Suggest me an Airplay compatible kitchen/living room setup
Discussion
I'm a long term Airplay user (Mac user for 20+ years and have a couple of old Airport Express receivers still in use) so I'm quite tied to the simplicity of Airplay. I'm not an audiophile (mostly use Spotify Premium these days) but I do like reasonable audio quality.
We are about to knock our kitchen and living room into one room and take the opportunity to add speakers to the refitted kitchen. The kitchen is roughly 4m x 4m with high ceilings so we could either put in a false ceiling (for spotlights) with speakers built in, or sit speakers on top of the kitchen cupboards.
My gut feeling is that the acoustics of speakers (a couple of Sonos Play:5s?) on the cupboards won't be great since they will be directing sound above our heads. If that is the case, what is good for Airplay compatible ceiling speakers? Sonos ceiling speakers with an Amp are an obvious solution but are they worth the money, or is there something better for the cash? What is the normal way of hiding / locating the amp? Budget is variable but it would be nice to have change from £1,000.
Further down the line we will also upgrade the audio in the living room (which will now be open to the kitchen), but we don't intend to put in ceiling speakers here. It is about 4m x 6m and currently I just use an old Sony CD player with an Airport Express receiver. This will probably do us for a year but ideally I would like some attractive, good sounding speakers (bookshelf speakers and an amp or powered speakers with built in Airplay). Any recommendations here? We could also get an Airplay soundbar (Sonos?) for the TV, although I'm not too fussed about TV audio (barely watch it) and I'm more bothered about a decent stereo setup that I can run with or without the kitchen speakers. Would a soundbar be good enough for stereo music?
Ideally, one amp / airplay receiver could power the living room and kitchen but that doesn't seem readily achievable?
Suggestions welcome (I'd go and see my local audio shop but I can't leave the house!). Thanks!
We are about to knock our kitchen and living room into one room and take the opportunity to add speakers to the refitted kitchen. The kitchen is roughly 4m x 4m with high ceilings so we could either put in a false ceiling (for spotlights) with speakers built in, or sit speakers on top of the kitchen cupboards.
My gut feeling is that the acoustics of speakers (a couple of Sonos Play:5s?) on the cupboards won't be great since they will be directing sound above our heads. If that is the case, what is good for Airplay compatible ceiling speakers? Sonos ceiling speakers with an Amp are an obvious solution but are they worth the money, or is there something better for the cash? What is the normal way of hiding / locating the amp? Budget is variable but it would be nice to have change from £1,000.
Further down the line we will also upgrade the audio in the living room (which will now be open to the kitchen), but we don't intend to put in ceiling speakers here. It is about 4m x 6m and currently I just use an old Sony CD player with an Airport Express receiver. This will probably do us for a year but ideally I would like some attractive, good sounding speakers (bookshelf speakers and an amp or powered speakers with built in Airplay). Any recommendations here? We could also get an Airplay soundbar (Sonos?) for the TV, although I'm not too fussed about TV audio (barely watch it) and I'm more bothered about a decent stereo setup that I can run with or without the kitchen speakers. Would a soundbar be good enough for stereo music?
Ideally, one amp / airplay receiver could power the living room and kitchen but that doesn't seem readily achievable?
Suggestions welcome (I'd go and see my local audio shop but I can't leave the house!). Thanks!
I'd say this is pretty achievable, especially with Airplay 2. Airplay 2 allows you to send what you are playing to multiple devices at the same time.
For your kitchen I would recommend against doing any in-ceiling tech. The problem with anything you build in is that it becomes a nuisance when it becomes obsolete. So that means one of two options:
1. Speakers up high. This could probably work ok, especially if you use something like an Apple Homepod that tunes for where it is placed in a room. If you really want stereo though (not necessary in a kitchen in my view) then you'd need two Homepods which gets expensive fast. You could always put them lower down too as they are not that ugly, is on top of cupboards the only space you have? The advantage of a Homepod is seemless Apple environment integration and having Siri in the kitchen for things like timers etc. You could also use anything else with Airplay 2 which is becoming more common now.
2. Normal in-ceiling speakers that run off an Airplay 2 capable amp. If you can run wires through walls at this time it should be pretty easy to run some from your main amp as zone 2 into the kitchen. Then if you get an Airplay 2 amp (Denon etc have it these days) you can be well integrated into your Apple life and have good sound. Plus it sorts the lounge out too.
For your kitchen I would recommend against doing any in-ceiling tech. The problem with anything you build in is that it becomes a nuisance when it becomes obsolete. So that means one of two options:
1. Speakers up high. This could probably work ok, especially if you use something like an Apple Homepod that tunes for where it is placed in a room. If you really want stereo though (not necessary in a kitchen in my view) then you'd need two Homepods which gets expensive fast. You could always put them lower down too as they are not that ugly, is on top of cupboards the only space you have? The advantage of a Homepod is seemless Apple environment integration and having Siri in the kitchen for things like timers etc. You could also use anything else with Airplay 2 which is becoming more common now.
2. Normal in-ceiling speakers that run off an Airplay 2 capable amp. If you can run wires through walls at this time it should be pretty easy to run some from your main amp as zone 2 into the kitchen. Then if you get an Airplay 2 amp (Denon etc have it these days) you can be well integrated into your Apple life and have good sound. Plus it sorts the lounge out too.
Thanks for thoughts. We were veering towards in ceiling as worktop and similar space is at a premium, so making use of the room height is appealing.
I'm totally sold on Airplay 2 and that is what I want to use if possible. I'm not fussed for voice assistants (currently don't use Siri on my phone or Mac).
