Multi room speakers

[clippedgull]

Team Sonos, 2x play 1's and A sound bar.

Exactly this!

 

[aftershavedave]

Serious question, as an aside, to sound experts.

Quality wise, whatever speakers you're using, is it better to play the music from eg. your phone and bluetooth it to a suitable speaker, stream a high quality music file (flac/wav) to your phone/tablet over wifi then b/t to relevant speaker or stream a slightly lesser quality sound from an online music provider?
No idea how much sound is lost through the media of b/t and wifi.

It's always better to play direct. I'd say download only flac/wav and if possible direct play via a mac mini ( [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION] does this too i think) and then use sonos to play to other rooms. that way you've always got the lossless quality copy to fall back on while streaming tech catches up. We have Sonos Play 5 upstairs, it sounds good enough. Can't imagine there isn't degredation using wifi?

 

[Hassocks Armchair Fan]

hi, team sonos all the way. BUT does anyone get albion commentary through BBC Sussex? I get a standard blocker message throughout the game and I've tried a number of reinstallations and suggested other tricks but to no avail.

 

[nigeyb]

You have over 65,000 tracks in your library!!!

Do you have Agadoo?

88,032 - and no Agadoo

link with plex and the limit goes....

I looked at that but it just seemed ever more complicated - I just wanted speakers to play my library

 

[RustyKent]

You could of course have the same setup using chromecast audio

 

[KingKev]

thanks....I will take my Bose glasses off and look at Sonos as well

The BOSE does sound wonderful though, and this Luddite found it simple to set up....

 

[Triggaaar]

Team #get a proper ****ing hifi

Just me then. I'll get my coat.

 

[clippedgull]

hi, team sonos all the way. BUT does anyone get albion commentary through BBC Sussex? I get a standard blocker message throughout the game and I've tried a number of reinstallations and suggested other tricks but to no avail.

Radio Sussex is not allowed to broadcast league games over its Internet stream. The only way you can listen via the Internet is by buying a subscription to Seagulls player. Very occasionally Radio 5 live will have commentary on a game that is broadcast over the Internet.

 

[beorhthelm]

whats wrong with just turning your speakers up, or do you all live in massive pads that cant hear music between rooms? why is this even a necessity? #teamluddite

 

[Worthingite]

You have over 65,000 tracks in your library!!!

Do you have Agadoo?

I have just under 350,000, and is getting larger. And yes, I do!!! We're team Bose here, although mainly because we inherited the father in laws old soundbar and my other half has a little Bose Bluetooth speaker deck thingy. They're great!!

 

[Worthingite]

Serious question, as an aside, to sound experts.

Quality wise, whatever speakers you're using, is it better to play the music from eg. your phone and bluetooth it to a suitable speaker, stream a high quality music file (flac/wav) to your phone/tablet over wifi then b/t to relevant speaker or stream a slightly lesser quality sound from an online music provider?
No idea how much sound is lost through the media of b/t and wifi.

I've never understood the need for people to use flac files, unless you are doing some solid music manipulation or editing. They are bulky as hell (Adele's 25 album rolled in at just under 2gb in flac). Just not worth it, because it's just not noticeable. A good quality wav file or an MP3 is more than sufficient imo

 

[NooBHA]

You have over 65,000 tracks in your library!!!

Do you have Agadoo?

ROFL - Best post I have seen for weeks

 

[Prince Monolulu]

I've never understood the need for people to use flac files, unless you are doing some solid music manipulation or editing. They are bulky as hell (Adele's 25 album rolled in at just under 2gb in flac). Just not worth it, because it's just not noticeable. A good quality wav file or an MP3 is more than sufficient imo

Good point, although I thought that a wav file was considerably larger than a comparable flac file.

Additionally I think the flac you're talking about is the higher res 24 192 when you can easily enjoy the 24 96 or even the basic flac where an album will roll in at about 500Mb.

 

[mikeyjh]

Team #get a proper ****ing hifi

Just me then. I'll get my coat.

This is the correct answer - How can there be a discussion on quality and the answer be a tinpot little speaker?

 

[beorhthelm]

Good point, although I thought that a wav file was considerably larger than a comparable flac file.

it is, FLAC is a compressed format. not sure how a CD can be 2GB either when the capacity of a CD tops out at around 700MB. maybe a DVD with with video?

and as to your question, its better to use the WAV/FLAC format locally as your internet stream will be much lower bitrate, so reducing the quality, albeit unnoticably for most the population. there's probably services for CD grade bitrates for those with golden ears who care. streaming through tablets and phones wouldnt be a great idea, more "processing" going on, but in principle wifi wouldnt lose any quality. bluetooth bandwidth is too low so you'd have loss of quality.

 

[boik]

This is the correct answer - How can there be a discussion on quality and the answer be a tinpot little speaker?

Indeed, none of these "convenience systems" comes close to my raspberry pi into my 30 year old Gale GS401As for sound quality. I guess ease of use and looks is the top requirement for some people, hence the rise of Apple.

 

[Triggaaar]

Indeed, none of these "convenience systems" comes close to my raspberry pi into my 30 year old Gale GS401As for sound quality. I guess ease of use and looks is the top requirement for some people, hence the rise of Apple.

I'm all for ease of use, but you can have both. Nothing wrong with a Sonos amp and proper speakers. And nothing wrong with Sonos speakers in some rooms either, but if you've got a room where you can sit down and listen properly, you're better off with your own speakers IMO.

A nice headphone setup is also quite lovely. Just got a new DAC/Amp which is unbelievably good.

 

[Springal]

I'd go as far to say Sonos is probably one of the best 'gadgets' I've ever bought. It is the height of automation and simplicity. Even my mum can use it, to use the Radio App, Spotify or browse the music library. Absolute game changer

 

[beefypigeon]

Kinda depends what it is you're after.

Sonos from a technical standpoint is excellent. Easy to setup and easy to use.

If you want something that sounds really good, you can't get any better than Bowers & Wilkins. Bose don't even come close in that regard.

Where do you typically store your music? If you play music via iTunes, you can stream to multiple speakers over AirPlay. It's a little more clunky than Sonos but oh my, the sound is incredible.

 

[nigeyb]

If you play music via iTunes, you can stream to multiple speakers over AirPlay. It's a little more clunky than Sonos but oh my, the sound is incredible.

Thanks beefypigeon - I need to get my head round AirPlay (and AppleTV). I think both would have many benefits for my (Mac-centric) set up.

http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/Wireless-Speakers/Wireless-Speakers/Wireless-Speakers/airplay.html