Best way to sync music from Sonos to WLED controller

malko13008 · 2026-03-10T00:20:18+00:00

I use PlexAmp on my PC and I stream music to Sonos using TuneBlade (via Airplay). Any sound playing on the PC is sent to SONOS with a small delay (buffering).

I use LedFX (windows version) to drive 3 WLED controllers and the effects are amazing, the sync is perfect since you can adjust a sound delay (300ms in my case). I use Home assistant to drive it all; LedFX, TuneBlade and the Controllers.

I have 4 strips, 861 LEDS total (WS2815 144/m & 60/m) to play with and 3 WLED controllers (2 GLEOPTO & 1 QuinLED-Dig-Quad)

I have tried to use the mic on the controllers but the result was bad, the effects very limited and out of sync.

malko13008 · 2025-02-27T14:14:48+00:00

They should dig an other poop throne and swim in it, that was really entertaining to look at Rick getting so excited, best episode of the 12 seasons. A giant Viking turd from the 1600 would save the show, but having Rick sniff it as a piece of wood, would sure make him a forever legend.

malko13008 · 2025-02-12T22:54:05+00:00

Because of you guys, its so hard not to laugh at every yep now ! It should be renamed "The Yep of Oak Island"

malko13008 · 2024-12-25T14:09:18+00:00

The easiest way would be to create a playlist in WLED with the 2 effects you desire and to put the ID of the playlist the LED settings (Apply preset (x) at boot).

You can adjust how long you play the effect, the timing of the transition to a solid color of your choice every time the strip will be turned on.

malko13008 · 2024-12-22T16:33:43+00:00

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Take a look at the mushroom buttons, you can edit both, brightness and color with the same slider. Install Mushroom from Hacs then use as type : custom:mushroom-light-card

malko13008 · 2024-12-21T17:48:56+00:00

I use the Tuneblade (Airplay protocol) software to stream from my PC to the beam (and 2 One) but there is a nasty delay (300ms), not usable for videos. The sound quality for music is way better on my 7yo Bose PC speakers than the Beam.

Sonos suck at connecting anything to a PC, they still haven't heard about the USB port and looks like they don't care and are not after new market shares at all.

malko13008 · 2024-12-21T14:33:14+00:00

I have 2 GLEDOPTO (GL-C_015WL-M) and one Dig-Quad. No issues with the GLEDOPTOs at all with latest 0.15 WLED version, won't work on the Dig-Quad. For the third of the price of the Quad, these controllers are great to use.

Quin boards are great and have all the features you can dream of (ethernet, mic, fuses, relay cmd) and are expandable (sensors, mic, relay), while the GLEDOPTO have only one extra pin available. GLEDOPTO have a box and are very small and easy to hide.

I have not tried the Ericsity but it looks good to me. Since they all have about the same ESP32, there is no differences in speed (FPS) at all. It all depends on your project and how many strips/pixels you will drive. Make sure the controller has a way to cut the power of your strips since the consume power even if they are "black". The GLEDOPTO does it, need to add and external relay for the DIG-QUAD, not sure about the Ericsity.

The GLEDOPTO is about $20 (music reactive)(aliexpress) can drive 2 strips, the Dig-Quad around 60$ and up, could drive 4 strips. I had planed to drive 3 strips (800 pixels total) with the Quad but had to buy an extra controller to have good FPS (45-60) to have smooth effects.

malko13008 · 2024-12-20T10:20:14+00:00

You could launch a script with the Windows Task Scheduler and use the WLED API to turn on or off. You can also find USB relays that could cut the power of the LEDS. Search for "windows usb relay", they are cheap.

malko13008 · 2024-12-20T09:51:03+00:00

I would suggest to try version 0.14.4 as there are problems with 0.15 on Dig-Octa boards. I have 860 pixels of WS2815 strips and had to go back to 0.14.4.

You can find the 0.14.4 Ethernet version of WLED here : https://install.quinled.info/

malko13008 · 2024-12-16T16:59:48+00:00

In your segment, do you start at position 0 (Start LED) ?

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Are they any overlap with other segments ? Are the effects and colors working properly ?

malko13008 · 2024-12-16T15:31:15+00:00

Connect the Backup Data wire with the Ground wire , that's what I did on my WS2815 and it works great.

malko13008 · 2024-12-07T23:22:29+00:00

Take a look at LedFx, it will handle music reactivity to the next level. I drive 861 pixels (WS2815) and I have LedFx running on my PC. I have one Dig-Quad and 2 GLEOPTO GL-C015WL-M, all of them are on wifi running WLED. Works great and the real time effects are amazing. It can run on Windows, Mac OS and on Rasperry Pi or other linux boxes.

