I just purchased a NAD M33 for my house to be used primarily with my Roon system. My house has 3 wired zones. Instead of buying a second amp for the other 2 zones is there a switch that can maybe managed in Roon that will allow the amp out signal to be distributed to the 3 zones?
Itâs not clear what you are asking. Amps with Multi Zone are common enough in AV amps. But you still supply the signal from Roon and switching zones via the amp
I donât see how Roon can help, you can set up 3 Zones in Roon with 3 End Points but that would mean 3 Amps
I am unsure if roon is needed. I believe you could purchase a speaker selector. Something like so:
Adcom Model GFS-3 3 Way Speaker Selector w/ Protection | eBay
Amp output to selector input. Selector output to each speaker.
Then you hard wire your speakers (run the wires as needed) then select which output you wish to drive.
If I am completely off base, my apologies.
The question is if there is a speaker selector or speaker switch that can be controlled from within Roon to define zones or pairs of speakers that play off the amp?
Thank you for the clarification.
I personally know of none.
Let cut this another way. Any older Roon ready 2-zone amps you would recommend that maybe I can buy used?
What speakers are you planning on driving with them? Whatâs your rough budget?
Assuming itâs for a second system / background music, these could all fit the bill:
- Bluesound PowerNode
- Sonos Amp or an old Sonos Connect:Amp (neither can be grouped with RAAT zones, but the older Sonos Connect:Amp can be picked up very cheaply as they no longer work with the newer Sonos app but work fine with Roon)
- If youâre up for some basic DIY then a RRi4 + HiFiBerry Amp2 or Amp100 HAT + Ropiee is a low cost RAAT option, ideal for ceiling or patio speakers.
Some other suggestions on this threadâŚ
If you are hardwired, here is a four zone, dual source, impedance matching speaker selector with individual volume controls. I have five zones hardwired to a single stereo amp, but I use impedance matching volume controls in each zone instead of at the audio gear. The Russound products have been working for 22 years and two of the volume controls are outdoors.
Many thanks for the info. The amp100 seems like a good option. It does not seem to be sold in a bundle. Any idea where I can find instruction as to components necessary and how to put them together ?
Drop an email to HiFiBerry as they can probably create a bundle for you.
But if not the Ropieee Beginners guide is a good starting pointâŚ
As for parts itâs a very short list, no need for a mouse, keyboard, HDMI cable, power switch or heat sinks. All you need is the following:
- RPi 4B (2GB)
- PSU (Amp HATâs need larger power supplies. I think this 3rd party one will suffice, itâs what PiHut recommend/sell for use with the Amp100 Hat/Board. But - although it will work - it might not get you the full 100w of output from the Amp100 (depending on your speakers this may not be an issue, most speakers wonât use more than 50w for everyday use). But double check with HiFiBerry (or PiHut) as they are normally very helpful. This PSU will also power the RPi itself (so you donât need - and indeed shouldnât use - an additional 5V RPi USB PSU - like you would to power a RPi normally).
- The Amp100 hat / board itself
- A Micro SD card - any size above 8GB, 8GB is fine, but the 16GB/32GB cards may be cheaper - but otherwise no benefit to larger cards (on to which you install/flash Ropieee via a laptop/desktop using Balena Etcher - see guide above)
- A cheap USB to microSD adaptor (as your laptop/ desktop wonât likely have a MicroSD slot)
- A case if you need one
Other than plugging the Amp Hat into RPi and âflashingâ (then inserting) the MicroSD card there are no other technical steps needed.
Final setup is done via the Ropieee web interface (see guide above).
You can also use HiFiBerryâs own HiFiBerryOS instead of Ropieee if you prefer, using the same steps. But not much in it, both support Roon (RAAT).
Not sure where you are based but you may be able to get everything from a local reseller like https://thepihut.com/ and save on shipping costs.
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I have found most components locally (I am in Greece) ro through Amazon but cannot find a box to house the AMP100 and HiFiBerry wont supply one either. Any suggestions?
HiFiBerry make a case for the smaller Amp2 Hat and depending on the speakers youâre driving that may be all you need - most bookshelf speakers donât require much more than 30watts for normal listening.
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But if your set on the Amp100 board then although there isnât a dedicated case, there is a whole world of general purpose enclosures, from basic grey plastic boxes, though to slightly better looking project boxes and 19â enclosures that might no look so out of place in a hifi rack.
Most will have multiple mounting points that you can easily screw the Amp100 board down to, youâll just have to get a bit creative. If youâre using 2 x Amp100 boards you could mount then both in one case.
I think it probably depends on how much effort you want to go to and the finish you are after.
You could add a couple of speaker binding posts to the back to make it a bit more of a professional job.
But the easiest route might be to just drill a hole in the back of the case and use a couple of glands / grommets through which you can simply pass the cables.
I am getting all components together to work on this project over Xmas. Would I need a switch for switching on/off the amp?