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treeman committed Jan 16, 2025
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#!/bin/bash

SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
OUTPUT="$SCRIPT_DIR/script_outputs/$1-$(date +'%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S').script_output"
script -q -c "$@" $OUTPUT
155 changes: 102 additions & 53 deletions drafts/ditching_sonos_for_hifiberry.dj
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Expand Up @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ tags = ["Some tag"]

# The woes of Sonos

We've had a Sonos speaker in our Kitchen for more than a decade.
We've had a Sonos speaker in our kitchen for more than a decade.
At first I was very happy with it; the speaker was easy to use, it integrated well with Spotify, and despite being a single fairly cheap the sound was pretty good.

But gradually the experience got worse:
Expand All @@ -19,27 +19,64 @@ But gradually the experience got worse:
Still it could be worse, at least our speaker wasn't [bricked](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21895086) and we supposedly dodged a bunch of issues by never upgrading to the new app.


# The setup
# The new setup

A. Use [Music Assistant][] as the central controller for streaming music, radio, and announcement sounds (such as the doorbell chime).
A. Use [Music Assistant][] as the central controller for streaming music, radio, and announcement sounds (such as the doorbell chime) to different players and speakers.
A. Setup a [HifiBerry][] player that [Music Assistant][] can control.

It can also be controlled directly by the Spotify app or Bluetooth.
Together with a pair of speakers it replaces the Sonos in the kitchen.
The player can also be controlled directly by the Spotify app or Bluetooth.

A. Connect [Music Assistant][ha] with [Home Assistant][ha] to control playback via our smart-home dashboard and automations.
A. Connect [Music Assistant][] with [Home Assistant][] to control playback via our smart-home dashboard and automations.
A. Use the [Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition][] to control the speakers via voice commands.
A. Setup more squeezebox players for [Music Assistant][] to control (for example allowing us to remotely play music on the Linux computer connected to the TV speakers).
A. Setup more squeezebox players for [Music Assistant][] to control.

[ha]: https://www.home-assistant.io/
[Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition]: https://www.home-assistant.io/voice-pe/
To for example remotely play music on the computer connected to the TV speakers in the living room (the computer runs Void Linux, I'm not a fan of smart TVs).


# What is [Music Assistant][] and why is it awesome?

[Music Assistant][] is a music management service that acts as a hub that connects different providers and players, letting you control your music from one central location.

![Image showing how [Music Assistant][] bridges different sources with different players.
Taken from [this Home Assistant blog post][ma2].](/images/ma_how_it_worps.jpg)

# Music Assistant
So you could have this kind of setup and let [Music Assistant][] connect them together in whatever way you wish, including multi-room setups:

1. Install Music Assistant
{.center}
| Provider | | Player |
|----------|------|--------------------------------|
| Spotify (user 1)| | Sonos (washing room) |
| Spotify (user 2) | | Chromecast (TV) |
| Radio | | Squeezebox player 1 (kitchen)|
| Local storage | | Squeezebox player 2 (living room) |

::: warn
Careful to not get nerd sniped;
with room presence detection you could have the music follow you automatically as you move around the house.
:::

Here's a few reasons why I think [Music Assistant][] is awesome:

::: plus
* Freedom from the limitations of one ecosystem, now and in the future.
* Can mix and match music from local storage, Spotify, and other providers.
* One place to control all your speakers of varying types and connections.
* [Integrates well with Home Assistant][ma2].
:::

::: note
[Music Assistant][], as it's name implies, started out as a [Home Assistant][] component.
That's why I initially dismissed it but [Music Assistant][] is now a standalone service.
:::

## How to set it up

1. [Install Music Assistant][]

I host my homelab things using docker compose and it was as simple as:

