CraigG

The latest Play-Fi app (new last week) is 8.5.[something] (CAP 8.5.0.045). That said, 8.4 resolved my connectivity issues, and I believe the release notes for 8.4 said they updated the network drivers. What MCU version do you have? I believe the version downloadable from Klipsch is 4.020. https://www.klipsch.com/firmware?product=38970&serial= https://assets.klipsch.com/files/Klipsch-The-Three-v4.020.zip

I just wanted to follow up to mention that the most recent Play-Fi software update in the app store 8.4 (Oct 2023, 8.4) has finally fixed the issue I was having with my The Three. Just to explain what was happening for me, if the speaker went unused for any short period of time, it would get into a state where it would show up as available in the Play-Fi app, but then if I actually tried to stream to it, the speaker would either reset or the speaker's network connection would reset, then after the reset (which would easily take a minute or more) it would appear again and work OK. All my other Play-Fi devices would work fine. When I reached out to Klipsch support their response wasn't helpful (their response referred to the newer The Threes which are not Play-Fi). I never found an MCU 4.023 update, mine is still on MCU 4.020.

I'll just mention that for USB firmware updates on The Three, it is pretty finicky about what USB drive you use (as are a lot of other devices for firmware updates). Based on my experience, you may be better off with an older USB 2.0 flash drive. Lately I've actually been using an old Lexar JumpDrive Trio (which is an old USB to SD/MMC card adapter) with a 256MB PNY SD card for various device updates. I tried at least a couple of other flash drives on my The Three before I found a flash drive that would work. The same USB drive pickiness presumably also applies to a manual Play-Fi software update. Klipsch has a really good video here showing how to do the manual update on The Three. https://support.klipsch.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034989111-The-Three-Firmware-Update You will want to make sure the firmware on The Three is up to date before doing a Play-Fi software update. Also, if updating the Play-Fi software over WiFi and you have issues, move your The Three as close as possible to your WiFi access point as possible.

Were you able to find a solution for this? My The Three has similar issues to what you describe and is on MCU 4.020. I have 4 other Play-Fi devices, and The Three is the only one that consistently has issues adding it as a speaker to a stream. If there is a 4.023 update available, I'd like to try it. Have you tried reaching out to Klipsch support? I will mention that as far as I know, you aren't supposed to be able to manually select WiFi from the input knob - WiFi gets selected automatically when you stream to it from the app.

I'd suggest making sure your soundbar(s) have the latest firmware installed, if you haven't already. https://www.klipsch.com/firmware

I think that text is referring to using the PowerGate as the amplifier for surround speakers, with another device as the surround master. Play-Fi's website says that to act as a Surround Master, the device must "be capable of decoding a 5.1 surround stream in some format." The PowerGate is a 2 channel amp, I'm skeptical it knows how to decode surround sound. https://play-fi.com/faq/entry/products-that-support-play-fi-surround Unfortunately Play-Fi doesn't list what devices out there can act as a surround master on their website. Outside of the Klipsch sound bars that support Play-Fi, I'm not sure what other products do - it is probably mostly Play-Fi enabled sound bars. As far as I know, all of the A/V receivers out there that support Play-Fi, only support streams coming from other Play-Fi services. They do not support Play-Fi's "Line-In" functionality, which is their other requirement for being a surround master. So, my guess would be that none of the current A/V receivers out there that say they have Play-Fi can act as a surround master either.

Make sure your PowerGate has the latest firmware (as well as other Play-Fi software updates). Best bet is probably to use the Klipsch Stream Utility app on iOS, but there are other ways to update it. Follow the Play-Fi Stream a “Line-In” audio input instructions here: https://play-fi.com/faq/entry/stream-a-line-in-audio-input If you need more details or links to the apps, just ask.

The only announcement I've seen is that Play-Fi is rolling out AirPlay 2 support, starting with the McIntosh RS200 and Arcam rPlay, "with additional products to be announced this year". AirPlay support (the original AirPlay, not AirPlay 2) has been an "optional feature" that is not part of all Play-Fi products, so there is probably an additional license fee to the manufacturer. As far as I know, none of the Klipsch Play-Fi devices originally included AirPlay. It would be a welcome feature addition though!

