What multizone amp are people using these days?
I see a driver for a monoprice 6 zone amp, anything else with a hubitat driver? I Will be hooking Sonos to it.
Just curious, what is your use case? Because from my understanding if you plan on using sonos, what do you need the multizone amp for? Are you just using the Sonos Connect for source only and then have wire speakers throughout? In that setup however, you kind of either lose the point of Sonos or lose the point of having discrete zones in my opinion, unless your use case is a single source in 1-6 zones of your choice.
I’ve got four Sonos speakers now but we’re moving to a new home and want to expand the system. I doubt We will want to listen to different streams in the bathroom, garage, backyard at the same time. This also allows for in ceiling speakers in the bathroom that are less obtrusive.
Also what do you want to be able to do with the amp in HE? Just on/off control?
Zone selection and volume
Depending on how many zones you want, you talk about the 6 zone amp in the OP. But if you are fine with less, there is HE support for Denon and Yamaha AVR's which you could use as amplifiers, or if you want something more dedicated these support MusicCast and are likely supported by the community driver:
https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/multi-room_amplifiers/index.html
You could also get Sonos Amps as well, stereo per zone and pretty pricey but stays in the ecosystem.
I honestly do not think there are a lot of good options, maybe find a "dumb" multi-zone amp with a remote and then buy a Logitech Harmony Hub and integrate to HE that way.
Those yamahas are interesting. The connect amps would be easiest but are out of budget.
Except Sonos 
With the Connect Amps littering ebay for sub $300 the cost is comparable to the above plus then you have completely separate zones if you ever needed to. Yes the connect amps are used, and the old gen, but if budget is the concern that gets you in the door with the best platform IMO. From there you can replace as needed, or the budget warrants.
Yeah it really just comes down with what you want, if you are happy with Sonos then going down that route makes sense. It will give you per zone source control, albeit at arguably worse sound quality and depending on if you have a rack setup and depending on the number of zones much more gear to hide compared to that Yamaha solution, but arguably cheaper especially if you go used.
Personally, and as @TechMedX knows, which is where I am guessing where the wink comes from lol, I would not touch Sonos with a 10 foot pole, but that is just me, and if you are happy no one has a right to stop you.
Personally, if budget was everything for me I would find some good amps, preferably A/B instead of the D of Sonos and even that Yamaha, that have a remote control and then link everything using harmony. Not sure if Harmony is locally controlled though so that might be something to consider.
Another budget oriented and mod heavy Sonos option is getting some Ikea Symfonisk speakers and dissecting them for their electronics.
Does anyone know of any other way to control a "dumb" amplifier? Maybe through serial communication dunno?
I'm in the process of installing one of these whole house audio systems in my new home:
https://www.htd.com/Products/Whole-House-Audio/Lync/
Comes with a bridge device that allows for mobile app-based control of zone volume and sources.
They have an API, which probably would allow for further integration with Hubitat, though I'm not a developer and don't really know the details of how that might work.
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The thing is, and this is my current understanding, but this kind of use case is the exact use case that differentiates DIY IoT platforms like Hubitat from more commercial ones like Control4 or Creston, the AV integration.
It makes sense though if you think about it because if you are the kind of person that wants whole house audio, a truly centralized whole house audio, money is likely not a concern, and since money is likely not a concern that type of person would also likely not put the effort or see the benefit from a DIY solution like Hubitat. Therefore, we find the position we are in: platforms like Hubitat struggle on this use case and the likes of Control4 and Creston excel.
Let me know if I am wrong, but besides putting upkeep and maintenance on an external entity, this is the main benefit for more commercial platforms right?
I forgot about the Ikea/sonos stuff. A couple of those and a move would probably get me where I want to be without the additional layer of control.
I went with Yamaha TSR-7850 home theater system receives instead of a multizone. I was able to pick them up reconditioned for about $300 each - so you get 4 channels for $300. The Yamaha receivers support Airplay 2 so you can multi-cast Airplay to multiple receivers at a time, or if not using Apple devices, you can link them together using Yamaha MusicCast. I think this is more flexible than a MultiZone amp as I get full control from a smartphone without trying to get it into Hubitat and have full Airplay 2, Spotify, and other music service capabilities.
I'm also interested in better options for a multi-zone amp. I have the Sonos amp and not thrilled with it. Doesn't look like they will ever fix volume normalization on the Sonos systems.
Checking out CasaTunes now, they released a new small 5x4 amp (4 zones) which looks just like the model Mirage/Autonomic sells. They also offer an API and they will integrate with Lutron systems but haven't found anything that would integrate it with Hubitat.
I just rolled my own driver for the lower end MCA66 from HTD. Seems to be working ok. You might be able to adapt that for the Lync system - not sure. Will post it to GitHub and share the link here.
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Very cool, thanks. Looking forward to checking it out when you have it on GitHub.
During a downstairs master addition I installed a pair of nice speakers in the ceiling and love it. I bought this in wall Bluetooth amp and use it to power the speakers:
https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Bluetooth-Receiver-Amplifier-Microphone/dp/B010U5EGKE
Then I have one of these wall plate shelves holding an Alexa Echo so we can easily control the music/news:
https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Installation-Additional-Hardware-Required/dp/B01EHBIM02
Just wanted to share as my wife likes listening to her “flash briefing” in the shower while I may have music playing elsewhere and this little amp is great.
Mark - here's the code: GitHub - jmehlman/hubitat-htd-mca66-driver: Hubitat driver for MCA66 Driver
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I'm in the Sonos band wagon, but looks like a drive was just written for a Onkyo Amps: [RELEASE] Onkyo Multi-Zone AVR Driver
