sonos

June 25, 2020

Wiring OSD Audio 6.5″ High Fidelity Outdoor Rock Speaker with Sonos Connect

OSD Audio 6.5" High Fidelity Outdoor Rock Speaker

I recently purchased the OSD Audio 6.5″ High Fidelity Outdoor Rock Speaker which is a wired speaker so you have to run audio cable to both of these.  I already have Sonos connect installed and working on (2) other outdoor speakers.  I wanted these speakers to work so bad because I loved the look of them.  However just after a few weeks both speakers were very distorted and crackling.  The first day of testing them I didn’t notice a problem and they sounded very crisp and blended in very nice.  I wasn’t playing them at too high of a volume however.

A few days later I had some friends over for a cookout and had them playing about 75%-80% max volume.  About 10 minutes later I could hear a crackle and distortion coming out of one of the speakers.  So I just simply disconnected that one speaker and sent it back.  Now about a week later the same thing happened to the other speaker same crackle and distortion.  The reviews on Amazon were all mixed so I thought I would try them out for myself.

OSD Audio 6.5" High Fidelity Outdoor

Running the cable from the Sonos Connect Amp was a breeze and simple its just connecting the (2) audio cables to the Left and Right audio channels.  So if you are looking to extend outdoor speakers or just run multiple speakers off your Connect Amp you can.

Thoughts

So if you’re looking for something that looks nice and you aren’t going to play them that loud it may work for you.

I recently upgraded the speakers to the TIC TFS6-SL 8″ Professional Outdoor Weather-Resistant Coaxial Rock Speaker (Slate)

I’m still testing these and I will post an article about them in the future they are definitely a lot more bulkier then the OSD Audio Rock Speakers.

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November 10, 2019

Multiple Logitech POP Bridges

I use Logitech POP devices throughout my house to control different scenes, lights and sonos speakers.  I wanted to extend my bridge out to my patio which is very far away from the house.

Since my home already has a Logitech pop bridge installed.  I wasn’t able to just add another bridge inside of my app.  

This is pretty much a “hack”. 

Here’s how I was able to achieve getting (2) Logitech POP Bridges on the same network.  

Step 1.  I’m using an Samsung Note 10+ Android device.  I’m not sure how to do this on an Apple; however on other android devices that are non-Samsung and do not have the Samsung knox where you can install another instance of an app.  You can download and an App on the play store to clone your existing Logitech Pop App.

Step 2.  In your Samsung Knox App install “Logitech Pop”.

Step 3.  Next open the Logitech Pop application and add your bridge.  Make sure your phone’s near the bridge.

Step 4.  Once the bridge has been setup you can begin to add your Logitech pop buttons.  Also make sure the buttons are pretty close to the bridge to eliminate any issues adding them.

Some other things to take into consideration you need to have Wifi where you are adding your Logitech POP bridge.  My patio is very far away from my house however I used Google WiFi to extend my existing WiFi over to my shed/patio.

What’s great now when I want to go out on my patio I can simply just push one of the Logitech POP buttons and it will shuffle all music from my Plex library.  Check out the different scene’s I added below.  

The 1st “Push” will start shuffling all songs from my Plex Media Server library.

The double “Push” will skip to the next track.

The push & hold will turn off the current music playing and turn off my Phillips hue Calla lights.

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May 22, 2019

Adding SONOS Wireless Speakers Outdoors

I figured I would take you through my entire experience with installing speakers that will work with Sonos outdoors.  

First Step.

We rarely used our swimming pool.  So this spring we decided to finally tear it down.  Good news is we posted it on Facebook and someone bought it and took it down themselves.  (All I had to do what get rid of the liner).

Installing Sonos Speakers Outdoors

Ok, So taking the pool down took about roughly 2 hour’s to get everything packed up and the liner cut up and thrown away.

Step 2.

Last year my wife and I built a patio near our kids swing set so we had somewhere to hang out.  I decided instead of just killing the power that was ran over to the pool, I was going to have an electrician come and replace the 230 line that was ran to the pool over to the shed.

Right when I had the power ran this is when I actually got the idea of installing Sonos and a Ring camera over to the shed.

I had to dig about a 30′ foot long trench and about a foot deep.  I even had the little one help.

The next day the electrician came out ran all the cabling and outlets to the shed.

Step 3.

My next step was to a add a ceiling light inside the shed so I could see what I was actually doing.  Mr Beam’s worked great for the last 2 years however now that I have power it was time to upgrade.

Purchase:  Hykolity 5000K LED Shop Light Linkable, 4FT Daylight 42W LED Ceiling Lights for Garages, Workshops, Basements, Hanging or FlushMount, with Plug and Pull Chain

Step 4.

Now that the power and lighting has been installed the next step was to extend my WiFi and network over to the shed.  I was really considering just running a CAT5 over  however the electrician was kind enough to fill the hole back in for me.  So since I already have Google WiFI in almost every room of my house I purchased another one.

Step 5.

I ran out of outlets in the shed so I decided to purchase a nice wall mountable surge/power strip.

Purchase:  Stanley 31610 SurgeMax Pro 9 Outlet Metal Surge Protector, Black

Step 6.

So now I went to Lowes and bought a piece of plywood and a circle saw to make perfect holes for the cables.

Purchase:  Desk Grommet (5 Pack) + Hole Saw kit – Ultimate Grommet Hole Bundle Kit 2-3/8″

Step 7.

Next was the expensive and fun part.  We needed to purchase the Sonos AMP so we would control Sonos and group all speakers from inside the house and outside now.  I also purchased the Sonos AMP mount so the Sonos AMP and wiring could be mounted to the plywood.  My shed’s small so I try to pack as much as I can so I wanted everything to be secure inside there.

Purchase:  Sonos Amp, The Versatile Amplifier for powering All Your Entertainment

Purchase: Sanus Wall Mount for Sonos Amp – Slim Black Design with Lockable Latch for Security

Step 8.

So now that the Sonos AMP has been installed I connected it to the Google WiFi.  Powered it on and started running speaker cable to connect to the outdoor speakers.  I decided to purchase Klipsch Outdoor speakers just from reading a ton of reviews on them. 

Installing the speakers were so easy.  The mounting brackets were awesome.

 

 

I also went and purchased outdoor speaker covers so they don’t get wet.

Purchase:  Klipsch AW-650 Indoor/Outdoor Speaker – Black (Pair)

Purchase:  Two Sun Dust & Water Resistant Speaker Covers Bags for Definitive Technology AW 6500, Klipsch AW-650 and Pyle 6.5 Outdoor Bluetooth Speakers by SoundCover

That’s all!

Addison Approves!

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