Gramofon: Nice priced/reliable Spotify multiroom streaming!
Discussion
alolympic said:
Sounds interesting.
So, just to confirm a couple of things;
You can connect this to a traditional hifi, with the provided cable that plugs into one of the inputs on the amp?
And, it doesn't need to be anywhere near your router, as it will connect to it via wifi?
Yes to all three of those So, just to confirm a couple of things;
You can connect this to a traditional hifi, with the provided cable that plugs into one of the inputs on the amp?
And, it doesn't need to be anywhere near your router, as it will connect to it via wifi?
It's gramafon (FON) for a reason. It's so cheap because it then turns YOUR router into part of the FON wifi network.
Any subscribers to their network can then happily use your connection and hence IP address for any nefarious doings on the net.
Put me right off and it's not something the gramafon people are telling users.
Any subscribers to their network can then happily use your connection and hence IP address for any nefarious doings on the net.
Put me right off and it's not something the gramafon people are telling users.
dave_s13 said:
Can they play music stored on a nas?
They seem very good but you're then tied in to the lifetime monthly payment for the streaming service. What if you just want to play stuff you already own?
Yes, you can play stuff from a NAS with a Gramofon They seem very good but you're then tied in to the lifetime monthly payment for the streaming service. What if you just want to play stuff you already own?
jontysafe said:
It's gramafon (FON) for a reason. It's so cheap because it then turns YOUR router into part of the FON wifi network.
Any subscribers to their network can then happily use your connection and hence IP address for any nefarious doings on the net.
Put me right off and it's not something the gramafon people are telling users.
It's correctly priced, not cheap. On the other hand Sonos et al is overpriced.Any subscribers to their network can then happily use your connection and hence IP address for any nefarious doings on the net.
Put me right off and it's not something the gramafon people are telling users.
This may help clear things up:
Gramofon website said:
If your Gramofon streams a "Fon WiFi" signal when it is connected to the internet, it means that you own a first generation Gramofon, that you received as a pledge reward for being Kickstarter backer, or purchased as a pre-order.
In both cases (exclusively) you agreed to share a little bit of your broadband with the Fon Community. In return, you have free access to millions of Fon Spots around the world. More information here.
The Kickstarter and pre-order customers received notice that they could ask for the deactivation of the Fon WiFi signal a few months after their purchase, through a mass one-time deactivation. As this has already been made more than a year ago, we cannot deactivate the Fon service on a demand basis for specific units.
If you require information/assistance regarding the Fon service or any related manipulation (registration), please submit a support ticket.
Since we started selling Gramofon through our official online shop (November 2014), none of them features the Fon sharing service.
In both cases (exclusively) you agreed to share a little bit of your broadband with the Fon Community. In return, you have free access to millions of Fon Spots around the world. More information here.
The Kickstarter and pre-order customers received notice that they could ask for the deactivation of the Fon WiFi signal a few months after their purchase, through a mass one-time deactivation. As this has already been made more than a year ago, we cannot deactivate the Fon service on a demand basis for specific units.
If you require information/assistance regarding the Fon service or any related manipulation (registration), please submit a support ticket.
Since we started selling Gramofon through our official online shop (November 2014), none of them features the Fon sharing service.
Edited by Driller on Saturday 19th March 14:04
Can I have some advice please - trying to decide between this and the Chromecast Audio - they have the same DAC, so the Gramofon seems expensive (and limited without a digital out) in comparison?
Can you send any content from your phone/tablet to it, or does it just play the services that Gramofon has contracts for?
Can you send any content from your phone/tablet to it, or does it just play the services that Gramofon has contracts for?
Edited by scovette on Sunday 20th March 14:11
Edited by scovette on Sunday 20th March 14:17
scovette said:
Can I have some advice please - trying to decide between this and the Chromecast Audio - they have the same DAC, so the Gramofon seems expensive (and limited without a digital out) in comparison?
Can you send any content from your phone/tablet to it, or does it just play the services that Gramofon has contracts for?
By sending content from your phone to anything you're condemning your phone for that activity for its duration. The whole point is to stream content directly from the net or a NAS etc and use your phone as a remote.Can you send any content from your phone/tablet to it, or does it just play the services that Gramofon has contracts for?
If you want to stream stuff from your phone you want a Bluetooth speaker with all its associated quality problems and the aforementioned not using your phone for other stuff.
