smart speakers (home system)
- Grudge
- Metal God
- Posts: 10221
- Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 10:23
smart speakers (home system)
Anyone got these?
- Grudge
- Metal God
- Posts: 10221
- Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 10:23
Re: smart speakers (home system)
I have a google home mini which I got for free with a Pixel 2 I bought last year and it has its uses. But lately I've been taking a hard look at the bigger Google Max version that's supposed to be loud. But what's dissuading me from getting it is the absence of a 1/4 jack.
- zim
- Zim(a)
- Posts: 26247
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 02:36
- Location: couch
Re: smart speakers (home system)
i'd rather get some kind of higher end bluetooth speaker and just pair it with the phone
- jawn galliano
- Yahtzee Genius
- Posts: 23261
- Joined: 17 Apr 2009, 04:24
Re: smart speakers (home system)
yeah i have no interest in smart appliances generally. anything that requires a trackable stream of data to function is not a product i want to buy
- Grudge
- Metal God
- Posts: 10221
- Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 10:23
Re: smart speakers (home system)
I use it mostly for asking it "hows the weather" because I'm too much of a lazy bastard to open the door 5 feet away from me and seeing for myself if its cold or not.
- Methuselah Honeysuckle
- Postwhore
- Posts: 58490
- Joined: 26 Jul 2009, 22:32
- Location: the bottle dump
Re: smart speakers (home system)
Hitoshura wrote:yeah i have no interest in smart appliances generally. anything that requires a trackable stream of data to function is not a product i want to buy
- User
- Metal God
- Posts: 15408
- Joined: 14 Aug 2014, 13:18
- Location: Unknown
- vO)))id
- Metal God
- Posts: 12201
- Joined: 13 Apr 2009, 14:44
Re: smart speakers (home system)
Sonos works great.
I work for Harman and they have nice BT speakers like the Citations. I have a JBL Flip 4 and a JBL Link 10. They were given by me by my employer. They’re fun devices and the sound is alright but I wouldn’t buy them since I’m not fond of their sound.
I work for Harman and they have nice BT speakers like the Citations. I have a JBL Flip 4 and a JBL Link 10. They were given by me by my employer. They’re fun devices and the sound is alright but I wouldn’t buy them since I’m not fond of their sound.
- Olden Polynice
- Ancient One
- Posts: 1309
- Joined: 06 Apr 2011, 05:46
Re: smart speakers (home system)
Fuck Google and their smart city/world ambitions right off and get something decent you lazy bastard.The Ultimate wrote:I have a google home mini which I got for free with a Pixel 2 I bought last year and it has its uses. But lately I've been taking a hard look at the bigger Google Max version that's supposed to be loud. But what's dissuading me from getting it is the absence of a 1/4 jack.
- zim
- Zim(a)
- Posts: 26247
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 02:36
- Location: couch
Re: smart speakers (home system)
i finally bought a legit sound system this year, probably one of the best purchases i've ever made
and now i've been trying to avoid the vinyl bug but every time i go to a local shop and see all the cool albums i get closer to taking the plunge
and now i've been trying to avoid the vinyl bug but every time i go to a local shop and see all the cool albums i get closer to taking the plunge
- vO)))id
- Metal God
- Posts: 12201
- Joined: 13 Apr 2009, 14:44
Re: smart speakers (home system)
What do you have zim?
- jawn galliano
- Yahtzee Genius
- Posts: 23261
- Joined: 17 Apr 2009, 04:24
Re: smart speakers (home system)
yeah i'm curious to know what you're using as well zim
vinyl is worth the investment, but i think if you want to do it right, a large part of that is putting in time. especially if you're aiming to buy recent re-releases & such -- doing the research to determine what sources were used for a given pressing & etc. so you don't wind up with a 128kbps MP3 pressed to wax can be very time-consuming. the alternative of course is buying originals, which can be very cost-prohibitive if your main interest is in metal. originals of classic albums have become quite scarce so prices have skyrocketed in turn.
when everything falls into place though, it is a very rewarding listening experience. and the difference in format versus a bunch of digital files you can skip around at will can offer fresh perspective on albums you've heard a hundred times.
if you decide to take the plunge let me know what you're looking at in terms of hardware, i can probably steer you in the right direction if you're not sure on what to go for
vinyl is worth the investment, but i think if you want to do it right, a large part of that is putting in time. especially if you're aiming to buy recent re-releases & such -- doing the research to determine what sources were used for a given pressing & etc. so you don't wind up with a 128kbps MP3 pressed to wax can be very time-consuming. the alternative of course is buying originals, which can be very cost-prohibitive if your main interest is in metal. originals of classic albums have become quite scarce so prices have skyrocketed in turn.
