30-Minute Guide: Build a Lossless Whole Home Audio System

30-Minute Guide: Build a Lossless Whole Home Audio System

Why Do This? (The 30-Second Pitch)

• Zero extra boxes – AmpVortex amps already ship with native AirPlay 2, so no Apple TV, AirPort Express or third-party dongles needed
• Zero quality loss – entire chain stays at ALAC 44.1 kHz/16-bit with millisecond-grade multi-room sync
• Zero app hopping – Music Assistant unites local FLAC, NAS, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal (and more) into one library you can drive from HA, voice or NFC
• Zero lock-in – every zone appears as a standard HA media_player entity; automate, script or expose to Siri/Google as you like
• Zero hassle scaling – need 16 rooms? Stack two AmpVortex units; the second is auto-discovered and still one API surface

Topology at a Glance

30-Minute Step-by-Step

0. Network & AmpVortex

1. Plug AmpVortex into router → DHCP assigns IP
2. Open AmpVortex app → rename zones → Settings → Network → enable Web API → copy IP and Bearer token

1. Install Music Assistant (HA)

2. Import AirPlay 2 Zones into MA

3. (Optional) REST-API Power/Volume Control

rest:
– resource: https://<AMP_IP>/api/v1/zone/1
headers: {Authorization: “Bearer <TOKEN>”}
media_player:
– name: AmpVortex_Z1
device_class: speaker
state_template: “{{ value_json.state }}”
volume_template: “{{ value_json.volume }}”
turn_on:
service: rest_command.amp_z1_on
turn_off:
service: rest_command.amp_z1_off
set_volume:
service: rest_command.amp_z1_vol
data: {volume: “{{ volume }}”}

4. Dashboard & Automations

• Card: Mini Media Player stack → one row, eight zones, long-press sliders
• Sample automation: 22:30 if any zone == playing → volume_set to 15 %
• NFC tag at door → group Zone1&Zone2 → TTS “Welcome home” → resume playlist

Quick Troubleshooting

Power-User Ideas

1. Siri: add zones to Apple Home → “Hey Siri, play jazz in the kitchen”
2. Auto loudness: Node-RED reads SPL sensor → ‑6 dB after 23:00
3. Scale to 16 zones: LAN2→LAN1 cascade second AmpVortex → auto-discovered