arboleda Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Lost power at our house and afterwards I couldn't get any sound to my in-ceiling speakers throughout the house afterwards - yes, all controllers are on UPS and all other equipment is surge protected.I've got a Control4 16x16 audio matrix and V3 Control4 8-channel amps. HC300 analog outs are fed to the C4 audio matrix inputs and a number of analog sources (am/fm/xm, airplay) connect to the inputs on the audio matrix as well. The C4 audio matrix outputs connect to the inputs on the C4 amps, and the amp outputs connect to the in-ceiling speakers. None of my sources worked - meaning, couldn't hear any audio from the in-ceilings.I figured out that the problem was that the audio matrix had a volume level of "0" on all 16 outputs. Once I set these to 50 (as a starting point), all sources work in all rooms! Yay! Apparently power cycling my matrix left the output volumes at 0.So I had a few questions for you guys. Mostly best practice type questions... Everything's worked great for years but this just makes me want to double check a few things with you guys.- I've got the inputs locked on the amps- Each room has the Audio-End-Point 1 AND Audio Volume 1 set to the appropriate amp binding (meaning the amp volume is what changes as I increase and decrease the volume on navigators / remotes). However, the matrix clearly needs to have the output volume set to *something* then left alone.- I've gone and set the volume level to 80 on all 16 outputs of the matrix. I tried 100 but heard distortion. I could achieve the same decibels (so to speak) by lowering the matrix volume to 80 (via Composer) and increasing the volume on the amp (again, my navigator volume +/- is bound such that volume levels change on the amp, not the matrix) so I chose 80.Is this the configuration you guys use? If so, have you had this same problem where power cycling a matrix switch leaves puts the output volumes back at 0? Do you have things set up like me where the matrix volume is fixed and the amp volume is what varies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avittech Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I usually put programming in to set the audio matrix volume on reboots and once a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Audio endpoint should not be on the amp if you've locked inputs, they should be on corresponding outs on the matrix. Audio volume SHOULD be on the amp (more steps in volume).It shouldn't have dropped to 0% but there you have it. Above post is a good suggestion to prevent possible repeats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arboleda Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 @Cyknight - Thanks! I just assumed that the switching logic in Director "knows" about the lock configuration on the amps and thus realizes it doesn't need to communicate anything to the C4 amps about switching. I went and switched all the "Audio End-Point 1" bindings to the matrix. I did a before and after comparison with how long it takes from initiating an announcement to when I hear it. Measured five times before the change, 3.5 seconds every time. Measured five times after the change, 3.2 seconds every time.My test may be flawed in some way but a 10% savings in how long it takes to hear an announcement suggests that it is indeed better to bind to the matrix than the amps (assuming the amps are locked as discussed already in this thread).This theory could be fully proved about by sniffing the TCP/IP traffic between the primary controller and the C4 amp but I'm not sure putting in the time to do that is something I care to do at the moment!Thanks again.EDIT: In my test, the announcement plays in 15 zones in case anyone's curious. A few of those zones have another endpoint in the form a receiver (some of you will know why this is relevant). I did the test again for a reason that starts to diverge from this test - just do announcements in one room that just has in-ceiling speakers. I was a bit surprised but the time was nearly the same, even averaged over 5 runs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Programmer Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 So my experience has been to use the Control4 Amp for volume control and not the matrix switch. The matrix switch volume control is to chunky. By that I mean when you volume up and down it jumps in 4% increments whereas the Amplifier is much smoother in 1% increments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Uhm yeah thanks for repeating that. And dragging up the month old thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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