How to send music
to the speakers in your venue
Harmonia plays from the app or from the web player in a browser: on a phone, tablet or computer. What is left is getting the sound to your venue’s speakers. Pick your method and follow only its steps.
Which method suits you
A phone, tablet and computer are equal here: any device running the Harmonia for Business app or the web player will do. For all-day use we recommend a cable and constant power for both the device and the speakers.
Bluetooth speaker
A speaker, powered speakers or a smart speaker with Bluetooth. No wires, but the connection can drop.
Steps →Method 2Cable to an amplifier
An amplifier, mixer or powered speakers with an audio input. The most reliable option for all-day use.
Steps →Method 3Bluetooth receiver
An amplifier without Bluetooth, with the device standing far from it. The receiver sits next to the amplifier.
Steps →Method 1. Bluetooth speaker
Works for a Bluetooth speaker, powered speakers with Bluetooth or a smart speaker that can accept sound over Bluetooth. Your phone, tablet or computer needs Bluetooth too. No cables or adapters required.
Device→Bluetooth→Speaker
Connect
- Plug in the speaker and the device. Set the speaker volume to zero.
- Turn on pairing mode on the speaker. On the phone, tablet or computer open the Bluetooth settings and pick the speaker by name.
- Once connected, check that the volume is still at zero.
- Start the music in the app or the web player. If MUTE is on on the speaker, turn it off while the volume is at zero.
- Raise the volume in small steps. If the phone and speaker volumes are linked, use either one. If they are independent, set a very quiet but not zero level on the device and then raise it on the speaker.
No sound? Turn the volume back to zero and check that the sound is going to this speaker. Do not crank the volume to maximum while looking for sound: when the connection comes back, it will hit at full blast.
The connection can drop
Bluetooth breaks because of distance, walls, interference, a speaker restart or another device connecting to it. Keep the device close to the speaker.
Test a power cut
Unplug the speaker and plug it in again: it should reconnect to the device by itself. If not, the music at your venue will stop after the first power blip.
Smart speaker
Turn off its notifications and voice replies, otherwise it may start talking to guests in the middle of the music.
Battery-powered speaker
Check that it plays while charging. Otherwise the music will go quiet by evening.
Method 2. Cable to an amplifier
The device connects by cable to the line input of an amplifier, mixer or powered speakers. If the device has no suitable output, an adapter goes between it and the cable. Three steps: look at the connectors, pick a cable, turn the sound on carefully.
Device→Audio cable→Amplifier input
Step 1Look at the connectors on the device
3.5 mm mini-jack: a small round headphone output (Headphone Out). For stereo sound you need a cable with a TRS plug.
Many phones and tablets have no headphone output, only USB Type-C or Lightning. In that case you need an audio adapter, described below.
Has a 3.5 mm output: connect directly
Plug the audio cable into the headphone output and the charger into the separate power port. No adapter needed. This is how a phone, tablet or laptop connects. A desktop computer runs on mains power by itself.
No 3.5 mm output: choose an adapter
If the same port is needed for both sound and charging, get a 2-in-1 adapter right away: one with an audio output and a charging input. The product description should say that it fits your device and that sound and charging work at the same time.
- USB Type-C: “USB Type-C → 3.5 mm mini-jack adapter with a DAC and USB Type-C Power Delivery (PD) charging”. A DAC turns digital sound into ordinary analog sound. For a laptop, check that the adapter handles the charger’s power.
- Lightning: “Lightning → 3.5 mm mini-jack adapter with a Lightning port for charging”. Preferably Apple MFi certified.
If power is connected separately, an ordinary audio adapter USB Type-C → 3.5 mm with a DAC or Lightning → 3.5 mm is enough. A simple splitter without a DAC will not replace an audio adapter: there will be no sound.
Find the input on the amplifier and choose a cable
You need a line input. It is labeled LINE IN, AUX IN, AUDIO IN, MEDIA IN, CD IN or TUNER IN. If it just says INPUT, check the amplifier manual to confirm it is a line input. The source switch on an amplifier is usually called INPUT, SOURCE or INPUT SELECTOR.
