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wireless speakers?

blackohio

Generous jaywalker
Mar 12, 2009
2,773
122
Hellafornia. Formerly stumptown.
I stumbled onto to company in '08. Decided to give their 5.1 home theater set-up a try. Liked the design and build quality, sound was pretty good.

I was in the market for some small hi-fi speakers to run in the bedroom with an older stereo receiver. Decided to look them up again. bought these.
Sound was nice and crisp with ok mids/lows. But given size/driver and amp it bested my expectations.


Shopped again for some living room towers. Bought the XL7F. These big towers sound awesome and ill be honest sound as good as anything i've heard in a big box store at the cost of a single from anyone else. Construction is great. they weight damn near 60lbs each. Im not an audiophile. but I know how I like shit to sound and for the dollars invested I have ZERO regrets.


They just recently released a turntable, today i bought that to replace a sony POS.
 
Sep 11, 2015
332
118
Those look like some nice towers for the money. But hopefully I won't be shopping for towers any time in the next several years. Pretty happy with our current JBL Synthesis LS60's.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,504
In hell. Welcome!
These may not be wireless but they are recommended by 4.5 dentists out of 5 so they should be mentioned here.


Bonus: if you can afford the snails, you can most likely afford these dudes 24/7/365 for at least the rest of your riding career. You'll save on garage security system, too.
 

gsweet

Monkey
Dec 20, 2001
733
4
Minnesota
You could try peachtree audio. They have some pretty excellent gear, and tend to have a more "modern" approach to audiophilia (i.e., tech integration such as bluetooth, etc). Or just say to hell with it, and build some massive old Altec duplexes and archaic tube amps... Sounds a lot better, believe me.

 

rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
23,055
11,298
In the cleavage of the Tetons
Zombie thread!
But this thread seems like the place...I just got some Sonos ones and the Sonos Sub.
Sounds incredible for what it is, even with heavily compressed source material like Sirius/ Alexa.
Highly recommended.
 

Jozz

Joe Dalton
Apr 18, 2002
5,752
7,214
SADL
Zombie thread!
But this thread seems like the place...I just got some Sonos ones and the Sonos Sub.
Sounds incredible for what it is, even with heavily compressed source material like Sirius/ Alexa.
Highly recommended.
I've heard that if you wrap the Sonos sub with 3 layers of Gorilla tape you'll get better low end.
 

KenW449

Thanos did nothing wrong
Jun 13, 2017
2,704
329
Floating down the whiskey river...
Get a sound bar for about $150-$200. I have had the same Yamaha YAS-103 sound bar since 2014, and ive pissed off many a neighbor with it, and it's only a 60amp with dual-subs. It's bluetooth, but also hooks to a tv via optic cable if you have one in your garage.
It still sounds as nice as when i bought it.

There are many nicer ones out now.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
Picked up a Sonos Move several months ago to go with our existing Sonos system. I like that you can switch between your home network and bluetooth, and the sound is really good to my ears for the size. (Yes, "really good" is about as close to an audiophile term as I get.) It lives in my garage shop and it's great to be able to move it around outside to the yard, etc. So it's a good compliment to an existing Sonos system to use around the house, yard, etc. However, it's pricey, heavy, and the battery life is less than great, so it's not the best option for a stand-alone portable speaker to take on trips.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes
I have a sonos one (gen 1) and a sonos AMP. The sonos 1 has great sound quality for its size- it's just about perfect for a single kitchen or small room speaker. I imagine it would be great for a garage, but might be underpowered if it's a big open space. My AMP powers my big-ass vandersteens, and it doesn't do a great job. It's OK, but it could use MOAR POWAH. Also, I'm ambivalent on Sonos as they recently made an effort to kill off their old tech (of which I have two) and their incompatibility with stored music on Apple devices. Bluetooth has come a long way and I'm not sure, aside from the ease of the sonos environment, that I care for their separate network vs. a really good bluetooth transmitter.

Anyways, for xmas I got a bluetooth aux receiver that I connected to my yamaha amp and it sounds pretty good. The speakers in our living room are shitty little sony home-theater box units, but combined with a decent sub they sound OK. Would love to replace them with a good center channel and bookshelf setup, but I'll deal. Being able to get very good sound quality without leaving the couch is neat.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
Klipsch 5'S
Do you have these? They look interesting. A bit over-priced, but it seems like a buy once, have for 30 years proposition. I would put these in my house before I'd put them in my garage for sure! :)
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
23,926
14,438
where the trails are
Since I started this thread in 2016 I ended up with some Sonos Play (1s and 3s) and an old Bridge for my old Denon stereo/speakers to stream Spotify etc. Then, Sonos cancelled support of the Bridge (boo!) and I'm back to using one Sonos speaker hardwired and the rest wireless, but I'm back to not being able to stream on my stereo.
 
Since I started this thread in 2016 I ended up with some Sonos Play (1s and 3s) and an old Bridge for my old Denon stereo/speakers to stream Spotify etc. Then, Sonos cancelled support of the Bridge (boo!) and I'm back to using one Sonos speaker hardwired and the rest wireless, but I'm back to not being able to stream on my stereo.
Sort of why I would not be inclined to get into this game. The more "intelligence" built into consumer goods, the higher the likelihood of planned obsolescence.
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
23,926
14,438
where the trails are
Sort of why I would not be inclined to get into this game. The more "intelligence" built into consumer goods, the higher the likelihood of planned obsolescence.
I know. Grumblegrumblegrumble!
The Sonos Play speakers are great, but I do wish I still had a clean way to use my old stereo. The sound is SO good, tuner and CD work great, but I can't stream.
 