Which model of The Three is it? The original The Three (with Play-Fi) or The Three with Google Assistant? The manuals for each have instructions for doing a Factory Reset. I'd try that. Are there any LED lights on the back of the unit? Do they light up? If it's an original The Three, install the Klipsch Stream app on your phone/tablet and see if the app sees the speaker. I'm not familiar with The Three with Google Assistant, but I believe it uses the Google Home app to set it up. If it's an original The Three, try connecting an audio source to the line in RCA jacks.

I'm fairly certain that B Yes it is. Play-Fi's Line-In broadcast is supported on: Klipsch Gate receiver Klipsch PowerGate amplifier Klipsch RSB-8 sound bar Klipsch RSB-14 sound bar Klipsch The Capitol Three speaker Klipsch The Three speaker https://play-fi.com/faq/entry/stream-a-line-in-audio-input

I just got a PowerGate and this sounds like the same behavior I am experiencing. I've mostly been using the app, so I'll double check later. But I definitely had to turn it multiple notches before the LED display on the PowerGate would change.

I believe that software link is just the Play-Fi software and not the Klipsch firmware. When I updated my firmware on The Three, I tried about 3 different USB drive devices and finally came to the conclusion that it must've updated the first time, but I never saw the lights flash the way the instructions said they would, so I didn't think it worked. If you have WiFi configured, I'd use the Klipsch app or the Play-Fi app to confirm whether the firmware updated or not. Note that there is the Klipsch firmware and separately the Play-Fi software. The firmware version shows up as "MCU" in the Play-Fi app, and the Play-Fi version is shows as "CAP". On The Three, the Klipsch firmware is updated via the USB port, but you should be able to update the Play-Fi software by using the Play-Fi app.

I'll point out that The Three does not have a battery to charge. I'd recommend making sure The Three is updated to the latest firmware. https://www.klipsch.com/firmware If you can configure WiFi on The Three, you can use the Klipsch app or the Play-Fi app under the About menu item to confirm that The Three has the latest firmware (currently MCU: 4.020). On my Three the WiFi light on top is always lit when the power switch is on, but I mainly use mine for Play-Fi and I have the wireless configured. I'll also mention that The Three is fairly smart about inputs (for better or worse), if there is no signal on a particular input, it may not allow you to select that input. So, if you don't have WiFi configured and it sees no signal on the other inputs, it's possible nothing would light up - but I believe it's always possible to select Bluetooth as an input, so you can configure it. I'd confirm that your aux cable is working for your iPod. I'd also make sure something is playing on your iPod and then try to turn the input selection knob.

Spent some time looking and had a hard time finding this. Look at the bottom of this web page under "Other Downloads" => "The Three / The Sixes USB Driver" https://www.klipsch.com/products/the-three#product-downloads It isn't under Klipsch's firmware and drivers page for The Three.

I think for what you want, an integrated amp, pre-amp or receiver would need to have the equivalent of the Play-Fi mobile app built into it (software that was aware of all the wireless speakers available, what is playing on them, and be able to choose different groups of speakers for playback streams). I'm not sure if any of the multi-room systems currently out there Play-fi or otherwise do that. I think they all require a mobile app to set up and manage the speaker groups. If you use Amazon Alexa for voice commands (which could be an alternative to using the mobile app), it seems to remember the last speaker grouping, but as far as I know, Alexa does not support Play-Fi's "Line In" feature as an audio source. So, I do not think that would help you.

Did you manually go into the Alexa mobile app (phone or tablet) or on alexa.amazon.com and add the device? The function to add/discover a new device is under the Devices tab in the Alexa app or under Smart Home on the Alexa website (alexa.amazon.com). On the alexa.amazon.com website under Smart Home => Devices, my Klipsch Play-fi devices show up under the names I gave them, with "Play-Fi Device" underneath. "All" shows up with "Special Purpose Device" underneath. I would make sure all the latest software updates are installed on your PowerGate and try that. Updating the firmware most likely requires an iOS device and the Klipsch Stream Update app (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stream-utility/id1145942019), which is different than the Klipsch Stream app. The Android Klipsch Utility app seems to be broken. When I ask Alexa to play music on my Play-fi devices, I say "Alexa, play [radio station name] on Living Room" where "Living Room" is the name I gave to The Three. My Klipsch Gate (which I set up more recently) is named "Dining Room" and works the same way. I did notice that if I go into the Play-fi app and start music in both rooms, it shows up as playing on "All" in the Alexa app. I haven't recently tried asking Alexa to "Alexa, play [radio station name] on All" but will try that later today and see.

