why I can’t disable sound delay on the Sonos Port line input?


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Please tell me why I can’t disable sound delay on the Sonos Port line input? Minimal settings is 0.75 sec. Why you cant add a zero settings? 
In some cases this is absolutely necessary. When I bought your product, I didn’t know that I couldn’t remove the sound delay.

 

Moderator edit: changed output to input


42 replies

Userlevel 7
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Because Sonos needs it to sync music over devices. Even if you have no other devices Sonos is wired like this.

Please tell me why I can’t disable sound delay on the Sonos Port line output? Minimal settings is 0.75 sec. Why you cant add a zero settings? 
In some cases this is absolutely necessary. When I bought your product, I didn’t know that I couldn’t remove the sound delay.

 

There are literally dozens of threads, explaining in excruciating detail, why the buffering delay is not removable.  Here are a few:

 

Userlevel 7
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With respect, @pilot715, your profile says you’ve been a member for many years. Were you really unaware of the delay on Sonos devices? And if your Port is a recent purchase, why not return it if it’s not suited to your needs? 

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Please tell me why I can’t disable sound delay on the Sonos Port line output? Minimal settings is 0.75 sec. Why you cant add a zero settings? 
In some cases this is absolutely necessary. When I bought your product, I didn’t know that I couldn’t remove the sound delay.

 

There are literally dozens of threads, explaining in excruciating detail, why the buffering delay is not removable.  Here are a few:

 

It looks like this was done deliberately, but I don't understand why?

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With respect, @pilot715, your profile says you’ve been a member for many years. Were you really unaware of the delay on Sonos devices? And if your Port is a recent purchase, why not return it if it’s not suited to your needs? 

I am an installer and have been installing Sonos streamers for many years, probably one of the pioneers of this brand in our country.
but at the moment the needs of one of my projects require audio transmission without delay and I did not know that it was installed by default in the software.
I am simultaneously promoting a bluesound project where four streamers are also involved, I may have to swap them.

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Because Sonos needs it to sync music over devices. Even if you have no other devices Sonos is wired like this.

sounds like an ultimatum

Userlevel 7
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With respect, @pilot715, your profile says you’ve been a member for many years. Were you really unaware of the delay on Sonos devices? And if your Port is a recent purchase, why not return it if it’s not suited to your needs? 

I am an installer and have been installing Sonos streamers for many years, probably one of the pioneers of this brand in our country.
but at the moment the needs of one of my projects require audio transmission without delay and I did not know that it was installed by default in the software.
I am simultaneously promoting a bluesound project where four streamers are also involved, I may have to swap them.

I guess you will have to swap them then. The reason for the delay is explained in threads mentioned above, so there’s no point in repeating it here. 

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Please tell me why I can’t disable sound delay on the Sonos Port line output? Minimal settings is 0.75 sec. Why you cant add a zero settings? 
In some cases this is absolutely necessary. When I bought your product, I didn’t know that I couldn’t remove the sound delay.

 

There are literally dozens of threads, explaining in excruciating detail, why the buffering delay is not removable.  Here are a few:

 

Doesn't this mean that audio delay is a problem?

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Please tell me why I can’t disable sound delay on the Sonos Port line output? Minimal settings is 0.75 sec. Why you cant add a zero settings? 
In some cases this is absolutely necessary. When I bought your product, I didn’t know that I couldn’t remove the sound delay.

 

There are literally dozens of threads, explaining in excruciating detail, why the buffering delay is not removable.  Here are a few:

 

Doesn't this mean that audio delay is a problem?

As an installer for many years you’ve got more experience than me. That said, you’ve never seen it as a problem before…

Badge +1

With respect, @pilot715, your profile says you’ve been a member for many years. Were you really unaware of the delay on Sonos devices? And if your Port is a recent purchase, why not return it if it’s not suited to your needs? 

I am an installer and have been installing Sonos streamers for many years, probably one of the pioneers of this brand in our country.
but at the moment the needs of one of my projects require audio transmission without delay and I did not know that it was installed by default in the software.
I am simultaneously promoting a bluesound project where four streamers are also involved, I may have to swap them.

I guess you will have to swap them then. The reason for the delay is explained in threads mentioned above, so there’s no point in repeating it here. 

sounds weird (I'm talking about Sonos), but thanks anyway

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Please tell me why I can’t disable sound delay on the Sonos Port line output? Minimal settings is 0.75 sec. Why you cant add a zero settings? 
In some cases this is absolutely necessary. When I bought your product, I didn’t know that I couldn’t remove the sound delay.

