Echo dot output to ceiling speakers (C4 matrix/AMP)

[vvutov]

I am trying to get all my echo dots to output via my ceiling speakers and I need some help/suggestions. Here are the details:

My setup consists of a EA-5, C4 16 port matrix switch and two Dayton Audio MA1260 amplifiers. I have a total of 10 audio zones. Currently I use Spotify Connect, Deezer and Pandora for music and it works good. I recently subscribed to 4Sight and started adding echo dots all over the house. The goal is to have an echo dot in each of the zones. I found a great kit that to HTD that lets me mount the echo dots in the ceiling in a 6" enclosure and run power and audio via CAT6 cable to my rack. Here is a link to the kit ( https://www.htd.com/dotkit ). So here is how it is all set up:

 

Two 8" Ceiling Speakers in every zone connected to the Dayton Audio MA1260 amplifiers in the basement rack

Echo dots in the ceiling running Cat6 wire to power them and carry audio to the rack where I break out the power and left/right audio via RCA

Each dot is connected to a port on the matrix and so is every one of the 10 Zones.

I programmed the matrix to turn on the respective zone when it detects audio from the echo dot and set the respective echo as the audio source

 

It almost works correctly, but I have two issues.

Fist issue:
My default room volume is set to 25 and that is plenty loud for streaming music from Deezer, Pandora and Spotify. When I ask the echo a question (like what's the weather today) or ask it to play a specific song, the sound that comes out of the speakers is very quiet compared to say Pandora or Deezer. I have to crank the volume to 50 to have the same level of "loudness" and when I do that and play Pandora afterwards it is way too loud. I thought that it is maybe something with the wiring kit I got from HTD, so then I moved the echo to the rack and plugged it in the same port of the matrix via a 3.5mm to RCA cable and asked my son to give echo a command and went to the room to see if it is any louder and it was the same, so I know it is not the cabling. I tried playing with the volume on the echo itself but that does nothing.

Second issue:
My amplifiers are in power-save mode and only turn on when audio is detected via the matrix, so it takes roughly 3-4 seconds to power the zone, so I always have to ask alexa a dumb question like what time it is to "wake up" that zone and then ask the real question. The solution is this may be to keep my amps on all the time and disable power-save, but I am not 100% sure. 

Thank you,

--Vassil

 

 

 

[sonic30101]

Issue 1-try setting the dots audio output to fixed instead of variable. If that is still too low you can make conditionals when the rooms audio changes to the dot to set it to 50 and when it is not the dot back to 25 to help compensate

 

Issue2- that amp has a 12volt trigger input that you can use to wake the amps up. This will halo with music playback but not for hearing alexa answering a question. I dont think it will react quickly enough for that. The workaround that comes to mind for that would be to use the built in speakers in the dots in the rooms for questions and also have additional dots in the rack naming them the rooms so you can tell any dot in the room play music in (room x)

[vvutov]

Sonic30101,

 

Thank you very much for your help. I understand how the conditional works in theory, but not 100% sure how to implement it. I have attached a screenshot of what I think you suggested. Is that what you mean? Also where do you you set the echo dot audio output to be fixed or variable, I wasn't able to find it anywhere in composer.