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Amp dropping out intermittently

U

I have an Arc connected to my TV along with an associated Sub3. I also have 2 Amps that power 3 pars of of ceiling speakers (not setup as surround). Everyone now an then both Amps will drop out for a few seconds which is very annoying. I tried hardwiring (ethernet) one of the Amps to my router and it did not help.

Will it resolve my issue if I daisy chain the Arc and the two Amps together? Or do I need to connect the Arc to the router?  In either case, I need to run the the ethernet cable behind the wall which I’m not ready to do unless I know for sure that it will permanently resolve the issue.

I also want to mention that I have a PLay5 and pair of Play 1s so I cannot disable WiFi on the sytem

Best answer by Corry P

Hi @ustad2be 

No problem.

Grouping to play TV audio in other rooms can work, but it’s not officially supported. When synchronising music playback, the music can be pre-buffered and frames of it can be arranged to play at certain exact times - this is what Sonos is about. When playing TV audio, however, the main Home Theatre device (Arc, in your case) is unwilling to wait for buffering so that it can stay in sync with the picture on the TV. Surrounds and Subs are on a direct 5GHz link and can play without delay. When playing TV audio to other rooms, the network is involved which has a slower connection (Arc connects to the router over 2.4GHz) and extra devices (the router itself, and any other network devices on the path to the destination). Therefore, TV audio can played over the network, but it’s either going to suffer dropouts due to lack of buffering, or be delayed and therefore out of sync with the HT room if the buffer is increased. 

You can increase the size of the buffer by going to Settings » System » [room with Arc] » Group Audio Delay » Medium/High/Max. Experiment, and choose the lowest value that results in no dropouts. If you can’t hear the Arc in the other rooms, it should be acceptable. If you can hear the Arc, you may not find the result tolerable.

If you have the option of connecting the Arc to ethernet, that may also improve matters.

I hope this helps.

 

 

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11 replies

Corry P
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  • Corry P
  • Sonos Staff
  • 8646 replies
  • February 27, 2023

Hi @ustad2be 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Could you please define “drops out”? Do you mean the units disappear from the app, or that the audio momentarily stops playing?

If it is the latter, please confirm (as I suspect) that you are trying to group the Amps with the Arc to play TV audio through them. Thanks.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
U
  • ustad2be
  • Author
  • Contributor I
  • 4 replies
  • February 27, 2023

Hi Corry - Sorry for not being clear, it is the latter. The audio drops out momentarily when the Arc and the Amps are grouped together within the Sonos App. 

Corry P
Forum|alt.badge.img+18
  • Corry P
  • Sonos Staff
  • 8646 replies
  • Answer
  • February 28, 2023

Hi @ustad2be 

No problem.

Grouping to play TV audio in other rooms can work, but it’s not officially supported. When synchronising music playback, the music can be pre-buffered and frames of it can be arranged to play at certain exact times - this is what Sonos is about. When playing TV audio, however, the main Home Theatre device (Arc, in your case) is unwilling to wait for buffering so that it can stay in sync with the picture on the TV. Surrounds and Subs are on a direct 5GHz link and can play without delay. When playing TV audio to other rooms, the network is involved which has a slower connection (Arc connects to the router over 2.4GHz) and extra devices (the router itself, and any other network devices on the path to the destination). Therefore, TV audio can played over the network, but it’s either going to suffer dropouts due to lack of buffering, or be delayed and therefore out of sync with the HT room if the buffer is increased. 

You can increase the size of the buffer by going to Settings » System » [room with Arc] » Group Audio Delay » Medium/High/Max. Experiment, and choose the lowest value that results in no dropouts. If you can’t hear the Arc in the other rooms, it should be acceptable. If you can hear the Arc, you may not find the result tolerable.

If you have the option of connecting the Arc to ethernet, that may also improve matters.

I hope this helps.

 

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
U
  • ustad2be
  • Author
  • Contributor I
  • 4 replies
  • February 28, 2023

Thanks for the info. 

In regards to connecting the Arc to the ethernet, should I be connecting it to the router or directly to the 2nd port on the Amp?

Airgetlam
  • Airgetlam
  • 42974 replies
  • February 28, 2023

In general, connecting directly to the router itself is preferred. 

Bruce
Stanley_4
  • Stanley_4
  • Lead Maestro
  • 11223 replies
  • February 28, 2023

If you can’t connect directly to the router using a Gigabit Switch at the equipment end is a good option. Both devices can connect at the maximum speed and the link back to the router can easily support both devices.

A decent 5 or 8 port switch can be found for $20 or so. Just avoid ones known to cause Sonos heartburn.

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/incompatible-network-hardware

U
  • ustad2be
  • Author
  • Contributor I
  • 4 replies
  • March 1, 2023

Thanks for the info Stanley_4.

Is it safe to say that any switch that is not on that list will work?

A 5 port unmanaged switch is all I need. Do you have any recommendation?

Corry P
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  • Corry P
  • Sonos Staff
  • 8646 replies
  • March 1, 2023

Hi @ustad2be 

ustad2be wrote:

Is it safe to say that any switch that is not on that list will work?

Yes, but I’d recommend a IGMP-capable switch. I can’t recommend any specific models, however, but generally one is as good as another.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Stanley_4
  • Stanley_4
  • Lead Maestro
  • 11223 replies
  • March 1, 2023

I’m fond of these, $20 and work well in a home setup.

TP-Link TL-SG108  8 Port Gigabit Unmanaged Ethernet Network Switch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A121WN6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The 5 port version makes little sense at $16 unless you are really tight on space

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A128S24/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0

Airgetlam
1 person likes this
  • Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
U
  • ustad2be
  • Author
  • Contributor I
  • 4 replies
  • March 6, 2023

I connected the Arc and the Amps to a dedicated switch and that seems to have resolved the issue.

 

Thank you all!

Stanley_4
Airgetlam
Corry P
3 people like this
  • Stanley_4
    Stanley_4
  • Airgetlam
    Airgetlam
  • Corry P
    Corry P
Corry P
Forum|alt.badge.img+18
  • Corry P
  • Sonos Staff
  • 8646 replies
  • March 7, 2023

Hi @ustad2be 

Fantastic! Thanks for updating the thread!

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
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