Poor Man's Multi-room Audio?

[Jamp]

I'm looking at refurbing a few rooms this winter and considering audio for bathrooms, kitchen and maybe bedrooms and dining room, so places where background music/radio is nice but hi-fi is not needed. Would some basic ceiling speakers such as these be fit for purpose, and at least better than a mini-'hifi' type system?

https://cpc.farnell.com/adastra/952-534uk/speaker-...

It sounds like Chromecast Audio would work well for a source with remote control and an easy way to manage multiple zones. Chances are I'd mostly want radio with a bit of amazon music or similar sometimes. Alarm/timed functions would be nice too, but it sounds like that's tricky with Chromecast.

Any suggestions on how to amplify for multiple zones? I guess the amplifier would have to be always-on, perhaps it could somehow wake from sleep-mode when prompted by a signal from the Chromecast?

Anyone done something similar rather than spending big on a Sonos system or similar?

[Jamp]

Thanks for the replies.

Nice idea to use a surround sound amp for the various channels, often older AV amps are pretty cheap and I've been considering replacing my own anyway. Interesting option on switching the power there. I've actually got some X10 remote sockets/MCBs for garden circuits, so I could expand on that and use that system.

Appreciate what you're saying on the £20 speakers, but I'm just aiming to beat clock-radios and mini systems rather than replace my hi-fi or AV systems, though obviously wanting to make the effort worthwhile, so trying to hit the right balance. I haven't looked at stand-alone Sonos or similar in detail, but they look expensive and with small speakers, so not sure I'd expect better performance or lower price for that route.

[Jamp]

Because of their spec or because of their lack of designer label?

How about these as a compromise?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PDIC61RD-6-5-Inch-Ceiling...