Gramofon: Nice priced/reliable Spotify multiroom streaming!

[Driller]

I made a discovery recently that I felt I had to share.

Like a lot of folk I had been tied into iTunes for some years and then happened upon the wonder that is Spotify. I won’t go into the advantages over iTunes but for a monthly fee all the music you could hope for with at least as good quality as iTunes.

Having had all my iTunes music on a Mac Mini, I downloaded Spotify onto this same computer and was using it as the music server in a wired multiroom system.

It had already occurred to me with iTunes that I had a mutisource system but only one source for iTunes (the Mac mini) and this plus the desire for a simpler solution and the idea of having to have a computer on all the time led to the search for alternatives.

There is a multiuser streaming device built for my multiroom system but at £2000 and with stories of bugs seemed a bit much. Then of course there is Sonos whose ethos I don’t like and, as with the other streamer, certainly doesn’t offer value for money.

Then through Google I discovered this wonderful little box of tricks called Gramofon. An odd and somewhat foreign sounding name but a marvellous little machine.

It’s a small and unassuming box which you hook up to any hifi or amp you have already in a room or you can get 2.1 stereo powered speakers from Logitech and others starting from about £20. (If you want more fancy looking speakers these can be had for not a lot more-certainly far less than the Sonos et al ones).

The great thing about the Gramofon is that it’s not a bluetooth or airplay speaker ie you don't send music to it from your phone, it get gets its stream itself directly from the net. Your phone (or anyone else’s) serves only as the remote control for it through the Spotify Connect system.

This means you can use your phone for all the other normal stuff whilst listening to music and there are no annoying drop outs that you get with airplay and bluetooth etc. Quality is also better than with bluetooth.

It connects via wifi or ethernet to your router and the setup is very quick and easy. You connect and power up the Gramofon, download a simple, free app and through this find the Gramofon on the network. You then chooses a name for it and a password. That’s it.

To use it it couldn’t be simpler: Open Spotify on your phone or computer, choose the Gramofon as the source and off you go.

Anyone who has a Spotify (Premium) account can play their music through this so if you have friends or guests round all they have to do it get on your wifi and they’re good to go.

You can stream internet radio etc to it as well but with Spotify I personally don’t see the need.

You can have as many Gramofons around the house as you like and each person can have their own music on each one with their own volume control or you can link them up so they play the same thing for parties etc using the Allplay standard with a single volume control for the whole house. They also act as a WAP and boost and extend your wifi which may be handy for wireless users.

The best thing is the price. At only €59 it really beats the competition for such a good quality and handy device. As mentioned above, if you haven’t got a hifi or amp already, for £20 you’re good to go for the kitchen etc and if you want a bit more beef/style for this or other rooms it’s not that much more for general listening.

I already have in ceiling speakers powered through the multiroom system but will add a further Gramofon unit to a decent hifi system situated the lounge for more critical listening as well as another 2 to the multiroom for multiple users now I know it works so well.

And it’s rock solid and simple to use. I have this first one connected through ethernet to my router but have tried it under wifi and it works just as well with no connection or dropout problems.

Customer service is great too: the one I ordered from the website on a Sunday arrived the following Tuesday.

There are a few similar units from the likes of Digifunk but the Gramofon seems to have the best features for a similar, or lower even, price.

If you haven’t already realised, I’m absolutely delighted with this find!

https://gramofon.com

A few pics on opening:








Oh yes and the friendly blue glow from the top changes to a friendly green when Spotify streaming is active with that unit. The circle is actually a handy button that can be pressed to stop and start the current song:





(I left the plastic protection on the base which is why it seems a bit fuzzy)

Edited by Driller on Saturday 21st November 13:53

[VEX]

That is a very interesting little product.

I was going to ask now you controlled the volume but you answered that futher into your post.

Off to google getting one of those to try out.

V.

[IforB]

Interesting, so it's basically a much cheaper version of a Sonos Connect?

[IrateNinja]

Doesn't Chromecast offer this same ability?

I've got one of the 'Video' versions hooked up via HDMI to my AV Receiver in the living room, and an 'Audio' connected via optical to the hifi in the study. I've been very impressed with the functionality offered by the combination with Spotify Connect.

[Driller]

IforB said:

Interesting, so it's basically a much cheaper version of a Sonos Connect?

I don't know what a Sonos Connect is but it looks like it's £264 a go! Can you have multiple simultaneous users with one of those?

I've just bought another 2 Gramofons so for the grand total of £123 I've got a 3 user system IE 3 different lots of music playing simultaneously in different areas.

Edited by Driller on Monday 23 November 07:18

[IforB]

Driller said:

IforB said:

Interesting, so it's basically a much cheaper version of a Sonos Connect?

I don't know what a Sonos Connect is but it looks like it's £264 a go! Can you have multiple simultaneous users with one of those?

I've just bought another 2 Gramofons so for the grand total of £123 I've got a 3 user system IE 3 different lots of music playing simultaneously in different areas.

