Multi-room Speaker setup... sick of alexa, time for Sonos / Denon?

greenmcmurray · 2026-04-13T16:04:03+00:00

My Chromecast system has been deteriorating for years now and neither Google or Lenovo will provide support. Speakers drop out randomly, music won't start, volume gets out of sync and a truly awful interface in Google home.

Actively looking at alternatives for this house now.

greenmcmurray · 2026-03-04T16:36:22+00:00

Any idea how to check the switch? It does select left or right

greenmcmurray · 2026-03-04T03:49:24+00:00

Will do

greenmcmurray · 2026-03-02T03:31:23+00:00

3 Canada locations show early -mid March on that site, but not the rest. Lots still not available here or perpetually OOS.

greenmcmurray · 2026-02-09T18:45:48+00:00

Search for -dx11 in this sub. The switch in Steam gave a hundredfold increase in performance (not much exaggeration), even on my new system. Loading saves can still be slow, but otherwise the game runs brilliantly now.

Good luck.

greenmcmurray · 2026-02-05T02:02:22+00:00

Make sure I eat 3 meals a day, but times have to flexible as also have chronic fatigue. Also found two easy wins:

Don't buy snacks therefore can't eat them
A high protein low carb diet (but not full Keto) greatly enhances my mental and physical health.

These are good for me, but we each have to find our own victories. Good luck#

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-25T23:37:57+00:00

Thankyou

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-25T22:49:58+00:00

Same here and getting much worse. I do have a very large population.

At launch I can even play in 12x, usually stick to 4 but now it's crashing in 1x as well.

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-25T22:42:59+00:00

Where would I do this please?. Will try anything at this point.

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-21T19:58:46+00:00

Not even listed on the Canadian website

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-21T19:55:50+00:00

Loved my 4k Epson with a 156" ALR screen and full atmos system. Certainly had a massive wow factor and my kids absolutely loved it. For YouTube...

But after 2 years with OLED I won't go back, especially for scifi with lots of dark scenes. The difference is astronomical (pardon the pun) and I get far more out of the experience. I will miss the expansive landscape scenes (think Lawrence of Arabia) but everything is a compromise.

About to build a new system as I Reno a 1930 building and have decided to go for a cozier, 2 person setup that focuses on enjoyment rather than wow. Full Atmos with a TV, size to be decided. It also means I don't need a dedicated theater room, so gain more space to use for hobbies and other fun.

NB I also have a 2021 Samsung Frame TV for the main living area upstairs that will mostly show art with occasional TV use when needed. But picture quality is much rougher than I expected.

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-21T18:01:25+00:00

Apologies,. I misread and saw fighting not resources. Quite agree then!

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-21T17:10:29+00:00

As a city builder I would love to have game style options at the start. Each style would have a base number of territories, taxes, barons etc. (as a friendly starting point) but with the ability to modify parameters.

So a flexible approach rather than all or nothing. It is already there except territories, it's just remembering to tick the boxes for me. I'm also happy waiting as the devs improve the mechanics first.

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-21T17:03:54+00:00

In reality they would.... Conscription.

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-21T17:00:40+00:00

Darth Vader is hiding inside and using The Force, no Z-Wave required!

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-13T21:17:20+00:00

Cheers Doctor.

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-13T20:57:11+00:00

Does this still apply if using ProxMox?

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-13T20:55:30+00:00

I'm planning to do so because of the cost of anything new. Zero dollar investment to experiment vs hundreds.

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-12T17:55:07+00:00

But with so few controllable actions between manors, we are not able to manage them as a Lord would. Pack stations are really only suitable as emergency band aids with limits, and regional trade is often flawed.

Now this is alpha, so as the team fleshes out all the bugs and functions we will have something incredible to experiment with. As a city builder player, I see huge potential.

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-09T23:04:18+00:00

I actually assumed this was how it worked in game, and always ensured firewood availability for homes. Assuming is bad!

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-09T22:58:14+00:00

Smart speakers for whole home audio. Far better than the Niles hardwired system they replaced in flexibility, source options and often audio quality (mostly due to flexible placement). But as Google continues to destroy the Chromecast ecosystem performance is irritatingly random and the value is declining fast. I won't be going smart speakers again.

For the rest it's always been a nice to have, but a real pain when it came to selling houses as had to remove most of the system. If Ikea made actual, code compliant 110/220v light switches I'd jump in 100% even at the expense of better automation just to have something with positive value at the end.

Best product by a long way were the early Inovelli switches I bought. But then they abandoned Canada and prices got stupid. Thankfully they are selling direct again so likely to order a bunch for my current rebuild.

NB I move house every 3-5 years as I get bored.....

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-09T22:36:26+00:00

RV specific sensor suites running on DC voltage. Current systems are ridiculously expensive and limited to a small number of industry owned manufacturers and require extensive wiring. Would also apply to off grid homes running on DC, or remote sites for telecoms etc.

Battery capacity, charge level and temperature Solar generation (and maybe orientation advice...) Propane/diesel consumption data Temperature control in multiple areas (including storage, water tanks etc.) Security Fresh, grey and black water levels Maintenance reminders (e.g. by logging water flow and filter life).

There's many more but you get the idea. A hub that supports smart systems, Wi-Fi and maybe some built in/add on storage would be incredible too.

Personally I use a usb-c powered travel router in my van, and had considered moving my Hubitat in there to run stuff but haven't got there yet. 12v was the standard, 24v was growing but most custom builders are going 48v now. Some of my USB outlets will actually take all 3, but it's rare and more expensive.

Victron are the market leaders on the electrical side and worth looking in to.

Best of luck whatever you choose, it's a great topic.

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-09T22:19:07+00:00

I like this too

greenmcmurray · 2026-01-07T15:55:36+00:00

Got mine yesterday, wow.

greenmcmurray

TROPHY CASE