when everything falls into place though, it is a very rewarding listening experience. and the difference in format versus a bunch of digital files you can skip around at will can offer fresh perspective on albums you've heard a hundred times.
if you decide to take the plunge let me know what you're looking at in terms of hardware, i can probably steer you in the right direction if you're not sure on what to go for
- zim
- Zim(a)
- Posts: 26247
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 02:36
- Location: couch
Re: smart speakers (home system)
here's everything i bought, it's pretty bangin'. i bought it for my tv but music sounds amazing through it. i think it's more or less entry level stuff but i am really happy with it. as for a record player, i don't even know where to begin with that stuff
Fluance SX6-BK High Definition Two-way Bookshelf Loudspeakers-Black Ash
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IE ... UTF8&psc=1
BIC America F12 12-Inch 475-Watt Front Firing Powered Subwoofer
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015 ... UTF8&psc=1
Micca MB42X-C Center Channel Speaker With Dual 4-Inch Carbon Fiber Woofer and Silk Dome Tweeter (Black, Each)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HH ... UTF8&psc=1
Yamaha RX-V383BL 5.1-Channel 4K Ultra HD AV Receiver with Bluetooth
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XX ... UTF8&psc=1
Fluance SX6-BK High Definition Two-way Bookshelf Loudspeakers-Black Ash
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IE ... UTF8&psc=1
BIC America F12 12-Inch 475-Watt Front Firing Powered Subwoofer
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015 ... UTF8&psc=1
Micca MB42X-C Center Channel Speaker With Dual 4-Inch Carbon Fiber Woofer and Silk Dome Tweeter (Black, Each)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HH ... UTF8&psc=1
Yamaha RX-V383BL 5.1-Channel 4K Ultra HD AV Receiver with Bluetooth
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XX ... UTF8&psc=1
- vO)))id
- Metal God
- Posts: 12201
- Joined: 13 Apr 2009, 14:44
Re: smart speakers (home system)
So the receiver has a phono connection?
- zim
- Zim(a)
- Posts: 26247
- Joined: 14 Apr 2009, 02:36
- Location: couch
Re: smart speakers (home system)
hmm, it doesn't seem to have a dedicated phono connection, only av inputs. would i need a preamp or something, not sure if those inputs work the same? i know nothing about turntables.. i will do some research today
- vO)))id
- Metal God
- Posts: 12201
- Joined: 13 Apr 2009, 14:44
Re: smart speakers (home system)
Yea you can buy seperate small phono preamps. Just connect it to one of the aux I/O.
- jawn galliano
- Yahtzee Genius
- Posts: 23261
- Joined: 17 Apr 2009, 04:24
Re: smart speakers (home system)
my setup is the following:zim wrote:hmm, it doesn't seem to have a dedicated phono connection, only av inputs. would i need a preamp or something, not sure if those inputs work the same? i know nothing about turntables.. i will do some research today
https://uturnaudio.com/products/orbit-plus-turntable
mine has a grado black 1 cartridge, they had fewer options when i got mine built and that was the best within my price range. haven't looked into the current offerings but i am more than satisfied with the table & hardware, and as an added bonus it's manufactured right here in ein massachusetts.
feeds into this preamp:
https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Ject-Phono-B ... nno+box+mm
it's an extremely no-frills table, it's an entry level audiophile table that emphasizes performance over bells and whistles and it excels at what it does. the only real drawback to me is because it's a belt drive, you have to manually swap the belt to the 45rpm pulley to play 45s, but the overwhelming majority of my collection is 33rpm so i'm fine with it. for what it's worth, the $180 basic version can hang with pro-ject and rega's offerings that start in the $4-500 range; upgrading to the plus with an acrylic platter and elliptical stylus cartridge puts it in the runnings with tables in the $1000 range.
for a more convenience-oriented table, the AT120 is by far the most popular entry-level option:
https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-A ... 002S1CJ2Q/
it's got just about every feature you could ask for in terms of simplifying the listening experience. the trade-off is a subpar preamp built in and direct drive, which certainly aren't dealbreakers, but if you have a nice amp/speakers their flaws will become a lot more apparent (signal cutout during very quiet passages as the pre has some kind of a fixed gating effect built in, motor noise & vibration in the signal due to the direct drive setup).
i obviously have strong preferences on this stuff, but i'll emphasize that even if you go for a lower-cost direct drive option to test the waters, it's still going to be a vast improvement over lower-resolution digital & the quality you get on standard streaming options like spotify or scrapple music.