{path="docker-compose.yaml"}
{}
```yaml
services:
music-assistant-server:
Expand All @@ -50,7 +87,8 @@ A. Setup more squeezebox players for [Music Assistant][] to control (for example
network_mode: host
volumes:
- ./music-assistant-server/data:/data/
# privileged caps (and security-opt) needed to mount smb folders within the container
# privileged caps (and security-opt) needed to mount
# smb folders within the container
cap_add:
- SYS_ADMIN
- DAC_READ_SEARCH
Expand All @@ -71,7 +109,10 @@ A. Setup more squeezebox players for [Music Assistant][] to control (for example

The Spotify provider should automatically sync all Spotify playlists into [Music Assistant][] and it allows you to search and play any song on Spotify.

Radio stations from RadioBrowser won't show up automatically and you have to find them under the `Browse` tab and add them to the library, and then you can find them under the `Radio` tab.
::: tip
Radio stations from RadioBrowser won't show up automatically.
You first have to find them under the `Browse` tab and add them to the library, then they'll appear in the `Radio` tab.
:::

1. Add players

Expand All @@ -98,46 +139,46 @@ I was fairly lost in what kind of amplifier and music player I should get.

There's a lot of options out there but I was worried about paying a lot of money for something I wasn't sure it would integrate well into my smart home setup.

In the end I settled on a [HifiBerry AMP2](https://www.hifiberry.com/shop/boards/dealing-with-blocked-p5-holes-7/) that would slot into a Raspberry Pi.
In the end I settled on a [HifiBerry AMP2][] that would slot into a Raspberry Pi turning it onto an amplifier and a smart music controller.
For simplicity I decided to start with their operating system [HifiBerryOS](https://www.hifiberry.com/hifiberryos/) that hopefully should "just work" and be open enough for me to manually fix things if needed.
It was also cheap enough that I can replace it with something else if it doesn't work out.

I didn't have to be worried as the little device does everything I need.
The setup is also cheap enough that I can replace it with something else in the future without feeling to bad about it but so far my fears have been unfounded as the little device has done everything I wanted it to.

## How to set it up

## A squeezebox player
1. A squeezebox player

HifiBerry can act as a squeezebox player by enabling the Squeezelite extension and then enabling the Squeezelite source.
HifiBerry can act as a squeezebox player by enabling the Squeezelite extension and then enabling the Squeezelite source.
This should allow [Music Assistant][] to find and control the player.

## Spotify Connect
1. Spotify Connect

The downside of many of these music players is that there's _so_ many options.
For Spotify for example you can:
The downside of many of these music players is that there's _so_ many options.
For Spotify for example you can:

- Setup HifiBerry as a Spotify Connect client
- Run a Spotify daemon (via [spotifyd][])
- Setup HifiBerry as a squeezebox client and use the Spotify plugin from the [Lyrion Music Server][lms] or even [Music Assistant][] itself
- If you're on iPhone you can use Airplay
- Setup HifiBerry as a Spotify Connect client.
- Run a Spotify daemon (via [spotifyd][]).
- Setup HifiBerry as a squeezebox client and use the Spotify plugin from the [Lyrion Music Server][].
- If you're on iPhone you can use Airplay.

We wanted to be able to play from the Spotify app on our phones which is what Spotify Connect is made for.
(Maybe the other options can do that as well but they're harder to setup.)
While we can already play Spotify from [Music Assistant][] via squeezebox I wanted to be able to play from the Spotify app on our phones too (replicating our old setup with Sonos).

There's no extra setup for Spotify Connect needed other than enabling it as a source.
Simply enabling the Spotify Connect source does just that.

::: warn
I ran into an issue where the Spotify app got stuck at "Connecting" when I tried to play to the device.
::: warn
I ran into an issue where the Spotify mobile app got stuck at "Connecting" when I tried to play to HifiBerry.

This [was an issue with a static DNS entry][dns].
To [fix it][host-fix] I had to remove `ap-gew4.spotify.com` from `/etc/hosts` on the device.
This [was an issue with a static DNS entry][dns].
To [fix it][host-fix] I had to remove `ap-gew4.spotify.com` from `/etc/hosts` on the device.

[host-fix]: https://github.com/ashthespy/Vollibrespot/issues/13#issuecomment-2481246915
[dns]: https://github.com/ashthespy/Vollibrespot/issues/13
:::
[host-fix]: https://github.com/ashthespy/Vollibrespot/issues/13#issuecomment-2481246915
[dns]: https://github.com/ashthespy/Vollibrespot/issues/13
:::

## Other sources
1. More sources

I also enabled the Bluetooth source so I can listen to podcasts streamed from my phone.
I don't have a need to stream music or radio from HifiBerry's web interface.
I also enabled the Bluetooth source so I can listen to podcasts streamed from my phone.
I don't have a need to stream music or radio from HifiBerry's web interface but they were useful as a debugging tool.

# Home Assistant

Expand All @@ -147,7 +188,9 @@ I don't have a need to stream music or radio from HifiBerry's web interface.

![](/images/ma_plugins.png)

* Play a specific radio station
## How to...

* Play a specific radio station?

```yaml
action: music_assistant.play_media
Expand All @@ -157,7 +200,7 @@ I don't have a need to stream music or radio from HifiBerry's web interface.
media_id: P4 Norrbotten
```

* Play a track
* Play a track?

```yaml
action: music_assistant.play_media
Expand All @@ -168,7 +211,7 @@ I don't have a need to stream music or radio from HifiBerry's web interface.
media_type: track
```

* Play a playlist
* Play a playlist?

```yaml
action: music_assistant.play_media
Expand All @@ -179,31 +222,37 @@ I don't have a need to stream music or radio from HifiBerry's web interface.
media_type: playlist
```

* Play a playlist with a random song
* Play a playlist randomized?

```yaml
action: music_assistant.play_media
target:
entity_id: media_player.bkitchen
data:
media_id: Work
media_type: playlist
enqueue: replace

action: media_player.shuffle_set
target:
entity_id:
- media_player.bkitchen
data:
shuffle: true

action: media_player.media_next_track
action: music_assistant.play_media
target:
entity_id:
- media_player.bkitchen
entity_id: media_player.bkitchen
data:
media_id: Work
media_type: playlist
enqueue: replace
```

# Voice control


# More Squeezebox clients

[Squeezelite]: https://github.com/ralph-irving/squeezelite
[Music Assistant]: https://www.music-assistant.io/
[HifiBerry]: https://www.hifiberry.com/
[Home Assistant]: https://www.home-assistant.io/
[Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition]: https://www.home-assistant.io/voice-pe/
[Lyrion Music Server]: https://lyrion.org/
[spotifyd]: https://github.com/Spotifyd/spotifyd
[Install Music Assistant]: https://www.music-assistant.io/installation/
[ma2]: https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2024/05/09/music-assistant-2/
[HifiBerry AMP2]: https://www.hifiberry.com/shop/boards/dealing-with-blocked-p5-holes-7/
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