Using Sonos for a multi speaker interactive installation

  • 4 April 2022
  • 8 replies
  • 298 views
P

Good morning,

For an interactive installation, we are planning to use a Sonos system to add sound to several spaces that have multiple light installations. The light installations are controlled through a mobile app, and the sound of each installation must react to the user input, as a kind of live audio installation. We can’t install any ethernet cables or audio cables to setup a traditional or Dante audio system, so we plan to do it with WiFi and several Sonos speakers.

We’ve seen that with Sonos Port you can stream stereo line-in audio to Sonos speakers connected to the same network, assuming a minimum of 75ms of delay between the signal in and the final out through the speaker.

For the installation, we have a computer with a sound card, delivering 12 different sound signals that come from a live music app such as Max or Logic pro. In other words: they are like 12 computer speakers playing live the sound signals from the computer. 

We are planning to connect each of this 12 outputs to multiple Sonos Port, resulting in 6 Sonos Port casting 12 live signals to 12 different WiFi speakers. 

Understanding that the delay it’s not avoidable (what could not be a problem), it’s possible to cast 12 different live audio signals to 12 different speakers using 6 or more Sonos Port devices? In the case that it is possible, will the 12 speakers be synchronised (with some delay between the input and output), or it’s not possible to synchronise the audio play between several Ports?

I now it’s kind of a strange question, so thank you so much for your help!

Pol

8 replies

J

I am not sure I understood all that, but a few observations / questions. 

1. Six Ports will give six distinct streams not 12.

2. Ports do not stream to WiFi speakers. They connect using audio cables  to conventional amplifier and passive speakers or to active speakers 

3. So where is the amplification in your system?

4 Which WiFi speakers were you thinking of using?

5. Synching the streams is not an issue. That is what Sonos does.

N
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We can’t install any ethernet cables or audio cables to setup a traditional or Dante audio system, so we plan to do it with WiFi and several Sonos speakers.

Pol

The human body is great for absorbing wifi signals, as I understand it. I don’t think wifi is a great solution for your problem. 

melvimbe

 

Understanding that the delay it’s not avoidable (what could not be a problem), it’s possible to cast 12 different live audio signals to 12 different speakers using 6 or more Sonos Port devices? In the case that it is possible, will the 12 speakers be synchronised (with some delay between the input and output), or it’s not possible to synchronise the audio play between several Ports?l

 

This needs some clarification.   Your first sentence talks about 12 different audio streams to 12 different speakers.  Your second sentence talks about syncing those 12 different audio streams?  Sonos can play the same audio stream across multiple speakers, but syncing different streams doesn’t completely make sense.  Sonos can play the 12 different streams, but there’s no internal mechanism to force the different streams to begin playback at exactly the same time...if that’s what you’re after.  You might be able to programmatically start them at the same time, but Sonos wouldn’t do anything to ensure they actually play at the same time, so there would likely be some minor difference. 

Danny
P

I am not sure I understood all that, but a few observations / questions. 

1. Six Ports will give six distinct streams not 12.

2. Ports do not stream to WiFi speakers. They connect using audio cables  to conventional amplifier and passive speakers or to active speakers 

3. So where is the amplification in your system?

4 Which WiFi speakers were you thinking of using?

5. Synching the streams is not an issue. That is what Sonos does.

  1.  I understand that each stream is in stereo, so I have two channels that can be streamed to two speakers?
  2. Okey, so the Line In just streams the signal directly to the line out then? This changes my idea completely!
  3. The idea is to use several Sonos One to create the sound system, and somehow the computer stream each signal to each Sonos One.
  4. Sonos One, as I said.
P

 

Understanding that the delay it’s not avoidable (what could not be a problem), it’s possible to cast 12 different live audio signals to 12 different speakers using 6 or more Sonos Port devices? In the case that it is possible, will the 12 speakers be synchronised (with some delay between the input and output), or it’s not possible to synchronise the audio play between several Ports?l

 

This needs some clarification.   Your first sentence talks about 12 different audio streams to 12 different speakers.  Your second sentence talks about syncing those 12 different audio streams?  Sonos can play the same audio stream across multiple speakers, but syncing different streams doesn’t completely make sense.  Sonos can play the 12 different streams, but there’s no internal mechanism to force the different streams to begin playback at exactly the same time...if that’s what you’re after.  You might be able to programmatically start them at the same time, but Sonos wouldn’t do anything to ensure they actually play at the same time, so there would likely be some minor difference. 