Will not work: the PHONO input, the microphone MIC or MIC IN input, and the OUTPUT, LINE OUT, REC OUT and SPEAKER OUT outputs. If an input switches between MIC and LINE, choose LINE.
Two RCA inputs
A 3.5 mm TRS stereo mini-jack → 2 × RCA cable, plugs on both ends. White plug to the left channel L, red plug to the right channel R.
3.5 mm AUX input
A 3.5 mm TRS mini-jack → 3.5 mm TRS mini-jack cable, stereo, plug on both ends.
Two 6.35 mm jack inputs
Also called 6.3 mm or 1/4″. A 3.5 mm TRS stereo mini-jack → 2 × 6.35 mm TS mono jack cable. Connect both channels, L and R: a single 6.35 mm input is not necessarily stereo.
Two XLR inputs
A 3.5 mm TRS stereo mini-jack → 2 × XLR cable works only if the input accepts a line signal and +48 V phantom power is off. Microphone inputs need a matching device, for example a stereo DI box.
Connect and bring the sound up gradually
- Set the amplifier or powered speaker volume to zero. If there is a MUTE button, press it too.
- Plug the cable into the chosen amplifier input first, then into the device, through an adapter if needed.
- Connect power. On the phone, tablet or computer set a very quiet but not zero volume.
- Select on the amplifier the input the cable is plugged into and start the music.
- Turn off MUTE while the amplifier volume is at zero. Raise the amplifier volume very slowly until sound appears, and then up to a comfortable level.
Too quiet? Raise the volume on the device, a little at a time.
No sound at all? Turn the amplifier back to zero and check the cable, the selected input, the output on the device and that music is really playing.
Once everything is set up, leave the device volume alone. Make it louder or quieter with the amplifier knob.
Method 3. Bluetooth receiver for an amplifier
For when the amplifier has no Bluetooth and the device stands far from it. The receiver sits next to the amplifier and connects to it with a short cable, while the device sends sound to the receiver over Bluetooth.
Device→Bluetooth→RX receiver→Cable→LINE IN or AUX IN
Which receiver to buy
Look for a Bluetooth Audio Receiver: a stereo receiver with an RCA or 3.5 mm mini-jack output, mains power and automatic reconnection. It must have RX (receive) mode. A transmitter with TX mode only will not work. Bluetooth 5.0 or newer is better, but even it does not guarantee the connection will never drop.
Pick the cable by the receiver’s output and the amplifier’s input. For example, a 3.5 mm output and an RCA input: a 3.5 mm → 2 RCA cable. An RCA output and an RCA input: a 2 RCA → 2 RCA cable. Which inputs will work is described in method 2.
Connect
- Set the amplifier volume to zero and press MUTE if there is one.
- Plug in the receiver. Connect its AUDIO OUT, AUX OUT or RCA OUT output to the amplifier’s line input and select that input on the amplifier.
- Turn on RX mode and pairing on the receiver. In the Bluetooth settings of the phone, tablet or computer pick the receiver.
- Set a very quiet but not zero volume on the device and start the music.
- Turn off MUTE while the amplifier volume is at zero, and raise it in small steps to a comfortable level.
No sound? Turn the volume back to zero and check the pairing, the cable and the selected input. When everything works, unplug the receiver and plug it in again: it should reconnect by itself.
Keeping the music playing all day
Connecting the speakers is not enough. Here is what most often makes the music go quiet in the middle of a shift and how to avoid it.
Constant power
Keep both the device and the speaker on the charger. A drained phone or speaker goes silent without warning.
A cable beats Bluetooth
If the speakers stay in one place, connect them with a cable. Bluetooth is convenient but breaks because of distance and interference.
The app must not fall asleep
Turn off screen auto-lock on the phone, otherwise the system will put the player to sleep after a few hours. Details in the guide, “App” section.
Web player: keep the tab open
You can minimize the tab but do not close it. Refresh it once a day. Details in the guide, “Web player” section.
Music not playing even though the speakers are connected? See the article “The player went silent” or write to us at support@harmonia-b2b.com or on WhatsApp +55 48 98816-6309.