Edited by Driller on Monday 23 November 07:18

If you have multiple units, then yes, you can have multiple users at the same time. From the description, then it's virtually identical to a Sonos connect, which is no bad thing at all! Especially at a fith the price!

The Sonos connect is basically the guts of a Sonos play speaker but without the speakery bits, so you hook it straight into any Amp or suound system and use it as a source to stream music through either from the net or from a NAS.

It works very well, but it's pricey and if this does exactly the same thing at a hugely reduced price, then I know what I'll be doing should my connect every turn up it's toes!

[outnumbered]

The Chromecast Audio offers digital output, whereas this device is analogue output only. That's probably fine for many people, but it does mean you can't use your own DAC with it.

[bristolracer]

IrateNinja said:

Doesn't Chromecast offer this same ability?

Almost, but Gramafon also extends your wifi

Gramafon is 59 euros so about £10 more than Chromecast but both are way cheaper than the Sonos.

[kingston12]

Can any users of this comment on how it works in built up areas with lots of conflicting wifi networks?

I have used Sonos for years in this type of environment but it has never worked properly, and after a couple of weeks of reasonable performance it is now back to hardly working at all.

I have a love hate relationship with Sonos (love the idea, hate the hardware) so if something else could replace it, I'd be very interested.

Edited by kingston12 on Monday 23 November 20:10

[Driller]

IforB said:

Driller said:

IforB said:

Interesting, so it's basically a much cheaper version of a Sonos Connect?

I don't know what a Sonos Connect is but it looks like it's £264 a go! Can you have multiple simultaneous users with one of those?

I've just bought another 2 Gramofons so for the grand total of £123 I've got a 3 user system IE 3 different lots of music playing simultaneously in different areas.

Edited by Driller on Monday 23 November 07:18

If you have multiple units, then yes, you can have multiple users at the same time. From the description, then it's virtually identical to a Sonos connect, which is no bad thing at all! Especially at a fith the price!

The Sonos connect is basically the guts of a Sonos play speaker but without the speakery bits, so you hook it straight into any Amp or suound system and use it as a source to stream music through either from the net or from a NAS.

It works very well, but it's pricey and if this does exactly the same thing at a hugely reduced price, then I know what I'll be doing should my connect every turn up it's toes!

Ah, thanks for the info IforB It does sound identical then except as you say for the price!

The Gramofon I installed has worked flawlessly and connection is immediate with Spotify Connect, much faster than the Mac Mini which also drops its connection from time to time.

Looking forward to installing the other two I ordered.

[Andy888]

Assume the Philips Spotify speaker does the same thing but actually comes with a speaker! Also currently cheaper.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OM25B7Y/ref=pd_lpo_s...

[Driller]

Ooh, good find, I like that! One downside for me is the lack of an ethernet port though. If it works reliably and the sound is decent enough that certainly is good value for money. The 750 looks like it would have much better sound.

Doesn't appear to use the AllPlay standard like the Gramofon at the moment and cant' tell if you can stream from a NAS but Spotify does it all as far as I'm concerned.

[Andy888]

Yeah I think I might get one for a stocking filler and see how it goes. I've a traditional Philips dock in the kitchen and it sounds ok to me for what it is.

[IforB]

Andy888 said:

Assume the Philips Spotify speaker does the same thing but actually comes with a speaker! Also currently cheaper.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OM25B7Y/ref=pd_lpo_s...

Nice one. I need a new unit for my garage and I can't be bothered to spend Play 5 money on it.

[craigthecoupe]

kingston12 said:

Can any users of this comment on how it works in built up areas with lots of conflicting wifi networks?

I have used Sonos for years in this type of environment but it has never worked properly, and after a couple of weeks of reasonable performance it is now back to hardly working at all.

I have a love hate relationship with Sonos (love the idea, hate the hardware) so if something else could replace it, I'd be very interested.

Edited by kingston12 on Monday 23 November 20:10

i have two, one at the back of a terraced house, the other at the front.
for the most part they have performed really well. very stable, and easy to get along with.
i won't deny that they sometimes arse about dropping connections seemingly for no reason. this is a pain, but like i say, for the most part they are very good.

with regard to the wireless boosting, i'm not sure it does anything, but it's not a problem either way, we dont suffer with poor signal in our flat anyway.

i like the fact that you can download allplay radio, and effectively use tunein radio on them too, as well as soundcloud and a few others. the one thing that annoys me with them is that i cant use iplayer catchup with them, which is a real nuisance, hopefully it will come.

had mine since the end of september and use them most days,
hope this helps.

craig

[Driller]

The first Gramofon has been brilliant and just received the next two so I now have a 3 user Spotify system with 3 separate streams for €177

[alolympic]

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?

[alolympic]

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?

[Driller]

Yes to all three of those

[Emeye]

Chromecast didn't work with Spotify, but I think they fixed that with the release of the new Chromecast - I'm not sure if the old Chromecast can now use Spotify as I am now using Apple Music.