Imagine waking up in the morning to your favorite song blasting through your audio system or have your playlist automatically start playing as soon as you come home.
You can do all of that with a smart audio system.
With all the smart home features and technologies available to us today, it only makes sense that as you build out your modern home, to give special attention to your home’s sound system.
Whether you want to upgrade the entertainment in your living room or introduce the latest tech to the whole house, this article will show you.
At HDL automation, we love music and home audio system automation, and that is why we want to show you how you can get ahead with turning your basic home sound system into a smart home wonder.
Here’s how to do is:
Use HiFi Bluetooth and WiFi Dongles
One of the simplest and easiest ways to make your home stereo systems smarter is to purchase affordable dongles that let you do this.
You’ll find many great devices out on the market that can let you connect anything compatible with a 3.5mm jack. This means you can connect any HiFi or WiFi sound system to your smartphone through Bluetooth.
HomePlay Network Player
The HDL HomePlay Network Player allows you to stream crystal clear audio to several rooms of your home. You can control it through an iOS or Android app. You can also command it with a wall-mounted HDL user interface called “HomePlay”.
By connecting the HomePlay Network Player with a smart controller, you can manage the entirety of your audio devices from a single point. This smart audio system is compatible with multiple audio formats, including MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, ALAC, FLAC, APE, and WAV files. It has never been easier to listen to your favorite tunes everywhere you are at home!
Beep
A small device shaped like a knob, Beep allows you to connect any kind of speaker and works within your home’s WiFi ecosystem.
However, the device’s software only allows for playback from a limited number of sources, but you can play music directly from your music library with it, which through software can be in itself adjusted to be smart-home compatible.
Rocki
This is another device that makes it easy to connect your existing speakers to your WiFi network. It comes with added features like the ability to let your friends play their music on the device and more, long battery life of up to 8 hours, for use in places without electrical outlet access.
Generally, Rocki manages to make your audio system setup a bit smarter. But just like Beep, your music library needs to be automated in itself for the device to be considered part of your home’s automation ecosystem.
Google Chromecast
Google Chromecast does not just make your HDTV smarter; it also lets you play almost any kind of content through the speakers or sound system connected to your TV.
However, there is a downside to this device, and that is the fact that to play your music library and make your speakers smarter, you must use your TV.
Apple TV
Google’s counterpart from Apple, Apple TV, has the same downside as Chromecast, as you need to connect your speakers to your TV. This device is great at making your speakers smarter, especially if you are using AirPlay already.
AirPort Express
AirPort Express is a unique device that can serve as a WiFi router or a WiFi router extender on its own, as well as a streaming component. The only downside of the device is that it is not as affordable as some other options, and you have to be deeply in the Apple ecosystem to be able to properly implement it as a home automation device for your audio system.
Use Smart Speakers
In recent years, smart speakers have grown in popularity as more and more people are going the home automation route.
There are a variety of smart speakers from different manufacturers you can find in the market today.
You can do many different things with these smart speakers, from receiving information like time, date, and weather forecast, to controlling wireless enable lights, ordering products and services online, and streaming music from other devices through the smart speakers.
How do smart speakers work?
When it comes to smart speakers, the main thing that drivers their operation is the voice recognition technology that is being used.
This voice recognition tech powered by a digital assistant makes it possible for you to speak to your smart audio device, and it will act upon what is being said.
There are different digital assistants from different manufacturers available to you: There’s Siri from Apple, Cortana from Microsoft, and voice recognition schemes like Google Assistant from Google’s Home series and Alexa from Amazon Echo speakers.
While these smart speaker systems look different, the technology is the same when you look at their mode of work.
A smart speaker typically awaits a “wake word” and typically listens for speech. Amazon’s Alexa system waits for its default wake word, “Alexa,” although you can change this. There are different words for other systems.
Upon hearing this word, the system is activated and begins to record whatever is being said, sends it through the internet to the voice recognition service for processing. For the Amazon system, for example, the speech file is sent to the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) in the cloud. This voice recognition service can decipher the speech, then sends back a response to the smart speaker.
Through a series of algorithms, the voice recognition service, over time, becomes more familiar with how you use words and your speech pattern. By learning how you speak, it is able to provide a better service.
In the end, it makes sense to first run your new smart speaker system through a learning process when setting up a new smart speaker.
Smart Audio Systems
Unlike smart speakers, a smart audio system provides app-based access to a 3D immersive or surround audio experience across the entire home. With a smart audio system installed in your home, you can easily distribute music, radio stations, audio streaming services, podcasts, and more to any part of the home at the touch of a button.
Smart audio systems utilize direct ethernet input rather than a WiFi network for internet access and reliable connection, for that matter.
The system uses dedicated apps on iOS or android to control what’s playing, whether it’s your album, playlist, or favorite radio station. It’s also possible to upload a music collection to the system’s storage or directly from attached storage devices as well.
Smart audio systems eliminate the need for wiring within the house, ensuring electronics can be hidden away out of sight in a single location. This is great if you want to ensure a discreet setup as much as possible.
There are different options when using smart audio systems. You can either set up on a room by room basis through Bluetooth speakers and WiFi amplifiers or have an immersive audio experience anywhere on the property with a wall-mounted user interface.
Conclusion
Implementing a smart audio system for your home can be a bit difficult if you go the DIY route, but you could make things easier and cleaner with the help of a professional home automation service.
It’s easy to set up your smart audio system wrongly or face issues connecting devices. As professional smart home builders, HDL can help you implement the right smart audio technology that meets your budget and transforms your living space.
Get started with a smart home audio installation with HDL Automation. Contact us today!
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