I recently went through Total Control training and have been doing some testing at home with remotes, iOS App, Base Stations, Sensors and 3rd party integration.

I'm interested to hear from anyone that's used the DMS amplifier products (DMS-1200, DMS-100).

Training included some time with the SNP-2 Streamer, but they didn't have any of the amplifiers available to listen to.

A few questions:

1. How do they sound and have they've been reliable?
2. Is the cooling fan loud (DMS-1200)?
3. If you connect analog audio from from cable or satellite receivers to line inputs is there a delay through the speakers which would cause lip sync issues with TVs?  I'm guessing there is a slight delay when the inputs are converted to DMS streams that can be picked up by other amps.

Any other criticisms or concerns???

1. Very good and Yes. I have had one SNP-2 fail and that is it, that was replaced under warranty. I use a DMS-1200 for speaker shoot outs as it is easy to level match the speakers and program to switch easily. The amps were designed by ex B&K engineers.

2. Not loud at all. I don't think it comes on most of the time.

3. Coincidently, I just tried this the other day from a Sony TV and it had no delay. I was pleasantly surprised.

After selecting music it is a little slower before it starts playing some of the other streaming systems like Sonos and MusicCast. Limited streaming services. For lossless music make sure these devices are on a good network and switch. It can choke the average consumer switch if you have multiple lossless streams going. I wish there was some wireless options.

Make sure you use the MFS-8 URC mac filtering switch to connect components that are streaming audio. This will prevent the main network from crashing and getting slowed down by the audio streams.

If you want to clean up your rack and save money, you can go with an Araknis managed switch which includes a URC setting which isolates the streaming in place of a mfs8. You can set this per port so you can use the switch as both your Mac filtering switch and network switch.

Good to know. Thanks

Thanks for the information.

The networking stuff doesn't concern me.  At training they talked about the MFS-8 and also mentioned that Araknis & Luxul have options on their managed switches to enable filtering for the DMS products.

I know it's subjective, but I think my biggest concern would still be sound quality of the DMS amps.  If they sound at least as good as a mid-range multi-channel amp like Niles, etc. it would probably be ok.

I've already received my opening order, but didn't get any of the DMS pieces to play with so will probably order some soon to try out.

Would be nice to take a look under the hood of the DMS-1200 to see what's in there for the amplification section.

I might be selling my DMS1200. When we close on our new house, I am thinking of just throwing Sonos in to make everything easier to use for my wife. She never used the DMS audio but does use the Sonos Play:1s that I have set up now. If you are interested, just let me know and I am sure we can work something out. I understand if you want to go new to add to your numbers with URC of course.

Someone had mentioned on IP not long ago, that there were no minimums anymore for URC direct dealers. Still true or no?

Thanks, but I'll probably just pick up a new unit with my next order.

Sonos is my biggest concern with moving towards DMS audio.  Sonos is a local company so there is a lot of brand loyalty.  Almost everyone knows someone that works there.

I know I can use Sonos Connect units as sources on DMS, but most of my clients are familiar with the Sonos app interface and I'm concerned that Room Grouping in Sonos and Room Linking in DMS is going to cause confusion if there's more than one Sonos connect in the system (I don't think Room Grouping can be disabled in Sonos).

Not comfortable mentioning specifics on a public forum, but there was a minimum opening order to get started and there are annual sales goals.

Nice timing. I had some of the same concerns with the DMS and Sonos. I also was wondering sound quality. I am used to quality of Parasound multichannel in non TC setups. Also looked at the newer audiocontrol DSP matrix amps. Benefit here is they have digital inputs so can connect digitally to the Sonos connects. However, don't think they have IP driver's for TC.

The grouping thing I didn't even think about. When discussing with the URC rep using Sonos as a source, I know you can jump into the Sonos app from within the URC mobile app. The plus is you get the same ease of use of music selection. The drawback is then educating customers that grouping is not to be done in the Sonos App or volume for that matter.

Sonos is a great audio product. I use Sonos on its own. I believe integrating it with TC in any way only confuses the customer more. The fact you cannot set a zone group and have it stay intact when you power off the system is the biggest issue I have. This really confuses clients if they have prior experience with Sonos. This is actually something we have discussed in the URC Control Room that we all feel NEEDS to be addressed

IMO, the DMS amp set up is the crown jewel of TC system. I wouldnt worry about the quality of the amps not being good enough. I have a large pair of Klipsh on my deck and the dms jams them. no worries. Easy integration and room grouping. Hopefully the next generation of Accelerator will allow us to do room grouping in macros.

I cant comment on Sonos since we dont use it. Ive heard its a headache pretty much with most third party controls.

The DMS has fans? Wasnt sure I NEVER EVER have heard them. So, ya, they must be super quiet.

They lack inputs. Only 4 on the dms-1200 which was a STUPID design. You can add more by adding a DMS-IN to get more inputs.

Sound delay is MINIMAL and can only really be noticed if you have the TV sound on the same time as the dms speakers. Other than that, zero complaints on lip sync.

A TC system without DMS is akin to a nice boat with deck. Something like that lol.

Interesting that room grouping doesn't stay intact with DMS.  Most of my clients keep certain rooms grouped 90% of the time in Sonos, so that's a bummer DMS can't do this.

Also too bad that macros can't be used to assign room grouping... that would be a good work-around.

It's encouraging to hear that delay for video zones isn't an issue with DMS!

Integrating music into video zones is still the biggest issue with Sonos based systems.  I'm doing it with two amplifiers and speaker switching relays which works well and is reliable but I always wished for a better solution.

If you know two or more areas are going to be used together all the time you can permanently group zones when you configure the unit. It is just not as easy if the customers want control. We still use Sonos a lot for certain jobs. I do think its interface is better and has a much greater selection of streaming services which some prefer.