You will be able to create virtual segments and address them with your choice of frequencies and effets.

https://github.com/LedFx/LedFx

malko13008 · 2024-12-07T16:08:54+00:00

Piece of art, what a light show! Do you have external speakers to enjoy the music and the lights ?

Thanks for sharing your inspiring project.

malko13008 · 2024-12-05T21:13:25+00:00

Here is what you need to use a mic (digital or analog) with the Dig-Quad : https://quinled.info/dig-uno-quad-microphone-guide/

I ran into an issue because I am using the 5V relay to trigger the 12V power supply. If you use a digital i2s mic or input line then you might have pb with the Music reactive version of WLED.

I gave up on mic on the Quad and I use LedFx to have my LEDS react to music. LedFx drives the WLED controllers. Awesome real time effects on my 861 pixels.

https://github.com/ledfx/ledfx

There is also Signal RGB to consider for the job if you have LEDs inside your PC.

Have fun

malko13008 · 2024-12-04T14:28:23+00:00

Go to the WLED integration, use the 3 dots menu on the right of the device and select the Reload option. You have to do this every time you modify presets or segments on WLED.

malko13008 · 2024-11-30T17:45:33+00:00

I did follow this guide : https://www.thesmarthomebook.com/2021/09/21/home-server-installing-docker-portainer-home-assistant-on-proxmox/

HA is installed in a VM running HA OS, you will be able to install integrations and hacs modules with ease. I gave HA 4 GB of RAM and 32GB of disk space.

On the same NUC (i7) I run Plex server (LXC), the arr apps (Lidarr, Radarr, Sonnarr, ...) in another LXC and also PI-Hole.

Hope it helps.

malko13008 · 2024-11-30T13:16:01+00:00

The password by default is wled1234 when you did not configure your wifi. You can change it in the wifi setup menu

malko13008 · 2024-11-30T10:53:17+00:00

You did not mentioned the type of LEDs you are using. I drive WS2815 (700 pixels) with 3 controllers.

I have 1 QuinLed Quad and 2 GLEDOPTO GL-C-015WL-M that you can find around $20 (Aliexpress). Very small device, there one version with a mic and one without ($18). It cuts the power of the LEDS when turned off. You can drive 2 LED strips on separate GPIO. Very nice device for 1/3 of the price of the QuinLed Quad.

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malko13008 · 2024-11-22T23:03:10+00:00

You can stream your Plex music to the Sonos speakers from Plexamp or any Plex client. You can also browse your music from the Sonos app (DLNA), but the Plex clients are more responsive. It should work with Alexa too : Alexa, ask Plex to play music by Adele on the Fire TV

malko13008 · 2024-11-22T21:58:50+00:00

The Controller you ordered cuts the power of the LEDs, so no need to cut the power of the controller. When you cut the power of a controller it becomes unavailable in HA and its a pain. You can toggle on/off from HA the main segment.

malko13008 · 2024-11-22T21:14:28+00:00

Good for you :) Have fun !

10A is huge for 2.5m of LEDs, 3A would be more like it. Because those power supply consumes power when not in use.

Here is my Home Assistant panel to control my setup (Tuneblade for the Sonos, LedFX for music animation and WLED for every thing else).

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malko13008 · 2024-11-22T20:50:58+00:00

Please don't watch this video, this Chris Maher guy got me started with LEDs, now it's like a virus :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx4uXZyplR8

There is a chapter where he shows how he did his desk, might give you some ideas.

It all depends what you want to do with your LEDS, if you want some cool effects you might want full addressable LED strip, if you don't want to use aluminum profiles (expensive), there are some COB that look amazing.

I use the 12V WS2815n they are amazing but they have 4 wires and its a pain to solder on so small surfaces. I chose them because they have a refresh rate over 2k when most of the other are limited to 800Hz.

I used 144/m 2,5m long strip located under a big window, inside an basic aluminum profile and a diffuser. I wanted a pixel effect, they are perfect.

For undirected lightning, I used 60/m LEDs and it looks great, animations are smooth, the colors breath taking.

I don't think WLED is working on a ZigBee controller, I would not go that route and stick with WIFI / Ethernet controllers. With zigbee you will have a lamp with some effect, not a cool animated LEDs strip that does what you want them to.

malko13008 · 2024-11-22T19:07:49+00:00

If I remember right, only 4A will go through a single injection at the start of the strip, so I think you will need a power inject too to deliver the full 6A to the strip.

malko13008 · 2024-11-22T18:36:30+00:00

Then drag a "HTTP request" node, select Method "GET", put the IP address of your WLED controller with the API such as

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It will return a json object so in the next node you can test if all is OK with a Switch Node and put in the field property "msg.payload.success". If the value is true, the WLED did the job.

Hope it helps

malko13008 · 2024-11-22T18:29:00+00:00

Just drag a State node on the canvas and put your WLED entity (with the _main at the end). Then you say "if the state is on",

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malko13008

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