 

There are literally dozens of threads, explaining in excruciating detail, why the buffering delay is not removable.  Here are a few:

 

Doesn't this mean that audio delay is a problem?

As an installer you’ve got more experience than me. That said, you’ve never seen it as a problem before…

Never.
The sound delay, as far as I understand, is needed for sound synchronization in party mode in adjacent rooms or lip synchronization if a TV is connected.
Sonos streamers and not only Sonos I install exclusively as zonal streamers for airplay.

Doesn't this mean that audio delay is a problem?

 

Problem or not (for some), there's a legitimate reason for it, and it's not going away because removing it causes far more problems for Sonos' core features than it does for edge cases that Sonos simply wasn't designed for, nor marketed towards.  

Long story short, if you are looking for a live performance speaker with no delay, buy a speaker designed for live performance with no delay.  Don't expect one which is specifically not designed/marketed for that type of use to accomodate your needs.  

As to using Bluesound, it's also going to have a delay.  Any multi-room streamer will.  There's simply no denying the laws of physics.

It looks like this was done deliberately, but I don't understand why?

 

I suggest again, read the threads.  It's explained several times.  Hint: Streaming in perfect sync to multiple rooms/devices requires the buildup of a buffer in order to ensure reliability with no dropouts. 

Userlevel 7
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It looks like this was done deliberately, but I don't understand why?

 

I suggest again, read the threads.  It's explained several times.  Hint: Streaming in perfect sync to multiple rooms/devices requires the buildup of a buffer in order to ensure reliability with no dropouts. 



That’s a pretty big hint! 😜

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Doesn't this mean that audio delay is a problem?

 

Problem or not (for some), there's a legitimate reason for it, and it's not going away because removing it causes far more problems for Sonos' core features than it does for edge cases that Sonos simply wasn't designed for, nor marketed towards.  

Long story short, if you are looking for a live performance speaker with no delay, buy a speaker designed for live performance with no delay.  Don't expect one which is specifically not designed/marketed for that type of use to accomodate your needs.  

As to using Bluesound, it's also going to have a delay.  Any multi-room streamer will.  There's simply no denying the laws of physics.

Bluesound also will have a delay?
Wait, maybe I don’t fully understand the reason for the delay?
It seemed to me Sonos for some reason did this on purpose and did not want to made a settings equal to 0 seconds.
To be clear, we're talking about the delay of analog audio that is sent to line input of Sonos Port and passed through output.

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It looks like this was done deliberately, but I don't understand why?

 

I suggest again, read the threads.  It's explained several times.  Hint: Streaming in perfect sync to multiple rooms/devices requires the buildup of a buffer in order to ensure reliability with no dropouts. 

Thank you, I read everything carefully. But I don’t really understand your slightly irritated tone.
I would like to know why there is a delay. Is this done specifically at the software level or is it a hardware limitation related to analog-to-digital conversion.

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

The delay is to enable synchronised multi-room audio. This was (AIUI) the business model for Sonos when the company first established. Whilst they could, I expect, develop a speaker without a delay, why would they? There are thousands of that type of speaker. And it’d be a single speaker, so that hardly fits Sonos’s business model. 

Frankly, I’m staggered you still don’t get this, since you’ve been on these forums for more than 10 years and you say that you’re an installer. How can you install kit for all this time without having a proper understanding of it? 

Thank you, I read everything carefully. But I don’t really understand your slightly irritated tone.
I would like to know why there is a delay. Is this done specifically at the software level or is it a hardware limitation related to analog-to-digital conversion.

 

The delay is to allow for buffering for multi-room streaming and sync.  What is so hard about that (and where was it not explained, several times already, in those linked threads)? 

As to software vs. hardware limitation, why does that matter?  It’s a necessary function of a core capability of Sonos (and other) multi-room streamers.  Knowing if it is software based or hardware based is just so you can argue that a software based buffer means Sonos should compromise that core functionality for your anecdotal case, something they are not going to do (and haven’t done in the going on 20 years that people have been asking for it). 

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Maybe I'm wrong and there will be a similar delay on all devices, which means I will need to reconsider my installation scheme.
The fact is that in the pool I have a smart speaker with a voice assistant, but at the same time it must transmit sound to the ceiling speakers. Therefore, the second speaker combined into a group is located in a rack and is connected to the sonos via the linear input, which is connected to the parasound amplifiers. But when I listen to music through a smart speaker, the sound from the ceiling speakers is delayed and it is very noticeable. I can’t completely turn off the sound of the smart speaker in the pool because through it I listen to answers to voice commands and questions. (synchronization of voice responses with the second speaker in the group is not provided)
And the systems should also provide the ability to stream from a smartphone via airplay, which is why I install Sonos.

