Whole Home Audio - Interference/Static

[Slates]

Hello All,
  I realize that a place like AVS might find more "experts" in this field, but I find that people seem more helpful and responsive here, so I figured it was worth a shot.   We have a whole-house audio system which consists of something like 12 speakers, with 6 distinct volume controls.   These are all hooked to an amplifier in my living room, and sourced via analog audio (RCA) from a receiver.  This setup worked pretty good for awhile, but I always felt that some of the speakers weren't as clear as I expected, but I just chalked it down to my relative inexperience with in-home audio.  
 
Recently I decided that I wanted to ditch the receiver and replace it with a SONOS connect so that we could control the audio easier and also tie in to our pool speakers, which I have wired independently to a SONOS Connect-AMP.   When I got everything connected, I am hearing serious static/interference issues on low end frequencies.  I have the SONOS output level set to fixed which I believe is correct since we have the volume control knobs.  The treble/high frequencies sound pretty good, its just the bass/low end.  The weird thing too is sometimes I can even feel the bass signal (vibration) coming through the volume control knob... maybe this is normal, I just never noticed it before.  
 
I was just wondering if anyone had any hints, suggestions, etc  for how I could troubleshoot this setup.  I really doubt the speakers are blown as they are fairly new and we rarely play them a high volume levels, if at all.  The speaker wire was done when the house was built, so that could be a culprit in terms of shoddy workmanship or me punching a nail through them (though I sort of doubt this as I know where the wire runs).  
 
I am thinking I need to figure out way to test the wires themselves, then work back to the amp as a possible failure point.  I thought about connecting my Connect-AMP to each set of speakers individually as a way to test each speaker pair and also removing the amp.   I assume it would have enough power to carry even the largest set (in the living room there are 2 large speakers, not sure of size but definitely 10" or so).  
 
I appreciate any assistance anyone might have.  Love the setup, just have to figure out how to remove that static on the low end, as it is so bad that its not usable.  It definitely seems worse on some speaker pairs than others (the large living room pair is the worse).  
 
Thanks!
 
Slates

 

[Neurorad]

I don't have Sonos, and I don't have a ton of experience, but I'll give it a shot.
 
Any detectable static/interference on the pool speakers?
 
One way to see if this is the speaker wire runs is to disconnect them all, and add them one at a time, or test each one singly by simply connecting only one pair.  Is it a multichannel amp?  Do all channels have this interference/static?
 
Is anything connected by a cable to the Sonos Connect, besides the amp?
 
Anything else connected to the multichannel amp, like a voltage trigger?
 
If it's not a multichannel amp, are you using a speaker selector box?  Is it powered (most aren't) or passive (i.e. does it plug into an outlet)?  If it's powered, try plugging it into the same outlet as the Sonos Connect.
 
I'm mostly just thinking out loud here, sorry.

 

[tmbrown97]

One test I'd do is to remove the volume knob - just pull it out of the equation and connect the wires in/out of it together and set the sonos to adjustable volume.  
 
Also if you have all those speakers connected to an Amp, is anything in the middle acting as a proper speaker splitter to balance out the impedance, or how is that hooked up exactly?  You really can't just hook up 12 speakers in parallel and get good results - the special speaker selector boxes work magic in the background by series/paralleling sets of speakers to keep impedance around the 8ohms that home receivers like.
 
And of course are you sure the Amp has sufficient power to drive everything connected to it?
 
Can you post what kind of amp it is so we can look it up?

 

[Slates]

Thanks for the replies,  I will get the amp info when I get home.  It is a multi-channel amp so no speaker selectors.  Each speaker pair has its own volume knob and goes to a channel on the amp.   I think the amp has enough power, and we rarely have all speakers on (if that even matters, maybe it still sends the signal regardless of the volume setting?).  Sorry, not very experienced with audio.  
 
Removing the volume knob is a great idea.  Will be a pain but worth a shot for sure. 
 
 
Thanks!

 

[tmbrown97]

I'm definitely curious now how it's all set up - that model of the amp should help shed some light.

 

[Slates]

OK.. got the info.  It is a Niles SI-1230 amp, link below:
 
http://www.nilesaudio.com/product.php?prodID=SI-1230&recordID=Multichannel%20Power%20Amplifiers&categoryID=System%20Integration%20Amplifiers&prdcdID=FG00737

 

[Neurorad]

Basically, you'll move the outputs around on the amp.
 
If all amp channels exhibit this static, with only 1 or 2 outputs connected at a time, try a different input source to the amp.
 
Try setting the Sonos output to variable (with the volume turned down), and then turn the Sonos volume up halfway.  Does it need to be fixed?  I would also agree that fixed would be correct, but if unnecessary, try variable.
 
Have you fiddled with the level controls on the back of the amp?  I don't know what is correct, but I would try turning them all up.
 
According to the installation guide, there are DIP switches that need to be configured correctly.  Check that.

 

[tmbrown97]

The dip-switches choose L, R, L+R (Summed/Mono), or the RCA jack for that channel; Bridged should typically be off.  I agree - take the Sonos off Fixed but I'd take it to 80% and have the speaker volume control knob all the way up, then adjust the knob on the Amp for input gain - between that and the volume on the Sonos you should be able to pick the maximum volume of the speakers that sounds good, then use the individual speaker control to turn it down from there.
 
If you have the speaker volume knob turned way down but have the source audio and input cranked way up you'll get a ton of distortion.
 
Try other sources - a 3.5mm to phone/ipod adapter; a different set of cables from the Sonos; see if you can find a pattern.

 

[Slates]

Great, thanks for the ideas, will get to work! 

 

[pete_c]

Here I have had a couple of issues relating to sound/audio with my Russound amps and related sources.  One source of a low bass type hum came from the MM receiver audio output to one input on the Russound.  It was a ground loop problem which I fixed just changing the source HV circuit.
 
Another issue I had was another audio source.  The source had a 19 or 12VDC power supply.  The source was the power supply which I have never seen a similiar issue with.  I replaced the brick style power supply and the distortion was gone.  The power supply was fine when I tested it and did utilize a two prong insert power cable plug.