick that I sideloaded Kodi on. I also have a Raspberry Pi that I can install Kodi onto.
It’s unclear whether this will work with existing speakers or require new ones. Firstly, sadly I don’t have a hard-wired house, although laying CAT-5 to some strategic rooms is on my to-do list. The WiFi signal seems to be strong throughout the house, but I do live in a contested environment, where I can see lots of SSIDs from adjacent houses. I also have a number of Philip’s Hue bulbs/outlets connected via the Zigbee protocol, so that adds to the 2.4 Ghz pollution.
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A major kitchen remodel necessitated ripping out an old Broan intercom/music distribution system that served 12 stations throughout the house and the patios. Losing the intercom capability wasn’t really a show-stopper, but losing the whole house music distribution definitely was. My only source of music is an iPad, loaded with a comprehensive iTunes library, currently connected via Bluetooth to the input of the Broan.
One thing to keep in mind is Airports work a lot better when they're hard wired. Even if you have to resort to using netgear homeplug adapters -- which work well if your electrical wiring is halfway decent. Much better than trying to get everything stable with wireless connections as it creates a big draw on your network. How-To Backblaze Cloud Backup Review – Updated 2021 Backing up your data to the cloud via an automated service is critical.
How AirPlay Works
You can compensate for an inherent delay using the appropriate backend audio_backend_latency_offset_in_seconds. Set this offset to compensate for a fixed delay in the audio back end; for example, if the output device delays by 100 ms, set this to -0.1. Do you have any questions about playing music across your entire house using multiple supported speakers and AirPlay 2? Put them in the comments and I'll help you out. Turn on the lights, adjust the thermostat and play on your favorite playlist through your wireless ceiling speakers.
Food Network star Alton Brown is always complaining about “unitasker” gadgets in the kitchen. Similarly, I worry about expensive, proprietary tech devices that only do one thing. Granted, Sonos does its one thing fantastically well. But what about in five years, when perhaps routers don’t support the band that your Sonos speaker uses, or when Apple releases a competitor and drops support for the Sonos app ? Unlike an old laptop that I can rip apart and repurpose its components, a Sonos speaker only works with Sonos, and without Sonos, you’ve got a sleek $199 paperweight.
Sonos vs. AirPlay: Why I Chose AirPlay for Whole House Audio
Select the audio track you want to play on multiple AirPlay 2 speakers. Using AirPlay 2 alongside Homekit and Siri, every compatible device in your household can be controlled using your voice. “Hey Siri… Turn on the lights.” These, and many more time-saving commands, can be set up to make life easier and more enjoyable. Leah Yamshon / MacworldApple isn’t the first company to offer whole-home audio support. This feature has been a staple of Sonos speakers for years, and we’ve seen several other speaker makers offer their ecosystems, such as Yamaha MusicCast and DTS Play Fi.
You can also stream to a speaker connected to your Mac or a Bluetooth speaker. Sonos also makes receivers and soundbars for use with your TV or home entertainment system . Playback synchronisation is allowed to wander — to “drift” — a small amount before attempting to correct it. The default is 0.002 seconds, i.e. 2 ms. The smaller the tolerance, the more likely it is that overcorrection will occur.
If you're just using an iphone or ipad, I think you're limited to one set of speakers. Bought a new house a few months ago, and I’d really like to put a whole home audio system together, ideally with in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. I could use some help deciding the best route to go.
To add speakers to your setup, buy more Sonos speakers. For each Sonos speaker you add to your system, you’ll be able to stream music to it simultaneously, or you can pick and choose which speakers you stream to. For example, you can group all the speakers upstairs together, play a single song, and then play a different song in the garage or bedroom.
This article is about a personal system choice and I’m saying that you have a lot more options if you choose Airplay. But I also use Airplay to drive a couple of in-ceiling speakers that I installed in my bathroom – Sonos does not offer anything like that either. One key feature I like to add to the Airplay solution is flexibility. I use Airplay to drive a super high-end stereo in my living room with a level of quality that Sonos will never reach. That same stereo also includes other sources like a turntable – not possible with Sonos either, as far as I know. As you can see, AirPlay is a far more hodgepodge solution.
I previously did an project where I used an inexpensive bluetooth board but having the speaker system on the airplay system is easier to switch between. Repeat steps for the next speaker to play different audio through it. When using Control Center, this can be a bit tricky because your iPhone might want to stop playing audio from one app in order to play audio from another.
The most basic setup is a single Sonos wireless speaker that connects to your home WiFi network. It works with the Sonos app for Android or iOS. Debuting in 2004, Apple’s proprietary wireless protocol suite has developed into an all-singing, all-dancing entertainment hub.
Bluetooth requires syncing with a device and has a concise range. With Sonos, you set it up once, and you are good to go, as long as you are connected to the same WiFi network. Connect to the shairport pi and play music, which should come out of the speakers attached to the pi. The advantage of UDP is that packets can be sent to a single listener or, if a multicast address is used, to multiple listeners.
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