Ideas for best home audio set up?
Discussion
As it stands we're pretty low tech at the moment, with just a standalone TV in the living room, and a separate old, cheap iPod docking station where only the FM radio works now. So thinking of upgrading at some point, just wanted to get some ideas from people. Neither of us are real audiophiles, so not looking for 1st class sound quality, or massive multi-room setups, but more a balance of reasonable cost/performance.
Current thoughts are to start with 1 smart speaker for the living room to see how we get on, plus I don't want to spend too much at the moment. We were thinking of a Sonos One as we like the idea of the built in Alexa voice control, and then if we like it I understand we could always get a 2nd unit in the future and pair them for stereo sound. And if we were to do this we'd probably also look to add in a soundbar and connect it all to the TV as well.
The other thing we'd like is something (separate) in the kitchen, for a bit of music when cooking and also for timers, etc, so was thinking about an Echo as they're pretty cheap now. That way we could listen to separate things in each room as well.
So my question is, would we be better off simply going with the (cheaper) Echo to start with in the living room, then if we like it and have the money invest in a Sonos system for the living room and move the Echo to the kitchen? How is the Echo for sound quality (for example, vs our old £50 docking station)? Or can anyone spot a flaw in my thinking, or have a better idea?
And also (apologies if it's a silly question), with either the Echo or Sonos are they capable of playing radio if you're out? (we like to leave something on for the dog to listen to
) It would be connected to Wi-Fi but obviously we'd both have our smartphones with us.
Cheers for any replies.
Current thoughts are to start with 1 smart speaker for the living room to see how we get on, plus I don't want to spend too much at the moment. We were thinking of a Sonos One as we like the idea of the built in Alexa voice control, and then if we like it I understand we could always get a 2nd unit in the future and pair them for stereo sound. And if we were to do this we'd probably also look to add in a soundbar and connect it all to the TV as well.
The other thing we'd like is something (separate) in the kitchen, for a bit of music when cooking and also for timers, etc, so was thinking about an Echo as they're pretty cheap now. That way we could listen to separate things in each room as well.
So my question is, would we be better off simply going with the (cheaper) Echo to start with in the living room, then if we like it and have the money invest in a Sonos system for the living room and move the Echo to the kitchen? How is the Echo for sound quality (for example, vs our old £50 docking station)? Or can anyone spot a flaw in my thinking, or have a better idea?
And also (apologies if it's a silly question), with either the Echo or Sonos are they capable of playing radio if you're out? (we like to leave something on for the dog to listen to
) It would be connected to Wi-Fi but obviously we'd both have our smartphones with us.Cheers for any replies.
The Sonos One sounds ok, but the Alexa functionality is terrible compared to Amazon's own. So much so in fact that I had to switch it off, as it kept on getting activated by the telly, and commands such as 'Alexa BBC Radio 2 on tune in' have to be repeated several times, often with different results.
A steal: https://www.richersounds.com/wireless-streaming-mu...
Add an Echo Dot or Google Home Mini, via aux in.
Add an Echo Dot or Google Home Mini, via aux in.
Zodiac M said:
A steal: https://www.richersounds.com/wireless-streaming-mu...
Add an Echo Dot or Google Home Mini, via aux in.
That looks a bargain, could be very tempted.Add an Echo Dot or Google Home Mini, via aux in.
Thanks all for your replies
Sorry to hijack all but my query is similar so rather than create a new thread....
I’d like a decent speaker in both my office and kitchen/dining room that can work individually or together at the same time over Bluetooth. The Cambridge Audio link above seems pretty good but pricey.
We were looking at the Amazon Echo but I’m not sure if 2 of those will talk to each other over Bluetooth without a Amazon Dot?
I’d like a decent speaker in both my office and kitchen/dining room that can work individually or together at the same time over Bluetooth. The Cambridge Audio link above seems pretty good but pricey.
We were looking at the Amazon Echo but I’m not sure if 2 of those will talk to each other over Bluetooth without a Amazon Dot?
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