For the FAO of stereoists

[mik]

Subtle and classy

A mere 530kg per speaker

[DeskJockey]

With the current Chromecast outage running into the second day, I'm wondering about replacing mine. They're out of support, so it is entirely possible Google just shrugs and walks away (mine are Audios, newer devices are not affected by the looks of it).

Our requirements are fairly simple: Spotify and BBC radio. Looking at the Wiim as an option, but it isn't clear how well BBC works on them. I know some of you have them, so what's your experience? We're an android household, no iDevices.

Edit: the issue appears linked to expired certificates.

[mik]

@DeskJockey I've never played BBC sounds through my stereo, but I've just confirmed that eldesk miklet's Pixel connects to the Wiim Pro via spotify without any issue (and in the same way as idevices).

[Gavster]

There's been a proliferation of very, very cheap speakers on Amazon that often have some good reviews, especially given the price. Decided to give a pair a go for my kitchen, to replace the rather weedy Bose Soundtouch 10 that I was using before.

I began looking at these, both around £60 (depending if they're running a discount or not) and the front face is about A5 in size:
Sanyun SW208 https://amzn.to/4suxzM7
Majority Bookshelf https://amzn.to/498IPWW

Then ended up looking at these larger, more powerful versions around £100 and nearer A4 in size:
Azatom Bookshelf https://amzn.to/4pv9KRM (I bought these ones)
Roxel Onyx XL https://amzn.to/4pozPSb (I did consider the standard Onyx which comes in different finishes, however a lot of reviews said their was a constant low level hissing sound and Amazon indicated that a lot of them get returned)

Arriving tomorrow and am curious to hear how they sound and if they manage to fill the space or not.

[Gavster]

Arrived today and they sound amazing (for £100), they're really warm with a full sound that fills my kitchen nicely. Kinda wondering if they're overkill and I should've gone for the smaller Majority or Sanyun's. Either way, I'm really impressed with the value for money.

First song when I hit play was Curtis Harding "I won't let you down' and it sounded just great.

[Gavster]

Hmmmm, or the smaller Azatom M3's might have done the job at a far smaller size too

https://amzn.to/4aOK5jh

[mik]

Hmmmm, or the smaller Azatom M3's might have done the job at a far smaller size too

https://amzn.to/4aOK5jh

Freq response of the M5 is (quoted at) 35Hz-20kHz, vs the M3's 45Hz-20kHz. I'd assume the low frequency figures for both are -6dB rather than -3dB readings (as otherwise they both look rather optimistic), but regardless - you wouldn't get the same depth of bass from the M3's that you are hearing on the M5's.

they sound amazing (for £100)

And at the end of the day - all that really matters is whether you are happy with them

[Gavster]

That's a good point about the response, and if I'm happy with how they sound then probably best to stick with them, they do the job nicely.

It does blow me away how good 'cheap' speakers sound compared to 20 years ago. There seem to be so many budget brands around who make speakers that sound so strong for the price point.

[Mito Man]

I was looking at those Amazon speakers a few weeks ago but I bought a Samsung HW-Q600F/XU soundbar with subwoofer for £200 when they suddenly got discounted, not to use as a tv soundbar. I wanted a discreet Bluetooth speaker but the form factor of the skinny soundbar was much more suitable for my location, and the wireless subwoofer also a bonus. As an overall package it’s way better than my much more expensive Sonos Play 5.