UKH

I've put off buying wireless speakers as i don't want a load of incompatible systems nor crap quality. I sold my much loved hifi in 2006 and since then never had a good system. I've got a mono dab/internet radio but no music NAS anymore to stream from. I've got a Spotify connect speaker that only does Spotify. And an ancient TV /Blu-ray/2.1 that needs replacing.

I'm sticking with Samsung TV - what good and value for money system should I look at to give TV + soundbar/wireless + remote sound in 2 other rooms. Controlled from Android phones and using Spotify connect and iPlayer/BBC sounds as sources. £500-1000.

Just interested in what others have gone for. As the TV is only used by me a couple of times a month, don't want to spend much on audio exclusive for TV/films.

Thanks for an info.

In reply to Philip:

I think the JBL link bar sounds like a really interesting device (combination smart speaker/assistant, soundbar and Android TV) but it seems to be mysteriously delayed.

In reply to Philip:

It's basically all a load of bollocks. I have various of these systems and none of them do exactly what you want. Alexa, Chromecast, Spotify connect, airplay. It's all a compromise. The Sonos stuff I don't have and it does appear to be  the business....assuming you use Sonos exclusively. Their speakers are great sounding. And their soundbar apparently excellent but you basically have to bin everything you own and start again with all their kit

In reply to snoop6060:

Well, I'm starting from nothing, well nothing that works together.

Options I can see: Samsung TV + soundbar and use Samsung speakers - max compatibility, although not guaranteed

Sonos or Bose soundbar + speakers - expensive

Chromecast audio + random speakers/radios,separate TV surround system - cheapest. Can use existing kitchen radio.

In reply to Philip:

Chromecast audio dongles.

Secondhand amps and speakers.

Or cheap class D amps from China (~£9), and secondhand speakers.

In reply to Philip:

i just bought a Sonon One speaker after getting fed up with the lack of connectivity and general bugginess (although exceptional sound quality) of the Bose Soundtouch I'd had for years.

So far I'm impressed. Alexa is built in (although I use Google Home - but this is coming soon) so this is a better alternative to buying Echo or GH devices that tie you into their ecosystem and don't have such great sound themselves.

I'm impressed with the sound. Its not quite as good as the Bose (but close), but at half the price and smaller, I'm going to buy some more (it was 200EUR on Black Friday) to boost the overall sound and dot them around the house.

For the record, I haven't used a NAS for years (really couldn't be bothered with maintaining a library any more) so just subscribe to Spotify. The Sonos works with other music services too.

In reply to Philip:

Sonos will do most of what you want except iplayer. Its the only drawback (apart from price). 

If you use iplayer radio a lot sonos may not be your best bet. There are some long running threads on the sonos forum about the lack of integration and ideas for workarounds (chrome cast - but only works with certain sonos speakers / amps with an input).

Otherwise, they are excellent. I got a a set of three amps on ebay for  £500 so possible to get some good deals.

In reply to Philip:

https://volumio.org/

In reply to Jack:

I've been through this journey and after starting down a couple of dead ends (Pure, Raspberry Pi based setups) have ended up with chromecast devices, working well at the moment.

Full setup is a Google Home, 2 home minis, a Chromecast audio plugged into an old school amp and a JBL speaker that has Google assistant. Spotify streaming is pretty much flawless, speakers can be grouped however you want for multiroom and the voice control is more useful than expected. 

Going with Google means there's wide support for casting from apps, still do this occasionally to play music from our NAS.

Had a look at Sonos, does seem like a nice system but it would have cost many times what our Google system has.

In reply to Philip:

I have a Panasonic soundbar for my TV which I got from Richer Sounds and I've been using Sonos for many years because of its simplicity and excellent sound quality. The NAS box isn't all that mystical. It's just a hard drive plugged into a router which, again, works flawlessly with my Sonos.

When I'm out and about, I use a different system. I have downloaded all my music onto the Google.play servers which will let you put up to 50,000 songs for free. Provided I have WiFi or 3g/4g access then I can listen to my music on any android device with headphones or a Bluetooth speaker of my choice. At the moment i'm using a minirig speaker as it's small with good sound quality while I'm in the work's van. I also have google.play on my Window's 10 computer for adding more songs.

For anything othet than Sonos, chat to Captain Paranoia, he's a Jedi in this department.

In reply to Philip:

I went Bose for my setup which is decent if not perfect. The Soundbar 300 and accompanying Acoustimass woofer sounds great in my lounge. The system lets me play internet radio, connects to my Plex home media server,  connects via Arc to the TV and l can have the same music played throughout the home with the Soundtouch 20 and 30 which I have in different rooms.

