Gramofon: Nice priced/reliable Spotify multiroom streaming!
Discussion
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)
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
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 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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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?
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
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
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
).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).
As promised I purchased a Chromecast Audio this weekend (and a TV version whilst I'm at it).
First impressions on opening the box are it's a tiny but cute looking thing! Not necessarily a bad thing being small of course although I find the from factor and size of the Gramofon more reassuring of quality.
There is a small LED to let you know it's powered on but other than that no other indication of function or buttons of any kind on the unit itself unlike the Gramofon.
The lack of an ethernet port is a real negative IMO and they should have included one in place of the optical digital out they decided to put on the unit which serves no useful purpose above and beyond the 3.5mm analogue out.
The Gramofon definitely wins here IMO.
So after connecting to the amp and plugging in the power cable I started the setup process.
A few others have said they had no trouble with this but I found it quite tedious, certainly more so than the Gramofon.
The iPhone setup app is simple enough but when it came to putting in the wifi information of my router the complications started. After the wifi signal was detected, I put in the wifi password and hit enter but the "wait" icon continued rotating for ages, at least a few minutes, and then an error message came up saying it "couldn't connect". Bear in mind the Chromcast was right next to the router.
Fair enough I thought, this happens, I'll just go back a few pages and retry. Unfortunately when I clicked back the chrome cast app wouldn't display the wifi feed so I couldn't reselect it.
Ok, time for a restart, I pulled the plug on the Chromecast, powered it up and waited. On the app the Chromecast showed up but I couldn't connect to it even though it had correctly played the test sound through the speakers.
Right start again. I deleted the profile and started again. Couldn't find the Chromcast wifi signal in my iPhone-aaaagghh.
After fiddling about I managed to get it going again and to detect my router wifi feed and put the password in.
Right that's more like it, let's give it a whirl. Open Spotify, click on Spotify connect...I can see my 3 Gramofons but no Chromecast.
Let's try TuneinRadio. Nope, same thing, cannot see the Chromecast to stream to.
That was a few hours ago and I still haven't got it to work. So for the moment at least it doesn't get my vote.
I'm going to see if I get any more luck with the video version and will report back
First impressions on opening the box are it's a tiny but cute looking thing! Not necessarily a bad thing being small of course although I find the from factor and size of the Gramofon more reassuring of quality.
There is a small LED to let you know it's powered on but other than that no other indication of function or buttons of any kind on the unit itself unlike the Gramofon.
The lack of an ethernet port is a real negative IMO and they should have included one in place of the optical digital out they decided to put on the unit which serves no useful purpose above and beyond the 3.5mm analogue out.
The Gramofon definitely wins here IMO.
So after connecting to the amp and plugging in the power cable I started the setup process.
A few others have said they had no trouble with this but I found it quite tedious, certainly more so than the Gramofon.
The iPhone setup app is simple enough but when it came to putting in the wifi information of my router the complications started. After the wifi signal was detected, I put in the wifi password and hit enter but the "wait" icon continued rotating for ages, at least a few minutes, and then an error message came up saying it "couldn't connect". Bear in mind the Chromcast was right next to the router.
Fair enough I thought, this happens, I'll just go back a few pages and retry. Unfortunately when I clicked back the chrome cast app wouldn't display the wifi feed so I couldn't reselect it.
Ok, time for a restart, I pulled the plug on the Chromecast, powered it up and waited. On the app the Chromecast showed up but I couldn't connect to it even though it had correctly played the test sound through the speakers.
Right start again. I deleted the profile and started again. Couldn't find the Chromcast wifi signal in my iPhone-aaaagghh.
After fiddling about I managed to get it going again and to detect my router wifi feed and put the password in.
Right that's more like it, let's give it a whirl. Open Spotify, click on Spotify connect...I can see my 3 Gramofons but no Chromecast.
Let's try TuneinRadio. Nope, same thing, cannot see the Chromecast to stream to.
That was a few hours ago and I still haven't got it to work. So for the moment at least it doesn't get my vote.
I'm going to see if I get any more luck with the video version and will report back
Edited by Driller on Sunday 27th March 16:06
Edited by Driller on Sunday 27th March 16:07
The setup of the video version went much better but the quality of Netflix over wifi is not great. Again I'm really missing an ethernet socket on this unit.
I'll replace it with another Apple TV or maybe something else with an RJ45 jack. Roku, Kodi?
I'm sure setup on the Chromecast Audio would have been much simpler with an ethernet plug too. It's still not listed in Spotify et al.
I'll replace it with another Apple TV or maybe something else with an RJ45 jack. Roku, Kodi?
I'm sure setup on the Chromecast Audio would have been much simpler with an ethernet plug too. It's still not listed in Spotify et al.
That's interesting to know, thanks for the info. Could be Google pushing Android then, they own it I think?
Just been to work and restarted the router, restarted the Chromecast. I'm getting info in the Cromecast app showing it as "Ready to Cast" but still can't find the Chromecast in Spotify Connect. 2 Gramofons I associated with Spotify show up fine (Spotify 1 & 2).
Not impressed! It's a shame because it would be another handy little streamer otherwise. I'm going to order another Gramofon for work then, that way there'll be ethernet too.
Just been to work and restarted the router, restarted the Chromecast. I'm getting info in the Cromecast app showing it as "Ready to Cast" but still can't find the Chromecast in Spotify Connect. 2 Gramofons I associated with Spotify show up fine (Spotify 1 & 2).
Not impressed! It's a shame because it would be another handy little streamer otherwise. I'm going to order another Gramofon for work then, that way there'll be ethernet too.
Edited by Driller on Monday 28th March 12:29
Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff