Operator Setup · Network Requirements

Your network,
ready in minutes.

NyxResonance streams audio across your local WiFi using standard IP multicast — no specialist radio hardware, no internet connection at the venue. Here is the router we recommend, what an existing venue network needs, and a full technical reference for IT teams.


01

One stream, any size crowd.

The console publishes each channel to a multicast group on the local network. Any number of phones can join the same group — so your network load stays flat whether ten people or three hundred are listening.

1

Console publishes

The operator console sends each channel to its own multicast group — three channels total around 480 kbps, sent once.

2

Phones join in

Each phone subscribes to the group for the channel it wants. The network forwards one copy to every listener.

3

Load stays flat

Adding listeners adds no bandwidth. The only requirement: console and phones on one flat segment that forwards multicast.



03

Running on an existing network.

NyxResonance uses ordinary IPv4 multicast over WiFi — the same mechanism as IPTV and AoIP. To run it on a managed network, the console and every attendee device must share one Layer-2 segment that forwards multicast to wireless clients. These six points are the ones that actually break deployments, in rough order of how often they're the cause.

1 · Client isolation OFF
Most common

Guest and enterprise WLANs often enable client (AP) isolation, which stops wireless clients receiving each other's traffic — silently blocking all audio.

Disable it on the SSID the event uses.
2 · One flat subnet, no internet on it
Critical

Console and attendees must share one subnet and VLAN. Just as important: keep that segment free of internet traffic. Multicast audio is never retransmitted, so a single phone backing up photos or streaming video can grab the airwaves in bursts and delay an audio packet past the buffer — heard as a dropout. This happens at one channel as easily as twelve.

Dedicate the audio segment to audio. Leave the WAN port empty.
3 · IGMP needs a querier

If switches run IGMP snooping, the VLAN also needs an active querier — or snooping prunes the groups and audio cuts out after the query interval.

"Works a minute, then stops" = snooping, no querier.
4 · Multicast-to-unicast

Where APs support it, enable multicast-to-unicast (Ubiquiti "Multicast Enhancement", Aruba/Cisco DMO) — it converts to per-client unicast at full rate.

With DMO, airtime scales with listeners; wired load stays flat.
5 · Allow the audio ports

If ACLs are in play, permit the multicast range 239.1.1.0/24 on UDP 5004 (audio). DHCP must cover the segment.

Exact addresses in the reference below.
6 · 5 GHz & the basic rate set your channel headroom

NyxResonance runs 3 channels today. Listeners are free — multicast sends one copy to any crowd size — so the ceiling is channels, set by your network's basic (multicast) rate, not its headline speed. A default 2.4 GHz SSID (1 Mbps basic) leaves little headroom; a 5 GHz SSID with legacy rates disabled (~6 Mbps basic) has room to spare as we add more channels.

Put audio on 5 GHz, disable legacy/low data rates. Biggest single win.

04

Addresses, ports & codec.

Everything an IT team needs for firewall rules, QoS, or multicast policy. All traffic is IPv4 UDP within the local segment — none of it leaves the venue network.

ChannelMulticast groupTransportCodec
Blue · Channel 1239.1.1.1:5004Multicast RTP / UDPOpus 48 kHz stereo
Green · Channel 2239.1.1.2:5004Multicast RTP / UDPOpus 48 kHz stereo
Red · Channel 3239.1.1.3:5004Multicast RTP / UDPOpus 48 kHz stereo
Service / profileValueNotes
Console discovery (optional)224.0.0.251:5353mDNS — manual setup works without it
Bitrate per channel~160 kbpsStereo Opus, in-band FEC enabled
All three channels~480 kbpsSent once via multicast, regardless of crowd
QoS markingDSCP EF (46)Maps to WMM Voice — honor it at the edge
Jitter buffer~160 msPrebuffer absorbs WiFi variance
Multicast scopeLocal segmentNever routed to the internet

05

Requirements for any router.

Prefer not to use the recommended router? Any access point can work if it meets every requirement below. We haven't tested other devices — treat this as the spec to check yours against, and always trial it before a live event.

Forwards IPv4 multicast (range 239.1.1.0/24) between wired and wireless clients on the same subnet.
Handles IGMP correctly — snooping with an active querier, or no snooping so multicast floods the segment.
Client / AP isolation can be disabled on the event SSID.
Single flat subnet — console and attendees on one VLAN, no inter-client filtering.
Dual-band with a 5 GHz radio (802.11ac / Wi-Fi 5 or newer).
Runs a DHCP server (or one exists on the segment) so all devices share a subnet.
Ideally supports raising the multicast rate or multicast-to-unicast conversion for crowd reliability.
⚠ Untested hardware is unsupported

Meeting this checklist makes a device a good candidate, but only the TP-Link Archer AX3000 has been verified by us. Validate any alternative with a full audio test — console live, multiple phones listening — before you rely on it at an event.


06

Pre-event checklist.

A five-minute check that catches almost every network problem before attendees arrive.

Console is wired to the router or switch (preferred over WiFi).
Console and a test phone both pull an address in the same subnet.
Go live on one channel and confirm audio on the test phone within a few seconds.
On a managed network, confirm client isolation is off on the event SSID.
Let it run a couple of minutes — audio dropping after ~60 s points to IGMP snooping with no querier.
Test from the far edge of the space, not just next to the AP.
For sync-critical events, remind attendees that wired headphones stay perfectly aligned; Bluetooth adds a small, consistent offset.
Planning something larger?

If your venue network is complex, reach out before the event and we'll help confirm the configuration. The simplest guaranteed path is always the recommended router on its own dedicated segment. Email us at support@nyxresonance.com.