 

In reply to Philip:

I put my bluetooth Zeppelin in front of the TV, linked via an aux cable and controlled via an app on my phone. The rest of of my music & radio comes straight from the phone. Simple and a great sound,

Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Google chromecast plugged into a TV with soundbar (new version has 4K video streaming if that matters to you), plus google chromecast audios plugged into whatever speakers you want for the other rooms works well for me.

Using the video chromecast plugged into the TV is nice because anything playing on the TV turns off automatically and it switches to the audio.

As has been said above grouping works nicely (they recently added the ability to add the video chromecasts to groups which really helps with easily talking to the TV one).

Only downside is that the TV turns on and shows the album artwork when playing, but it's a minor annoyance.

In reply to Philip:

I have a pair of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GDR2LYK/ref=asc_df_B07GDR2LYK57490222/?tag=g...

and an iPod. 

In reply to Philip: can i squeeze in here? I'm in need of a bluetooth turntable for a teenager, and my turntable isn't even usb! So nothing too high end but that won't destroy her three long players either!

 

In reply to Philip:

Recently bought a couple of Sonos One's and the sound is impressive.  We stream 6 music directly to them, and this link from BBC confirms that it's possible:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/sonos-airplay

I'm going to start with a Chromecast Audio for my kitchen, and swapping my Spotify connect only speaker for a Ruark R4 + Chromecast.

Then I'll upgrade TV and soundbar next year and decide whether to put Chromecast Audio into the soundbar or the video version into the TV.

 

In reply to Philip:

The new generation of Sonos devices do indeed cope with AirPlay 2.

But in answer to your question, albeit slightly over budget, I'd say Naim Muso and a Muso QB as the 'other room' system. Refurbs come up quite often on eBay.

I have a QB and it makes the (already pretty good) Sonos One and Play:5 sound mediocre  

b

In reply to ben b:

We have normal speakers and an amp which has bluetooth connectivity, I love being able to just switch track from the computer and stream radio, but at the same time play my old CDs.

In reply to SouthernSteve:

I’ve gone some what similar I’ve a monitor audio sound bar run off a Yamaha amp. Very good sound in both surround and stereo 

I then connect through an Apple TV plugged into the amp so I get everything through my phones, a good mix of trad and wireless 

 

in the kitchen I’ve got a Ruark which sounds and looks good but connectivity has been a bit frustrating 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

What problems have you had with a Ruark? Just about to buy an R4 - although I don't need CD so maybe R2.

In reply to ben b:

Another vote for the Naim Muso. Takes pride of place in my living room and produces wonderful sound. 

In reply to Philip:

Sounds great but connectivity to my iPhone doesn’t seem to be a straightforward as it should be compared to other wireless devices I have I’m sure newer version might be better and it probably doesn’t help there are multiple phones  in the house ????

In reply to Philip:

There's always the option of decent quality bluetooth headphones, added bonus of not being disturbed by anyone or disturbing anyone else.

In reply to Jack:

"Sonos will do most of what you want except iplayer. Its the only drawback (apart from price). 

If you use iplayer radio a lot sonos may not be your best bet. "

I use Sonos and have all the BBC radio stations saved in my Sonos Radio Stations? Or does iplayer radio offer something different?

In regards to the OP, I am in the Sonos garden with Sonos 1 speakers dotted around the house and a playbase under the TV. I really like the whole system, you can pick rooms, or have the whole house playing music. The only time it becomes annoying is if your wifi signal gets patchy indoors for some reason which will effect the control of the speakers. It isn't very cheap but I think it's still value for money.

In reply to ben b:

"I have a QB and it makes the (already pretty good) Sonos One and Play:5 sound mediocre  "

 

I'm sure it sounds great, but personally I like to have the stereo of two speakers paired in a room. Do you think just one speaker can sound better than a stereo pair? (QB cannot be paired if I remember correctly)

In reply to toad:

The Audio Technica is generally considered the benchmark for decent quality, but not stupidly expensive turntables.

They do a version of the LP60 which has wireless and Bluetooth, check carefully though as not all the models in a specific range have those features.

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:

Good point.

I think a really good “single stereo source” is definitely better than two poor but discrete sources running in stereo.

A Naim Nova plus a good pair of speakers always will be better than a single Muso Qb (but would need to remortgage!). I’m sure you can get active stereo pairs (like a pair of Play:1s) that will be “better” at stereo imaging, but price wise similar  

So I guess the questions for us are more about the particular pluses for the Qb (e.g. small footprint, appearance, single cable, and the volume control - even Mrs B likes it!). You can buy two QBs and stream to both but they don’t currently split to a left/right setup.   

Cheers

b

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:

Listening to live bbc radio works fine. Its the 'listen again' feature where you can pick any programme from the past schedules and play it on the iplayer (or new bbc sounds) app, but cant send it to sonos, that i was on about.

New sonos gear works with airplay 2, but ive got an older sonos set up and android stuff.

Possible to work around it with a chrome cast or some app on a rooted android i cant remember the name of.