Another audio system advice thread...

Hi as with many I’m working at home for the foreseeable future and need music to help me through the day.

I’ve been working with the laptop on a cushion in the lounge but can’t carry on like this so want to go to the dining room and set up properly.

I have some Boston acoustic cubes and sub left over from a 5.1 system but an not wedded to them, and need a system on a budget using mainly Spotify (not using Bluetooth) but also if possible other sources like radio or even cd (not essential).

I was looking at Yamaha N470D but they seem to be lots of complaints on Spotify forums that it drops connection.

Budget is hard capped at £500 but the cheaper the better!

Any advice or suggestions? Thanks.

Use a Sonos Connect (plenty on eBay), a second hand cheapish amp e.g. Cambridge Audio, and maybe some compact Q Acoustic speakers.
You can control it from your phone or laptop using the Sonos S1 app.
Plenty of spare inputs for CD/turntable etc.

Thanks Rod, I thought Sonos has stopped supporting the Connect?

Lots of connect:amp models on eBay look good vfm.

I was considering the Sonos One which you can run as a stereo pair for less boxes etc, but wasn’t sure if they would be a bit small.

The Connect still works. I gave my Grandson mine when I bought the Port. He's running it through his Cambridge amplifier and it sounds great (actually it's better than the Port for sound).

If you join the Sonos fb group,a U.K. based chap was selling some s1 connect:amp’s for £150 a pop not sure if this above or below market. hth

Sonos isn’t for everyone - I got out of a large multi-room system due to sub optimal app and user interface, and a failure to listen to the customer base.

For your requirements, you’d be hard pressed to go past a pair of audioengines fed from a ChromeCastAudio or an Airport Express.

Very good sound, low cost and minor footprint.

I bought an apple HomePod a few weeks ago for the same reason and it’s been excellent. The ability to verbally control everything between zoom meetings just by speaking to it has been really useful. I appreciate it’s not ‘proper hi-Fi’ but it sounds pretty good for a smart speaker and is surprisingly powerful

Good options above but a cheaper alternative (and smaller form factor) is a ChromeCast Audio.

Only available used now but a great bit of kit for streaming music from Spotify / Tiday etc...

I would stay away from Sonos. Lots of dubious data collection practices and environmental virtue signalling. Plus, as has been mentioned above, their technology isn't even that good. The all-in-one units I listened to when they came out sounded rubbish. I understand the Connect is fine, albeit expensive compared to other options if you don't care about their multi-room support, which remains their main USP.

I would also avoid Airport Express, since that's what I used to use and have had 3 of them die on me. One got replaced under warranty, the others were just out of the warranty period. From what I've read, and heard from the Apple Store staff, it's not at all uncommon for these to just brick themselves after a period of time. The Airport Extreme is widely regarded as one of the best wifi routers around. The Express I think is just too small and can't dissipate its own heat output efficiently enough, so they just die after a few years.

My main setup is an Arcam rLink DAC connected to a Cambridge Audio iPod/iPad dock. The dock has a Toslink optical output, so the raw digital signal goes straight to the DAC without any analogue in between. Unfortunately, they don't make those docks anymore. In fact, AFAIK, nobody currently makes a dock that will output a digital signal direct to Toslink from an iDevice anymore. This setup works well for me because I mostly listen to Spotify, which I can remote control from any other system on my network - no need to stream anything (apart from Spotify downloading the data, but I have a lot set to offline mode so it still works even if my internet drops out).

However, lately, as my amp is a bit flaky, I have mostly just been listening to a pair of Bose SoundLink Micro Bluetooth speakers. They are really oustanding for their size. I listened to the bigger Bose ones and a few others including UE Boom. Almost all of them have the typical consumer audio scooped mid, over-cranked bass sound profile, which just sounds muddy if you're used to halfway decent hifi (but sounds really good if you are mostly used to computer speakers and portable radios). The Micros are quite neutral, punchy and detailed. They won't shake the room but at normal listening levels they sound surprisingly good. By that, I don't mean just "OK, given their size". I mean "can genuinely compete with a mid-range hifi" good - it's shocking that they can be so small. The only issue with these is that the app is rubbish and getting them to initially connect in stereo mode can be infuriating at times. Once connected, it's extremely rare for them to drop out though. For a relatively low-cost option you can move between rooms, I think these are hard to beat.

Here is the list of Spotify Connect enabled devices available in the marketplace. https://spotify-everywhere.com/colle...eamers?page=1&

I think the suggestion of a 2nd hand Sonos Connect is a really good one. They are available for very low cost, and are very good Spotify Connect players. Sonos even supports the free tier of Spotify.

The Google Chromecast Audio device use to be the standard low cost option, but the Chromecast Spotify streaming functions are built around the Spotify Premium service and they tend to drop the streaming connection more often than other devices I use.

I personally use a Denon HEOS Link for this purpose, but in general HEOS devices are a bit laggy in responding to Spotify Connect. I can't say that I would be using it still if it weren't free.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by robt

I would stay away from Sonos. Lots of dubious data collection practices and environmental virtue signalling. Plus, as has been mentioned above, their technology isn't even that good. The all-in-one units I listened to when they came out sounded rubbish. I understand the Connect is fine, albeit expensive compared to other options if you don't care about their multi-room support, which remains their main USP.

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Sorry but I have to disagree with your comments, re. Sonos.
Regarding Sonos 'spying', your smartphone and Google do a much better job.

It’s a bit of a minefield isn’t it.

Right now I’m thinking Sonos simply for the ease of connection etc.

I’m thinking of moving to Tidal for it’s hi-res audio catalogue but would see me still using Spotify for the odd artist radio.

You could just get a pair of Sonos Play 1’s - we have a pair in the kitchen and they sound superb. Nice and easy to locate, look good, minimal wiring and controlled from your phone or tablet.
Lots of services supported as well as a wide range of radio stations available. Should be well within budget too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pete-r

It’s a bit of a minefield isn’t it.

Right now I’m thinking Sonos simply for the ease of connection etc.

I’m thinking of moving to Tidal for it’s hi-res audio catalogue but would see me still using Spotify for the odd artist radio.

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Just remember, the old Sonos Connect two of us recommended is a legacy product and will only work on the S1 app. This won't support high resolution sound but will still sound good.
You will need the new Sonos Port to support S2 and hi-res audio.
PM me if you need any help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pete-r

It’s a bit of a minefield isn’t it.

Right now I’m thinking Sonos simply for the ease of connection etc.

I’m thinking of moving to Tidal for it’s hi-res audio catalogue but would see me still using Spotify for the odd artist radio.

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On tidal hi-res: can you tell the difference between it and Spotify hi-res? As a concurrent subscriber to both, I have to say the difference may not be as apparent as you’d think. Add in the fact that your mates will likely be on Spotify, for collaborative playlists etc....

I know you said not Bluetooth but you won't find better sound for the money than a Samsung VL550 AKG speaker.

I have one in my home "office" and one in the lounge. They sound fantastic even through Bluetooth (they have built in 32 bit upscaling).

Originally they were £600 and had great reviews for sound quality at that price. They didn't take off though and now can be brought for around a third of the price (£229 at Curry's now but have been lower).

WiFi connectivity options is limited to Tune In radio and Deezer through the Samsung app but I've found another app to play locally stored music over WiFi. It also has an aux port.

See thread here:

https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...rgain-heads-up