In a word, everything is complicated and confusing.
I'm not sure that anyone could even understand what I wrote in my poor English.

Bluesound also will have a delay?
Wait, maybe I don’t fully understand the reason for the delay?
It seemed to me Sonos for some reason did this on purpose and did not want to made a settings equal to 0 seconds.
To be clear, we're talking about the delay of analog audio that is sent to line input of Sonos Port and passed through output.

 

Good Lord, what is it that you do not understand??????   The analog line-in source is real time.  In order to stream that source to multiple rooms in perfect sync, that real-time source must be buffered, so any transmission problems; dropped packets, interference, sync adjustments, etc. can be corrected and processed before the buffer runs out and a dropout occurs.  This goes for every real-time source streamed to any multi-room synchronized streamer, including Bluesound. 

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Thank you, I read everything carefully. But I don’t really understand your slightly irritated tone.
I would like to know why there is a delay. Is this done specifically at the software level or is it a hardware limitation related to analog-to-digital conversion.

 

The delay is to allow for buffering for multi-room streaming and sync.  What is so hard about that (and where was it not explained, several times already, in those linked threads)? 

As to software vs. hardware limitation, why does that matter?  It’s a necessary function of a core capability of Sonos (and other) multi-room streamers.  Knowing if it is software based or hardware based is just so you can argue that a software based buffer means Sonos should compromise that core functionality for your anecdotal case, something they are not going to do (and haven’t done in the going on 20 years that people have been asking for it). 

I understood that you are very irritable.
but I never heard an answer to the question.
Why can't Sonos just turn off the delay by adding another point equal to 0 seconds?
Sonos can even set it to 0.75 seconds by default, but it seemed to me that 0 seconds should be present in the settings.

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Bluesound also will have a delay?
Wait, maybe I don’t fully understand the reason for the delay?
It seemed to me Sonos for some reason did this on purpose and did not want to made a settings equal to 0 seconds.
To be clear, we're talking about the delay of analog audio that is sent to line input of Sonos Port and passed through output.

 

Good Lord, what is it that you do not understand??????   The analog line-in source is real time.  In order to stream that source to multiple rooms in perfect sync, that real-time source must be buffered, so any transmission problems; dropped packets, interference, sync adjustments, can be corrected and processed before the buffer runs out and a dropout occurs.  This goes for every real-time source streamed to any multi-room synchronized streamer, including Bluesound. 

I'm talking about delays on line input.
I have an additional device connected to the Sonos port via an analog input and the sound from it comes with a noticeable delay.

I understood that you are very irritable.
but I never heard an answer to the question.
Why can't Sonos just turn off the delay by adding another point equal to 0 seconds?
Sonos can even set it to 0.75 seconds by default, but it seemed to me that 0 seconds should be present in the settings.

 

Because once the analog source enters the Port Line-In, it is digitized in order to stream/sync it to other rooms.  And if you switch the buffer to 0 seconds, any errors in the stream; dropped packets, WiFi interference, synching cues, network errors, bandwidth problems, etc. cannot be corrected before they are supposed to be played, and the stream will cease streaming until those corrections are made.  This is why any digital processing which can be affected by network anomalies (and that is all of them) is buffered. 

I'm talking about delays on line input.
I have an additional device connected to the Sonos port via an analog input and the sound from it comes with a noticeable delay.

 

It’s been explained, many, many times, specifically for your analog line-in source.  If you can’t understand it by now, I would honestly just give up and realize it is a fact that cannot be eliminated.  

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I understood that you are very irritable.
but I never heard an answer to the question.
Why can't Sonos just turn off the delay by adding another point equal to 0 seconds?
Sonos can even set it to 0.75 seconds by default, but it seemed to me that 0 seconds should be present in the settings.

 

Because if you switch the buffer to 0 seconds, any errors in the stream; dropped packets, WiFi interference, synching cues, network errors, bandwidth problems, etc. cannot be corrected before they are supposed to be played, and the stream will cease streaming until those corrections are made.  This is why any digital processing which can be affected by network anomalies (and that is all of them) is buffered. 

I don’t argue with this, it’s obvious, but I don't really understand why analogue passthrough without delays cannot be implemented on such devices, since they have a line input.

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