Kitchen Music System - what do I want?
Discussion
I need something small to play sounds when we're in the kitchen. Currently we have a 5-CD changer Panasonic system that's way too big but makes a decent noise. What I want is something that can recreate the vibe of picking a bunch of CDs and cycle through them so we get about 3 hours of audio that isn't completely random. We have a whole stack of CDs but have ripped most of them over the years so also have them in a digital format.
I'm thinking Brennan JB7 or chuck it all at an iPhone and get a dock of some sort .... but I thought I'd throw it here to get the views of my opinionated chums on PH.
Compact is important (the Panasonic is humungous) but good sound quality (not perfect given I'm expecting digital compression) would be nice. This is for listening to when doing other stuff - If I want to absolutely concentrate on music I'll go into the lounge and do the whole chin-stroking vinyl on Linn thing
I'm thinking Brennan JB7 or chuck it all at an iPhone and get a dock of some sort .... but I thought I'd throw it here to get the views of my opinionated chums on PH.
Compact is important (the Panasonic is humungous) but good sound quality (not perfect given I'm expecting digital compression) would be nice. This is for listening to when doing other stuff - If I want to absolutely concentrate on music I'll go into the lounge and do the whole chin-stroking vinyl on Linn thing
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I like the Sonos idea since it means I can get music out in the garden as well as in the kitchen. What I think I need more than anything is something that makes selecting music nice and simple.Happy to spend anything up to a grand for the right system. Have also thought about a Bose but they get very mixed reviews.
It's now on top of the fridge, hidden away, and controlled by various phones and laptops. So, so easy to do.I'm running a squeezebox touch at the moment. Use it for listening to internet radio, spotify, lastfm, or music stored on one of the computers.
I control it with my phone which is handy, or if you have an ipad etc it would be even better; store the music on there and control it from there too.
Just need a pair of active speakers or amp + speakers and you have a great quality convenient system.
I control it with my phone which is handy, or if you have an ipad etc it would be even better; store the music on there and control it from there too.
Just need a pair of active speakers or amp + speakers and you have a great quality convenient system.
Bang and Olufsen Beosound 8 http://www.bang-olufsen.com/sound/sound-systems/be...
Cannot rate it highly enough
Cannot rate it highly enough
In my kitchen I have a cheap but effective and transparent set-up.
An old laptop sits on top of the wall units plugged into the socket for the extractor hood. As do a pair of old computer speakers. All hidden out of sight.
An old 2g ipod touch is permanently plugged into a wall socket above the worktop with one of these: http://www.bluelounge.com/products/minidock/ (they do one for UK sockets) and constantly runs Apple's 'Remote' app for itunes. From this anything can be selected and played without needing to think about where it comes from.
Total cost: about £20 for the dock. The rest of it was lying around the house.
An old laptop sits on top of the wall units plugged into the socket for the extractor hood. As do a pair of old computer speakers. All hidden out of sight.
An old 2g ipod touch is permanently plugged into a wall socket above the worktop with one of these: http://www.bluelounge.com/products/minidock/ (they do one for UK sockets) and constantly runs Apple's 'Remote' app for itunes. From this anything can be selected and played without needing to think about where it comes from.
Total cost: about £20 for the dock. The rest of it was lying around the house.
We have a Bose Soundlink. The sound quality is a bit 'meh' but perfectly fine for a kitchen and it's a doddle to use as you pair it with your device (iPod, iPhone, iPad, whatever) via Bluetooth. You only have to do the pairing thing once and from then on as soon as you turn it on it automatically finds and routes the audio from your paired device. Anything playing can be streamed to it so from an iOS device that gives you Internet radio as well as the stuff on your iPod.
It's also portable (comes with a rechargeable built in battery), is fairly light yet reassuringly sturdy. For £250 (we got it free via an incentive from my wife's company) its probably one of Bose's cheaper offerings!
It's also portable (comes with a rechargeable built in battery), is fairly light yet reassuringly sturdy. For £250 (we got it free via an incentive from my wife's company) its probably one of Bose's cheaper offerings!
Another vote for Sonos here; wasn't cheap, but it's been worth every penny. I have a large CD collection ripped to a NAS, but since getting a Napster subscription I find that I use that for everyday listening - instant access to their entire library for £5 / month is pretty good (although it was even better before Rhapsody took over...).
The other thing with Sonos is that their customer support is superb. I've had two issues, once when the lead from my router to the first Sonos box started playing up (not part of the Sonos system), and then when the wireless started intermittently dropping out (Solid walls / large distance between units - I ended up cabling my network). Each time I called their helpline in the States, was answered immediately (no queueing) and the problem was diagnosed accurately.
The other thing with Sonos is that their customer support is superb. I've had two issues, once when the lead from my router to the first Sonos box started playing up (not part of the Sonos system), and then when the wireless started intermittently dropping out (Solid walls / large distance between units - I ended up cabling my network). Each time I called their helpline in the States, was answered immediately (no queueing) and the problem was diagnosed accurately.
So I'm going Sonos - a Play:3 for the kitchen and another for the bedroom that may get moved into the garden occasionally should we ever get a summer. If I get on with it then a Play:5 may find it's way into the lounge for when I can't be bothered to get up every fifteen minutes to flip vinyl over.
Will order it when I get back from Le Mans and have time to sort it out. In the mean time a Synergy 212 NAS and a couple of 2TB drives is on the way ...
Will order it when I get back from Le Mans and have time to sort it out. In the mean time a Synergy 212 NAS and a couple of 2TB drives is on the way ...
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