Hey Self Hosted!

Got a shower thought I wanna bounce off youse guys. It’s half-baked but itching to become real: DIY Sonos-like surround sound using Raspberry Pis (or maybe other SBCs if Pi’s not cut out for it). Need your brains to kick things off!

The Vision:

Server Pi

  • Acts as the brain. Takes 5.1 audio input from the TV (SPDIF? HDMI? Still figuring that out).

Client Pis

Wireless speakers running balenaSound or similar. Each handles a specific channel (front left, rear right, etc.). I do picture each of these being connected to a amplifier board. With some fancy wiring to give Raspberry pi voltages and power required for the amplifiers. (Something like this: a.co/d/fwkXuCm)

The Hurdles:

5.1 Audio Input

Can a Pi even handle 5.1 audio input? Do I need a fancy sound card/HAT? Or should I ditch the Pi for something beefier?

Channel Remapping Sorcery

Wiring all speakers the same (e.g., left channel only) but using Linux wizardry to assign which channel each speaker plays. Like, plug in a “rear right” speaker, tell the Pi “yo, you’re rear right now,” and boom—it works. Possible? Or am I dreaming?

Why? Swapping speakers without rewiring = less headache. Plus, modularity.

First roadblock: Getting clean 5.1 into a Pi. Second headache: Software channel routing.

Anyone tackled something like this before? Am I reinventing a wheel that’s already on fire?