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How can I patch our band's mixer line out to venue's installed Sonos system?

  • 30 March 2023
  • 8 replies
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J
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Our band performs regularly at a small club that has a multi-room Sonos system installed for recorded music when the band is not playing. The system sounds really great - loud, clean, excellent coverage of the venue. Our own PA speakers are high end, but they are too loud up front and not loud enough in the back, always a challenge. I would like to patch a line level output from our band’s mixer into the Sonos system when we play. Exactly what would I need to do that? 

Club owner is hesitant - he seems to think we could harm his setup. He has not told me exactly what Sonus gear he has. All I know is that he controls it all from his phone, and it is high end. 

We could run a cable to his central Sonos device assuming that it has a line level in… or we could go wireless - I believe Sonus has a device, or we could transmit over wi-fi with a non-Sonus receiver by his central device.

Any advice without knowing his exact gear? I’m sure I will ultimately be able to find out, but I would like to present the idea to him with a little detail, while I reassure him that a line level signal with him having full control over the house volume is not going to blow out his gear! :) 

Thanks.

 

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Best answer by melvimbe 30 March 2023, 22:59

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8 replies

melvimbe

Sonos is not built for live performance or as a PA system,.  If he has a Sonos device with line in (Port, Amp, or Five) then the line will have a 75ms delay built in for multiroom audio buffering.  Audio over the speakers will be out of sync with your performance.

 

Danny
J
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Ah, makes sense and sounds like a deal breaker. Thank you.

Stanley_4
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Not likely you’d damage the Sonos unless you had something with a power fault that cooked the input.

I’d be tempted to add to your PA setup in that situation. Try a couple (or more) additional speakers, positioned at the sides near the rear of the room to fill that while dropping the level of your stage speakers a bit. Placement of the additional speakers can take a bit of try and test to see just where they sound best.

Many years ago the place I worked sold Cerwin-Vega pro gear and I really liked it.

Powered are easy to add: https://cerwinvega.com/pro/powered-speakers.html

Passive if you have enough amplification: https://cerwinvega.com/pro/powered-speakers/passive-speakers.html

J
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Our mains are QSCs and we have a few additional powered speakers we use in some situations. Not really indicated in this venue. But we just played a restaurant that had us connect to their house system which had small ceiling speakers every 15 ft or so over two floors and outside on the street! Same level everywhere. It was so nice. Our venue’s Sonus system has that evenness throughout the club, and it would be nice to tap into it. We could delay our mains to match the Sonus lol…

buzz

Personally, I don’t think SONOS is appropriate for restaurants because there is no access to limiting, compression, detailed equalization, limiting, or voice over. On the plus side, the amplifiers are well protected.

If you are willing to delay the feed to your speakers, the issue then becomes any direct sound to nearby patrons and the band members. If you’ve worked large venues, you’ve had to learn to deal with 75ms (or more) echoes.

J
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We use in-ear monitors, and no amps on stage or drums (Hawaiian music) so the delay probably wouldn’t be an issue as far as performing. 75ms enough for us to look out of sync to patrons in the front row?

buzz

Probably, but the “annoyance” factor varies from individual to individual. Even without the 75ms SONOS latency, depending on the size of the venue, there will be sync issues.

The speed of sound is pokey at about one foot per millisecond. If you have speakers at locations ‘A’ and ‘B’, separated by 30 feet, both wired to the same amplifier, a listener at ‘A’ will claim ‘B’ is delayed by 30ms. Listener at ‘B’ will claim ‘A’ is 30ms late while listener ‘C’ at the midpoint will claim no delay. All three observers will be correct

Each situation is unique. Even though I don’t recommend SONOS for bands, I’m familiar with an outdoor restaurant where the stage is located 70 feet from the main seating area and it is not practical to run wires between the two areas. A SONOS CONNECT was perfect for bringing audio from the stage to the seating area.

melvimbe

We use in-ear monitors, and no amps on stage or drums (Hawaiian music) so the delay probably wouldn’t be an issue as far as performing. 75ms enough for us to look out of sync to patrons in the front row?

 

Yes, pretty much anyone that can see you will notice you’re out of sync.  Honestly, it would give me Milli Vanilli vibes.

Danny
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