Bluetooth/castable audio for kids bedrooms
Discussion
Want to wean the kids off YouTube on iPads etc. and give them decent access to music in their bedrooms.
Are there any single box options that sound good, can fill a room and aren't extortionate? Seems manufacturers have figured they can charge a fortune for not a lot at all and some of the prices I've seen are eye-watering. I mean, a little plastic box, amp, two tiny drivers and some commodity electronics to do the comms = £150+?! I might as well get some cheapo separates and another Chromecast Audio
And of course you can hardly try before you buy with these things, a huge noisy shed or busy shop isn't going to be able to let you know what they sound like in a domestic environment.
Any worth looking at? Casting+Bluetooth preferred, but Bluetooth only is an option I guess.
Are there any single box options that sound good, can fill a room and aren't extortionate? Seems manufacturers have figured they can charge a fortune for not a lot at all and some of the prices I've seen are eye-watering. I mean, a little plastic box, amp, two tiny drivers and some commodity electronics to do the comms = £150+?! I might as well get some cheapo separates and another Chromecast Audio
And of course you can hardly try before you buy with these things, a huge noisy shed or busy shop isn't going to be able to let you know what they sound like in a domestic environment.
Any worth looking at? Casting+Bluetooth preferred, but Bluetooth only is an option I guess.
B17NNS said:
What about an echo or a google home? The full sized ones sound reasonable for bedroom use. Can also help with homework/enable them to use the internet without actually looking at it. If you've got one downstairs you can also speak to them without having to shout up the stairs 
Hmm, I'm normally fairly relaxed with regards to privacy etc. and have trusted Google and Apple to manage my digital life quite extensively, but those things scare me!Herbs said:
Surely Sonos or similar would be worth its weight in gold if the budget allows.
Just plug in and off you go - you retain the ability to turn it down/off remotely which, when remembering what I was like as a kid, you'll need!
Sonos, even a Play:1 (think that's the cheapest?) still a bit rich, although I have experience of them and they would certainly represent far better value than the tiny JBL things I was looking at the other day for the same money.Just plug in and off you go - you retain the ability to turn it down/off remotely which, when remembering what I was like as a kid, you'll need!
Looking to keep it under £100 if possible, under £80 ideally.
Bullett said:
Amazon Echo?
Sound quality is fine, no external devices needed, loud enough to fill a typical bedroom.
You do need spotify or one of the amazon music subs though.
Should've said; needs to work with Google Play Music as I have a family account. I think you can still Bluetooth to an Echo, but Google Home would seem far better suited, privacy concerns aside.Sound quality is fine, no external devices needed, loud enough to fill a typical bedroom.
You do need spotify or one of the amazon music subs though.
loudlashadjuster said:
Should've said; needs to work with Google Play Music as I have a family account. I think you can still Bluetooth to an Echo, but Google Home would seem far better suited, privacy concerns aside.
Then a google home is a no brainer. What are your concerns over privacy?B17NNS said:
Then a google home is a no brainer. What are your concerns over privacy?
Just the whole 'listening in all the time' thing.BigTechCorp said:
"Ahh, but it's only when you say the magic password and then we only use what you say to try and interpret your commands! And we never store or do anything else with your recorded voice!"
Time and again it's been proven that these things eventually, by accident or design, end up being misused, misappropriated or otherwise compromised. Google, for all its lofty aspirations, doesn't exactly have a clean copy book in this regard.My day job is enterprise systems integration and a large part of that is dealing with security and data protection concerns so I'm fairly au fait with the implications and risks and, on balance, am happy to let Google, Apple etc. manage a fair chunk of my online life, but I do keep it on a relatively tight rein and things like Echo and Home just seem a step too far, handy as they may well be.
Having something that will listen in to my children's every word - chats with friends, phone calls, online gaming, private conversations - may well be something that becomes inevitable, but not for me. Not yet.
loudlashadjuster said:
Should've said; needs to work with Google Play Music as I have a family account. I think you can still Bluetooth to an Echo, but Google Home would seem far better suited, privacy concerns aside.
Pick a speaker or means of making a noise (a second hand amp and speakers, desktop PC speakers, anything you'd like that has an auxiliary input) and connect a Chromecast audio to it.My kids have my really old Cambridge Audio amp and some Mordaunt short speakers I had in the loft.
JimbobVFR said:
Pick a speaker or means of making a noise (a second hand amp and speakers, desktop PC speakers, anything you'd like that has an auxiliary input) and connect a Chromecast audio to it.
My kids have my really old Cambridge Audio amp and some Mordaunt short speakers I had in the loft.
In theory yes, but most of my old stuff is already seeing service in the den in such a setup. To kit out two further rooms like this would mean buying stuff, kinda defeating the point.My kids have my really old Cambridge Audio amp and some Mordaunt short speakers I had in the loft.
Really wanting plug & play, relatively idiot proof and single box preferably (no cables, save power) so they can be moved/used in the garden/taken on holiday etc.
Besides, we probably have no idea how embarrassing a pile of crusty old separates lashed together with interminable cables is to the yoof and their friends, they're used to mush swisher looking gear!
Good place to start looking. These speakers all have CCA built in
https://www.google.com/chromecast/built-in/audio/
https://www.google.com/chromecast/built-in/audio/
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