 

What I mean is that if the diferent streams (or channels could say), that would come from the same computer, will have the same latency across all the speakers. More specifically:

I have the 12 audio channels played by a computer. This 12 channels are like a 12-channel audio file, that the computer is playing through a sotware such as Logic Pro. So, the idea is to stream each one of this channels to a different Sonos speaker, creating a 12-channel audio system, ensuring that the latency between the speakers it’s the same on each one. 

I understant that there’s not any way to cast the computer audio directly to Sonos speakers, it’s that right?

melvimbe

I am not sure I understood all that, but a few observations / questions. 

1. Six Ports will give six distinct streams not 12.

2. Ports do not stream to WiFi speakers. They connect using audio cables  to conventional amplifier and passive speakers or to active speakers 

3. So where is the amplification in your system?

4 Which WiFi speakers were you thinking of using?

5. Synching the streams is not an issue. That is what Sonos does.

  1.  I understand that each stream is in stereo, so I have two channels that can be streamed to two speakers?

A stereo signal is consider 1 stream of audio...with two channels.  So yes, 6 ports will provide 6 different audio channels. 

  1. Okey, so the Line In just streams the signal directly to the line out then? This changes my idea completely!

 

No, a Port forms what Sonos calls a ‘room’.  A room  an also be a single Sonos speaker or a stereo pair of speakers...among other things.  A Sonos room can be group with other rooms to play audio in sync.  So you can group a Port with a pair of Sonos Ones to play the audio in sync.

 

  1. The idea is to use several Sonos One to create the sound system, and somehow the computer stream each signal to each Sonos One.

 

You may not need to use Ports, as that is only needed if your source is analog coming through RCA cables.  If your sources is a streaming service, for example, then Sonos One can stream that directly from the source.  You can also provide a URL.  I believe there is a way you can set the audio from a computer to stream to Sonos, but I am not that familir with it.  Seems like that would be a much better way to go that purchasing 6 ports.  You will still have audio delay though.

 

 

  1. Sonos One, as I said.

 

Danny
melvimbe

 

What I mean is that if the diferent streams (or channels could say), that would come from the same computer, will have the same latency across all the speakers. More specifically:

I have the 12 audio channels played by a computer. This 12 channels are like a 12-channel audio file, that the computer is playing through a sotware such as Logic Pro. So, the idea is to stream each one of this channels to a different Sonos speaker, creating a 12-channel audio system, ensuring that the latency between the speakers it’s the same on each one. 

 

 

I don’t think this would work, if I’m understanding you correctly.  Sounds like one audio stream with 12 different channels.  Ouside of home theatre audio formats (which isn’t 12 channels either), Sonos can only do 2 channels, stereo, per audio stream.  You can play 6 streams of 2 channels each, but Sonos would not do anything to ensure that those 6 streams play in sync.  You might be able to start the 6 streams at the same time, and they may sound very close to being in sync, but no guarantee.

 

I understant that there’s not any way to cast the computer audio directly to Sonos speakers, it’s that right?

 

I believe you can, with some 3rd party software, but I am not personally familiar with it, and it would be limit to 2 channel audio, not 12.

Danny
J

You seem to have got the latency and synching issue rather ass-about-face, as we say in the UK. You seem to be worried about getting the same latency on several streams so that the speakers sync. In fact, the latency is used by Sonos to manage the sync. Without the latency, sync would be impossible. 

Bottom line is that if you want 6 pairs of wireless speakers playing the same audio in stereo and perfect sync then you only need 6 pairs of Sonos Ones or One SLs and one stereo audio stream. You will need just one Port if an analog stream is the source. The Port is completely redundant in your setup if it is a digital source.

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