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jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,799
8,383
Nowhere Man!
Do you have these? They look interesting. A bit over-priced, but it seems like a buy once, have for 30 years proposition. I would put these in my house before I'd put them in my garage for sure! :)
I used them in a Studio I remodeled. I needed something for the adjacent Rehearsal Space. I was going to use a Mackie Big Knob as a interface DA and patch it through the booth and utilize the house system. After I found these I got to keep the Big Knob. After a month they replaced the booth monitors and a another set was ordered for the Rehearsal space as the Students liked them so much. They are very versatile and sound awesome.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
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I know. Grumblegrumblegrumble!
The Sonos Play speakers are great, but I do wish I still had a clean way to use my old stereo. The sound is SO good, tuner and CD work great, but I can't stream.

Good sound, easy setup, relatively cheap to add wireless streaming to your home stereo.

I wish it were easier to buy a sonos connect setup, but they are cost prohibitive just to add network access to a device.
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,482
7,521
Exit, CO
I think there's another thread about streaming doohickeys, right? Maybe I posted this in there, maybe not. I have just a slightly older Onkya stereo receiver powering two KEF speakers, and use an Apple Airport Express to stream from phones, laptops, whatever. I have no other audio devices (CD player, turntable, etc.) hooked up to it, we only stream. So, given that the receiver is actually on borrow from a friend, I am considering something like one of these...


Looks cool, does what I need it to do. It'd be better if it could power two pair of speakers, and switch between them, but maybe for now it's fine.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes
I think there's another thread about streaming doohickeys, right? Maybe I posted this in there, maybe not. I have just a slightly older Onkya stereo receiver powering two KEF speakers, and use an Apple Airport Express to stream from phones, laptops, whatever. I have no other audio devices (CD player, turntable, etc.) hooked up to it, we only stream. So, given that the receiver is actually on borrow from a friend, I am considering something like one of these...


Looks cool, does what I need it to do. It'd be better if it could power two pair of speakers, and switch between them, but maybe for now it's fine.
Why would you want a tube amp to play streaming music? Wouldn't the fidelity and warmth be lost with the bandwidth lost over the air?

I'm not trying to be a dick, I honestly don't know. I was under the impression that any streaming music is limited by the capacity of bluetooth to transmit music, further by MP3 encoding and crappy web services, and finally that tube amps really need an "analog" sound to be maximized, like a turntable.

pre-post-edit: looks like I am wrong, that a properly organized system doesn't necessarily lose fidelity: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-bluetooth-audio/
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,482
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Exit, CO
Serious answer: because of the aesthetic and because it's stupid simple in that all it does is play streamed music. I don't currently have need to play CDs or records or whatever, and the Airport Express isn't super reliable in that it cuts out fairly often. This little doo-dad is neat looking, and an audiophile friend has one and says the sound is pretty dang good.

Yeah I like the sound, I’m not feeding it lossless audio or really trying to challenge it but it was a huge upgrade from the computer speakers I was using before. No complaints it performs well.
I mean, maybe that isn't the most glowing review and audiophile can give, but this guy has electrostatic speakers and fancy phonographs and a listening room and all that shit... and if this works for him in the office then it'll be fine for me I'm sure.
 
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Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
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Serious answer: because of the aesthetic and because it's stupid simple in that all it does is play streamed music. I don't currently have need to play CDs or records or whatever, and the Airport Express isn't super reliable in that it cuts out fairly often. This little doo-dad is neat looking, and an audiophile friend has one and says the sound is pretty dang good.



I mean, maybe that isn't the most glowing review and audiophile can give, but this guy has electrostatic speakers and fancy phonographs and a listening room and all that shit... and if this works for him in the office then it'll be fine for me I'm sure.
that's cool! I took a look and they have one for $170 that has a built in bluetooth receiver, 50w per side. That's kind of a no-brainer in terms of value and all-in-one packaging, regardless of the toobz.
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
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that's cool! I took a look and they have one for $170 that has a built in bluetooth receiver, 50w per side. That's kind of a no-brainer in terms of value and all-in-one packaging, regardless of the toobz.
Oh snap, this one would even run a phonograph player if one were so inclinated. It's quite a bit more spendy at $299 but if one wanted to play the vinyls this would be the ticket: stream music wirelessy via BT, play from a CD player, or play from a phono. FKNA.

 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
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Oh snap, this one would even run a phonograph player if one were so inclinated. It's quite a bit more spendy at $299 but if one wanted to play the vinyls this would be the ticket: stream music wirelessy via BT, play from a CD player, or play from a phono. FKNA.

interestingly, it's quite a bit weaker (10w vs 50w) but it's a full tube amp, which is why it's more expensive. I wonder if people can actually hear the difference between tubes and solid state?
 

Full Trucker

Frikkin newb!!!
Feb 26, 2003
10,482
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Exit, CO
interestingly, it's quite a bit weaker (10w vs 50w) but it's a full tube amp, which is why it's more expensive. I wonder if people can actually hear the difference between tubes and solid state?
No se if people can hear the difference.

I also assumed it was more expensive because it'll play music from a phonograph player, which requires a special sort of preamp or something to increase the gain IIRC.

FWIW my buddy that has one, has the 25W version and he says it barely moves the VU meter at normal listening levels with his setup. Not sure what speakers he's driving, and how much that matters.