zaphod Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Can you feed the output of an Echo into a C4 controller and then use that as digital media anywhere in your system, even in a spot that doesn't have a physical connection to that Echo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crustyloafer Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Yes, but there is a delay applied to the source as it is being digitised. It can then be played as a source out of any other controller or even a Triad One. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Yes, as above... although I am not mad on the quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Right. Amazon has the Alexa link ( I think) that is optical and should have better audio quality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Here’s a question. If I have an echo dot in the rack hooked up the audio distribution system...and my kids have Echo Show’s in their room, can they tell Alexa to play whatever, and have it play over the Echo Dot through their in ceiling speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aayush Arya Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Yes, you have two ways to do that:1. You can command the Echo Show to play music through the rack Echo Dot. For example, if the rack Echo is named "House Speakers", you may say "Alexa, play some ’80s rock on the house speakers".2. You can set up the Echo Dot to be the default playback device using the Alexa app, and then all you'd have to say to the Echo Show would be "Alexa, play some ’80s rock".You can also use audio sensing to automatically turn on audio zones when the rack Echo starts playing music. Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 19 hours ago, South Africa C4 user said: Yes, as above... although I am not mad on the quality. Would the quality of this be any different than the quality of using the Echo Dot's audio output into a matrix? I guess you have one more D-A step as the music is going Digital (stream from Spotify or whatever) -Analog(audio output of Echo)-Digital (digitized by audio input of C4 controller) -> Analog (output of C4 controller). So that has one more D-A path then plugging the output of an Echo into a matrix. But then this has the downside of limiting the zones where the Alexa source is available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 19 hours ago, msgreenf said: Right. Amazon has the Alexa link ( I think) that is optical and should have better audio quality It looks like the link also has coax out. So I guess the way to do this would be to go from the coax out of the link to the coax in on a controller like an EA3. edit - If multiple outputs are active on the link then you could even do this both ways - coax out to an EA controller and RCA analog out to a matrix amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 20 hours ago, zaphod said: Would the quality of this be any different than the quality of using the Echo Dot's audio output into a matrix? I guess you have one more D-A step as the music is going Digital (stream from Spotify or whatever) -Analog(audio output of Echo)-Digital (digitized by audio input of C4 controller) -> Analog (output of C4 controller). So that has one more D-A path then plugging the output of an Echo into a matrix. But then this has the downside of limiting the zones where the Alexa source is available. Quite right. My comparison is between this sort of setup and Tidal streamed directly (maybe a bit unfair), as well as Apple Music airplayed from a Mac... The Dot comes out worst by a fair bit (to my ears). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdo21 Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 What is the best practice approach to audio through ceiling speakers, controlled by Alexa? I have a triad matrix and triad amplifiers (and triad ceiling speakers). I would like a family member to be able to say to an Alexa in a particular room “Play [song title]” and it plays through the ceiling speakers.Does it depend on the streaming service? For example, do Tidal or Deezer integrate better than Spotify?Does the Echo Link have a role to play as an input to the matrix?Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aayush Arya Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 You can do exactly that by following the second step in this guide. Yes, you have two ways to do that: 1. You can command the Echo Show to play music through the rack Echo Dot. For example, if the rack Echo is named "House Speakers", you may say "Alexa, play some ’80s rock on the house speakers". 2. You can set up the Echo Dot to be the default playback device using the Alexa app, and then all you'd have to say to the Echo Show would be "Alexa, play some ’80s rock". You can also use audio sensing to automatically turn on audio zones when the rack Echo starts playing music. Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk The Echo Link will feed better quality audio to your audio system. Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdo21 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Sorry if I am being slow but if different family members will want to play different music at the same time in different rooms, do I need an individual Echo (dot or Link) for every room in the rack?For example, to play music from three bedrooms, I would need three echos, one in each bedroom, and three more in the rack?For another example, if I have six rooms but am happy to be limited to three simultaneous streams, I need six echos, one in each room, and three echos in the rack connected to the matrix. In this case, each echo in the rack could be named but how does it know which room to play on? Can it work in a similar way to lights as described in msgreenf’s post (https://www.c4forums.com/topic/33713-making-voice-control-smarter-both-alexa-and-google/?tab=comments#comment-265456)? Or is it just easier to have an echo in the rack for every room?Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 50 minutes ago, bdo21 said: Sorry if I am being slow but if different family members will want to play different music at the same time in different rooms, do I need an individual Echo (dot or Link) for every room in the rack? yes, you one one source per independent feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baubas Cat Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 couldn't you get the same results from a C4 WMB as you can from using an Alexa Link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 Haven't the WMB been deprecated a few OSes ago? Plus you wouldn't get proper Alexa control for requesting music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 They still work but meh not worth the hassle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aayush Arya Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 For another example, if I have six rooms but am happy to be limited to three simultaneous streams, I need six echos, one in each room, and three echos in the rack connected to the matrix. In this case, each echo in the rack could be named but how does it know which room to play on? Can it work in a similar way to lights as described in msgreenf’s post (https://www.c4forums.com/topic/33713-making-voice-control-smarter-both-alexa-and-google/?tab=comments#comment-265456)? Or is it just easier to have an echo in the rack for every room? The simplest (though most expensive) way is to have an Echo in the rack for each room, configured as the default speaker for the Echo in their corresponding rooms. Then if you tell the Echo in the master bedroom to "play some soft rock", the master bedroom Echo in the rack will start playing the music, and you can use audio sensing to route the music to your master bedroom speakers. It would be the most seamless solution for the end user. Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 No you don't need an ea that handles the number of streams. The EA isn't digitalizing or outputting the audio. You need a matrix switch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aayush Arya Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Can I have the four inputs on a 4-zone matrix amplifier playing to its four outputs (zones) with an EA-1?Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Yea Aayush Arya 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baubas Cat Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Is this possible with a single Alex Link? If I say "Alexa play some '80s rock", '80s rock plays in whatever room I am in. I'm thinking if I put a Dot in each room and make each room with its own Dot, its own group. Then set up the Alex Link to be the default playback device for all rooms. Is it possible to make the Alex Link the default playback device for all rooms? And if so, would the room I'm in be the only room to turn on if it's in a group? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo1738 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 1 hour ago, Baubas Cat said: Is this possible with a single Alex Link? If I say "Alexa play some '80s rock", '80s rock plays in whatever room I am in. I'm thinking if I put a Dot in each room and make each room with its own Dot, its own group. Then set up the Alex Link to be the default playback device for all rooms. Is it possible to make the Alex Link the default playback device for all rooms? And if so, would the room I'm in be the only room to turn on if it's in a group? If the Alexa Link is what's plugged into the matrix what tells the matrix which output to use (ie which room to play music in)? This won't work. Seems C4 doesn't have the ability to program the matrix to turn on a specific zone when that rooms Alexa is initiated (at least as of now). You can tell Alexa to play xyz then initiate another command to have the C4 switch to appropriate room. Only way to do it seamlessly is have a dot for each room and each zone in the rack into the matrix. msgreenf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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