YT Music to Chromecast Audio to Line-In Port drops audio often

I have found that while the audio is cutting out, if I boost the volume, it always causes the audio to cut back in. Odd that the speakers can work perfectly fine at a low volume, then magically cut out for a time before cutting back in. Very annoying though, as I play music through my house throughout the work day at low volume so that it doesn’t pull my concentration; but my mind latches on to hearing audio drop out all of a sudden (or cut back in all of a sudden).

Odd. I’d absolutely submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it. 

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the Support staff, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your network and Sonos system. And it would absolutely be helpful if indeed there is a problem with the software. 

I had a session with Support. They ran a diagnostic but all they really had me do was enable WiFi on all my devices and change the SonosNet channel. All my devices are hardwired, so, sure enough, this didn’t fix anything and the problem persists.

Hi @Aaron M, did everything work fine until recently? Did anything change in your setup?

Think of running some experiments to isolate the issue. For example, connect the Chromecast Audio (CA) to the line in on one of your Sonos Amps … does the low-volume problem go away?

• Yes: your CA is working fine and the problem could be in your Sonos Port
• No: the problem is likely in your CA

@press250 - I’ve no idea, TBH. I haven’t tried that yet. But the process of elimination should help narrow things down. The problem usually exhibits itself within 10-15 minutes of play easily, so I’ll try moving the CA’s 3.5mm to RCA adapter from the Port to one of my Amps and see if the problem persists. I’ll report back here.

Oh and this problem has existed since I first started using this system. Bought a new home; someone recommended Sonos; did research, got these items, then I used the CA because it’s worlds easier to work with than the YT integration on Sonos.

@press250 That’s an interesting proposition.

I’m Amish when it comes to electricity, but it sounds like a feasible cause and effect. One that I’m sure Sonos doesn’t allow you to modify in the Port.

So far I’ve been playing my music at a VERY low volume directly to Amp 1 (controls the in-ceiling speakers on my first floor) We’re about 6 songs in, and there’s been no cut out mid-song or at the start/end of songs.

If this continues, it might point more towards the Port being at fault. I know the Port has the setting in it where you choose between Levels 1-10, and I haven’t tried all of them; not knowing what the major difference is, but if Sonos could confirm that the logic running in the Port does have some kind of signal strength detection I would also assume that the same song that cuts out could be “rewound” to the point where it was playing and then when it gets to the same spot, it should cut out again.

I’ll keep playing this music for now. After 30 minutes or so, that’s definitive, as normally I’d have well over 5-10 instances of drop out during that period. At that point, I’ll connect the CA back to the Port and up the CA’s volume, using the Sonos App’s volume to lower its output. In the event I still have the issue, I’ll rewind and play that song again, seeing if it cuts out at the same moment.

 So there is no way to force a Port to lock onto an input??  I don’t have anything connected to my Port, but logic tells me there should be a switch in the app to choose input or stream or auto detect.

@MoPac Visually, the RCA inputs on the Port look 1:1 like those on the Sonos, but my guess is that the Port is adding some additional checks on the input that the Amp doesn’t, and this is leading to the cutout.

I put the Port back into the mix, set my YT app to about 30% volume (good gravy, my speakers are loud; go Amps!) and then reduced Sonos app to a point where the music is “low”. So far, no cutouts.

It will be WILDLY frustrating if the “workaround” (note, I don’t call it a solution, because it doesn’t fix the problem) is to choose my music with YT, but then to have to use the Sonos App to set volume. That would be one heck of a facepalm; and it hints that the problem still exists within the Sonos Port, since the same low volume from YT App to CA directly run to an Amp never had the cutout issue.

After 15 more minutes, I’ll go to dropping the YT App volume, bringing the Sonos App volume back up and seeing if I get a dropout (and if so, I’ll try to rewind the music to the same point and see if the issue repeats)

Well, technically I’ve selected “Line In” as the source, since the Chromecast Audio had a 3.5mm jack that went to an adapter which converted to RCA Analog Red/White plugs that went into the Port’s “IN”.

The hope is that if the inputs are the same across the Port and the Amp, a software fix should be all that’s needed. But I don’t know how realistic it is, even if we reported this to Sonos and they confirmed it, to see it get patched in any reasonable time frame.