'one box' stereo

[phil_cardiff]

Brief is as follows:

Small, 'one box' stereo for the kitchen-diner; think a Sonos play 1/2 in size
Must have aux in or RCA in as it'll be used with a Chromecast Audio
Reasonable sound quality for casual listening
Up to £200.

Any ideas ladies and gentlemen?

[phil_cardiff]

knk said:

Get a Play:1.
Don't bother with the chromecast.

No. The Chromecast meets my needs better.

I'll look at something play 3 sized. I've heard the play 1 and was impressed at the sq for its size. This will be for casual listening as I have a seperates system in the lounge (with chromecast) for more serious listening.

[phil_cardiff]

kingston12 said:

phil_cardiff said:

No. The Chromecast meets my needs better.

I'll look at something play 3 sized. I've heard the play 1 and was impressed at the sq for its size. This will be for casual listening as I have a seperates system in the lounge (with chromecast) for more serious listening.

B&W Z2? It is more Apple focused with a Lightning dock on the top and Airplay built in, but you can ignore all of that and just use the 3.5mm input for your Chromecast. It is about £170.

After getting a bit burnt by the reliability (for my use) of Sonos, I have replaced my zones with speakers that have got a secondary input just in case my Wifi or Chromecast does 'play up'. I like the idea of just being able to switch to another input and sort the issue out later rather than spending a long time resolving it there and then.

I really like the stereo image given by two separate speakers and am now using active speakers with a Bluetooth aptX input to supplement Chromecast. A great sound for not that much money, but probably overkill for the casual listening areas I use them in!

Thanks. I have been considering active speakers. But I'm not sure I can get them past my wife and onto the kitchen work surface. The B&W Z2 looks a bit more wife friendly. Plus I have an old ipod touch which is almost redundant at the moment.

Edited by phil_cardiff on Tuesday 26th January 12:19

[phil_cardiff]

I keep changing my mind! Dug out our old Roberts Vintage DAB and was pleased to find it had an aux in. The sound quality is a bit meh (as it's tiny) but passable.

Then I remembered I have a pair of Wharfdale bookshelves in the garage so have been scouring ebay for tiny amps despite knowing they won't get past the wife on aesthetic grounds!

[phil_cardiff]

benz0 said:

phil_cardiff said:

I keep changing my mind! Dug out our old Roberts Vintage DAB and was pleased to find it had an aux in. The sound quality is a bit meh (as it's tiny) but passable.

Then I remembered I have a pair of Wharfdale bookshelves in the garage so have been scouring ebay for tiny amps despite knowing they won't get past the wife on aesthetic grounds!

Get a cheap T-amp, they're tiny and could even be gaffer taped to the back of one of the speakers.

Ha! Damn you autocorrect! I actually typed t-class amps and it changed it to tiny amps! The point was roughly the same though.

Now to scope out the reaction to bookshelf speakers in the kitchen. There may be a possibility of placing them above the wall units...

[phil_cardiff]

I've almost got too many options now! I hadn't thought of ceiling speakers before but it does make a lot of sense in our place.