Whole House Audio

[ADB2471]

I have outlined below and included here some images and details of a recent project to include a number of amplifiers, receivers and other devices, in order to provide whole home audio, both inside and outside.

The idea was to provide music, zoned for different areas but that could also be joined to create larger areas. In addition, I wanted to ensure other devices could be connected and thus their output streamed throughout the house and outside.

I had the luxury of starting from scratch, since the house was being built so specified speaker and cable locations before there was anywhere to put them. This meant I could fit CAT6 everywhere, along with running speaker cables to ceiling locations, outside and within walls where I knew I wanted devices.

This means most devices are connected via Ethernet, which will always be superior to WiFi.

This just shows the ground floor, there are other speakers and receivers now located elsewhere, on the upper floors.

Basic assembly of the main elements to drive the speakers went well, since they are small and easy to work with.

I do need to do some more work in the cabinet to tidy this up!

I also added a subwoofer to the ground floor, which makes a huge difference to the sound quality. Initially this was connected via Ethernet, but in fact it works perfectly well via WiFi. I was somewhat concerned regarding timing, but there is no appreciable lag.

I also connected a piano, with mixed results. I attached an Up2Stream Pro V3 to my piano, a Yamaha CLP565GP with an Aux out. I connected this to the Line In on the Up2Stream Pro V3 and it was used via WiFi. There was a delay of almost one second when the piano note was played to hearing it through the speakers. Thinking the delay was probably due to WiFi, I connected the Up2Stream Pro V3 via Ethernet. However, I suffered the same delay.

Presumably there is nothing that can be done, since this is simply the delay in the ADC of the Up2Stream Pro V3, then the network transmission to the next device and then the DAC in that device before I can hear the audio from the speakers. However, it is great fun to hear the piano being played on all the devices around the house and to use the Aux In on the piano (and thus the very high quality piano amplifier and speakers) play other music in the hallway. (Excuse the bare light bulbs, we have yet to fit shades and lamps everywhere!)

Outside, I have Bose Environmental 251 speakers connected to another amplifier. Bose tend to be coy about their speaker specification and I was a little concerned that they would not be be suitable, but in fact they sound incredibly good and are driven perfectly well by the Up2Stream V4 amplifier.

There is another Up2Stream Pro V3, also using a SPDIF Out Board connected to the TV, to provide audio via any connected speaker from the TV.

Finally, I am using an S50 Pro+ connected to the turntable, CD player and valve phono preamp to enable vinyl playback around the house, or to stream from local sources or Spotify to the living room speakers, via a PS Audio Stellar amplifier.

All in all I found the system easy to install, set up and easy to work with. Everyone I have communicated with at Arylic has been helpful and the products have arrived promptly and I have suffered no quality issues.

[mundmc]

Awesome, thank you for sharing this!

I am rolling out a very similar wired approach. I’m a HA nerd, so I plan to have my computer make announcements over the Arylic ecosystem. I will conduct a mini experiment using both the line in and the micro-usb digital in and check latency.

An alternate solution could be splitting the signal from your piano and running it into the analog input jack of each device, And setting all devices to analog in, crossing fingers, and hoping they sync. (I am considering a similar approach for Hi-Rez streaming but I don’t think it will make any notable difference given my current speaker set up and relative lack of room treatments, but who knows!)

[ADB2471]

I’m just about to start trying to automate some things in the house, beyond simple timers. HA is the platform I have chosen, so whatever you do manage to get working, I would appreciate you sharing it as I know little to nothing about it.

What you suggest about the piano would work, but the devices and the piano are not close to each other. I’d need to run multiple cables, which is why I tried the network approach. The piano does not have a Line Out, just an Audio Out, so I can’t even turn the volume down on the piano, or it kills the audio out volume as well.

Overall I am hugely impressed with the quality of the sound output and the flexibility of the system components. They are for background music, not critical listening of course, but they have exceeded my expectations by some margin.

[ADB2471]

I thought I’d add to the thread I had already created, rather than start a new one and share with you the latest incarnation of my whole home audio system using Arylic products.

I have installed another speaker to the set up I have. It might appear like a first-world problem, but whole home audio needs to include the whole home, right?

It was a simple installation, but of course, by this time all the finishing work had been done, so holes needed to be cut, not just for the speaker, but also for access to route the cable.

I opted for a single speaker and decided to run this in mono mode. I could have selected a single-stereo speaker, but wanted an 8 inch woofer, for a better bass response, since there is no subwoofer in this area.

The one I have chosen is also more sensitive at 92dB @ 8Ohms and (allegedly) goes down to 40Hz. Whilst this may be true, I would still suggest all ceiling speaker installations need a subwoofer for a complete experience.

The amplifiers (6 x Up2Stream Amp V4) are all in the cabinet so it made sense (and was quite a simple job) to run the speaker cable back here.

Holes cut for the speaker and for access to the cables into the cabinet.

At the same time, I thought I’d make the subwoofer installation a little more permanent. I had grand ideas about mounting the PCB (an Up2Stream Pro V3) inside the woofer cabinet, but once I opened it all up I realised how futile that would be and so opted for the easy solution. I stuck it on the back!

This is the only WiFi device permanently on the network and I have no issues at all. I do have other devices that I use when required, but since I had the house built to my specification, I was able to hardwire in CAT6 and at that point, I opted for WiFi access points. I use three, the Edimax CAP 1750. I admit, I purchased these due to the design, not because I knew if they were any good or not.

It turns out they are, although I do take issue with their assertion that the user interface and set up is “intuitive!” Anything that is supplied with a 254 page manual is not intuitive.

It’s great to be part of this community and see how other people do things and many of the posters I read on here are far more knowledgeable than me and have access too (and the skill to use) CNC machines and 3D printing for enclosures and fancy installations.

Finally, for anyone wondering if they should purchase any Arylic products - yes, do it. I looked at a number of options before I chose Arylic and could have purchased anything I wanted. Arylic was the only solution that offered everything I needed.