As far as the lack of digital out goes Ib personally don't see the point or the need for this kind of device. I have a dedicated ADDA in my project studio but it's overkill for a streaming device IMO.
If you absolutely want the digital out though, get the Chromecast. It can't do multiroom and other things though.
ETA It looks like Chromcast can do some sort of multiroom now as of Dec 15 but I don't know if that includes different music in different zones like the Gramofon.
Edited by Driller on Sunday 20th March 17:35
Driller said:
The whole point is to stream content directly from the net or a NAS etc and use your phone as a remote.
Indeed, the Chromecast Audio streams from the web like the Gramofon, (which is what I'd prefer to do), or can play content directly. As the Gramofon has so few apps in comparison I thought it might offer an option to play directly to make up the deficit.The Gramofon is a lot nicer to look at, which is why I was searching for an excuse to buy a few. Will investigate the multirooom flexibility thanks.
Edited by scovette on Sunday 20th March 18:17
Agree that Gramofon is nicer to look at and has the friendly button on top
It is compatible with Spotify, Napster, Rhapsody and Tunein amongst others (in fact 7 others), more than enough already IMO and there's more in the pipeline.
In fact for what it's used for, I don't see the need for anything more than Spotify quite frankly. If necessary I would have changed from another streaming service to Spotify if it had been necessary to use the Gramofon such is its completeness with Spotify (IMO of course).
It is compatible with Spotify, Napster, Rhapsody and Tunein amongst others (in fact 7 others), more than enough already IMO and there's more in the pipeline.
In fact for what it's used for, I don't see the need for anything more than Spotify quite frankly. If necessary I would have changed from another streaming service to Spotify if it had been necessary to use the Gramofon such is its completeness with Spotify (IMO of course
).I am going to order a couple of devices to play with, so I'll comment back when I have played with them as a multiform system.
I have also been playing with costs and if these work as expected then we could be talking about a 6 zone multiroom setup with good amp and ceiling speakers for sub £3K, can't hope to do that with Sonos.
V.
I have also been playing with costs and if these work as expected then we could be talking about a 6 zone multiroom setup with good amp and ceiling speakers for sub £3K, can't hope to do that with Sonos.
V.
I've just replaced my three Gramofons with four Chromecast Audios.
The quality of audio was great and I loved the idea of the Gramofon, but I've had so many issues with the multi room sync. It never worked properly over wifi so had to hard wire everything. Configuration was through an app and usually had a problem connecting or updating. You have to group and adjust volumes through a another separate app using too many button presses. And if there's a power cut you lose all of your group settings.
With the Chromecast everything was replaced and setup in all rooms within about 10 minutes. All sync perfectly over wifi and the app and groupings is easy to use. Added bonus is that a Chromecast can be part of several groups. So the lounge is in the House group as well as the "Adult Areas" group whilst the play room is just in the House group. Means you don't have to keep changing which speakers are grouped together.
Audio quality possibly not quite to the same level though.
The quality of audio was great and I loved the idea of the Gramofon, but I've had so many issues with the multi room sync. It never worked properly over wifi so had to hard wire everything. Configuration was through an app and usually had a problem connecting or updating. You have to group and adjust volumes through a another separate app using too many button presses. And if there's a power cut you lose all of your group settings.
With the Chromecast everything was replaced and setup in all rooms within about 10 minutes. All sync perfectly over wifi and the app and groupings is easy to use. Added bonus is that a Chromecast can be part of several groups. So the lounge is in the House group as well as the "Adult Areas" group whilst the play room is just in the House group. Means you don't have to keep changing which speakers are grouped together.
Audio quality possibly not quite to the same level though.
Interesting, I've not used mine much over wifi, although the little I did was absolutely fine. I think any of these things over wifi are not entirely immune to problems with dropouts etc Who hasn't read irate Sonos customers complaining about this after all the cash they spent.
The iPhone 4 I used to play my TuneInRadio stations in the waiting room at work is no longer compatible with the obligatory app update so I'm going to get me a Chromecast to have a play
Any idea if they do TuneInRadio? (Gramofon doesn't for the moment).
The iPhone 4 I used to play my TuneInRadio stations in the waiting room at work is no longer compatible with the obligatory app update so I'm going to get me a Chromecast to have a play
Any idea if they do TuneInRadio? (Gramofon doesn't for the moment).
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