I agree with everything that was said above. Currently, I believe the only way to set this up is to use the Klipsch Stream or Play-Fi app, and use the "line in" feature from the PowerGate to stream to the RW-1s. So, unfortunately, you would have to use the mobile app every time you want to set up audio for your video projector, but the app should remember your last configuration to make it a little easier. You will get better quality audio over WiFi / Play-fi than you would over Bluetooth.

When I set up my Three, two devices showed up in Alexa, one named "all" and a second named with the device name I gave it (e.g. "living room"). I use the name I gave it; I've never been able to figure out what "all" does. I don't recall a group named "all" being set up, only a device.

Were you able to get this working? Apple's support site says that their Apple USB Camera Adapters will allow you to also connect to USB "Audio/MIDI interfaces and devices" so my best guess is that should work for you. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202034

Yes, I've been successful in setting up multi-room Play-Fi using Klipsch products. Right now, my setup has The Three in the living room, and I have an old receiver in the dining room driving a pair of Quintets with a Klipsch Gate connected to the receiver. The only caveat on this setup is that if you don't have a tape monitor loop or some kind of pre-amp in/out on your system (I have a tape monitor loop on my receiver), you won't be able to use the stereo's signal as an input to Play-Fi and also play it synchronized through your stereo's speakers at the same time. Because if you just run a line out to the Gate's line in, your audio will play in real-time on your stereo system's speakers, but there will be a network delay till it gets through Play-Fi to your Three. You need some way to get the synced Play-Fi signal back into the source stereo from the Gate's line out (which the tape monitor lets you do). Using a PowerGate would get you around this, since presumably the speaker outputs are always synced up with Play-Fi. My end goal is to have The Three in the living room and a mini stereo system in the dining room that can play synced multi-room music (and ideally also able to manage it all with Amazon Alexa). I'm probably going to have to wait and see if any new mini-systems next year come with both Play-Fi and Alexa support built in. As you said, too bad The Sixes aren't Play-Fi as something like that with Play-Fi would be another option for me - even better if they didn't need the wire between left/right speakers. That said, I'm pretty happy with Play-Fi so far, assuming they keep on improving it. All the multi-room alternatives at this point seem to leave you stuck with single-vendor solutions, and I'd prefer to not support companies that force you down that road.

Looks like Klipsch just released a Google compatible version of The Three called The Three with the Google Assistant. https://www.klipsch.com/products/the-three-google-assistant

I set up a The Three with Alexa this weekend, and it "works". When I first ran the Klipsch Stream app, it set up The Three on my WiFi network and then of of either the Play-fi or Klipsch Stream apps said I needed to install a couple software updates, then after those updates installed, it said I needed to update the firmware on The Three. Does the Play-fi or Klipsch Stream app see your The Three regardless of Alexa? You definitely need to have the Play-fi Alexa skill enabled on the Echo. https://www.amazon.com/phorus-Play-Fi/dp/B077VZ8QXT Then in either the Play-fi or Klipsch Stream app, you need to go into the Settings menu and choose the Amazon Alexa menu item, which if I remember right asks you to link your Amazon account to the Play-fi cloud. I don't remember the exact steps, but at some point it asked me for a name (room name) for my speaker. You should then be able to say things like "Alexa, play [artist name / radio station name / etc.] in [room name]" or "Alexa, turn [up/down] volume in [room name]". If you log into https://alexa.amazon.com/ it should show your The Three as a smart home device under the name you gave it. Also from the home page of the Alexa site, you should be able to see how Alexa is interpreting the commands you say to it, which may help you figure out what Alexa is trying to do. The only issue I'm having is that I was trying to create a group ("Upstairs") that includes both my Echo and The Three, hoping I could play multi-room audio on both at the same time, but so far, Alexa will let me create the group, but it gives me some response about the group not being available "yet" if I try to play music to it. It's unclear to me from reading the Play-fi website, if possibly multi-room via Alexa is not available as a feature yet?