We do currently have one Sonos Move which could be used on top of cabinets (either along or with a new matching partner for stereo). It was bought as a stopgap so it can be used in the kitchen until we renovate, and it gets moved around the house a bit depending on where I am. The quality from that is fair if not outstanding. One of the reasons I'd prefer two speakers in the kitchen is not so much for the separate stereo channels, but more for a more balanced sound. Currently the Sonos is a bit bassy in parts of the room and less bassy in other. Having a couple of speakers would give a more even sound coverage.
I'll have a look at in ceiling speakers from someone other than Sonos since I assume I'd get more bang for my buck if I don't have the Sonos badge, along with a different Airplay 2 amp.
Are there any amps that would support two zones (e.g. the kitchen speakers but also living room in future)? My initial searches the other week drew a blank and it seems a bit wasteful to potentially have two amps about 8m apart once we sort out the living room too.
I'm totally sold on Airplay 2 and that is what I want to use if possible. I'm not fussed for voice assistants (currently don't use Siri on my phone or Mac).
We do currently have one Sonos Move which could be used on top of cabinets (either along or with a new matching partner for stereo). It was bought as a stopgap so it can be used in the kitchen until we renovate, and it gets moved around the house a bit depending on where I am. The quality from that is fair if not outstanding. One of the reasons I'd prefer two speakers in the kitchen is not so much for the separate stereo channels, but more for a more balanced sound. Currently the Sonos is a bit bassy in parts of the room and less bassy in other. Having a couple of speakers would give a more even sound coverage.
I'll have a look at in ceiling speakers from someone other than Sonos since I assume I'd get more bang for my buck if I don't have the Sonos badge, along with a different Airplay 2 amp.
Are there any amps that would support two zones (e.g. the kitchen speakers but also living room in future)? My initial searches the other week drew a blank and it seems a bit wasteful to potentially have two amps about 8m apart once we sort out the living room too.
pixelmix said:
Thanks for thoughts. We were veering towards in ceiling as worktop and similar space is at a premium, so making use of the room height is appealing.
I'm totally sold on Airplay 2 and that is what I want to use if possible. I'm not fussed for voice assistants (currently don't use Siri on my phone or Mac).
We do currently have one Sonos Move which could be used on top of cabinets (either along or with a new matching partner for stereo). It was bought as a stopgap so it can be used in the kitchen until we renovate, and it gets moved around the house a bit depending on where I am. The quality from that is fair if not outstanding. One of the reasons I'd prefer two speakers in the kitchen is not so much for the separate stereo channels, but more for a more balanced sound. Currently the Sonos is a bit bassy in parts of the room and less bassy in other. Having a couple of speakers would give a more even sound coverage.
I'll have a look at in ceiling speakers from someone other than Sonos since I assume I'd get more bang for my buck if I don't have the Sonos badge, along with a different Airplay 2 amp.
Are there any amps that would support two zones (e.g. the kitchen speakers but also living room in future)? My initial searches the other week drew a blank and it seems a bit wasteful to potentially have two amps about 8m apart once we sort out the living room too.
Fair enough, I have a Move and a Homepod and the Homepod is a bit better but not amazingly so. It definitely sounds like an amp is the way to go for you. Something like this:I'm totally sold on Airplay 2 and that is what I want to use if possible. I'm not fussed for voice assistants (currently don't use Siri on my phone or Mac).
We do currently have one Sonos Move which could be used on top of cabinets (either along or with a new matching partner for stereo). It was bought as a stopgap so it can be used in the kitchen until we renovate, and it gets moved around the house a bit depending on where I am. The quality from that is fair if not outstanding. One of the reasons I'd prefer two speakers in the kitchen is not so much for the separate stereo channels, but more for a more balanced sound. Currently the Sonos is a bit bassy in parts of the room and less bassy in other. Having a couple of speakers would give a more even sound coverage.
I'll have a look at in ceiling speakers from someone other than Sonos since I assume I'd get more bang for my buck if I don't have the Sonos badge, along with a different Airplay 2 amp.
Are there any amps that would support two zones (e.g. the kitchen speakers but also living room in future)? My initial searches the other week drew a blank and it seems a bit wasteful to potentially have two amps about 8m apart once we sort out the living room too.
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/denon-avr-x3600h
Has all the features you might want and two zones. Pair it with some in-ceiling speakers like these from Q Accoustic:
https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/shop/installation-spe...
and you should come in under budget and have high quality sound. The only downside is getting wires run.
Take a look at the Lithe Audio WiFi ceiling speakers.
They are AirPlay compatible and Airplay2 will be activated in the coming months (software update)
https://www.kitchenbathroomradio.co.uk/collections...
They are AirPlay compatible and Airplay2 will be activated in the coming months (software update)
https://www.kitchenbathroomradio.co.uk/collections...
Sonos Amp powering a pair of ceiling speakers but you can find much better bang for your buck with speakers from another manufacturer. Monitor Audio or Polk Audio are a good shout.
Anything on your kitchen bench will get mucky and be a pain to keep moving to wipe the bench down.
A non Sonos Amp will be a pain to turn on and off all the time (unless you can find a signal sensing one)
If you have an iPhone and a Spotify account why does it matter how the music gets to the speakers. I much prefer to use my phone as a remote to control a streaming service rather than actually stream from the phone.
For me Sonos still has a use ability advantage. It can be controlled by multiple users in the house rather than just 1.
Anything on your kitchen bench will get mucky and be a pain to keep moving to wipe the bench down.
A non Sonos Amp will be a pain to turn on and off all the time (unless you can find a signal sensing one)
If you have an iPhone and a Spotify account why does it matter how the music gets to the speakers. I much prefer to use my phone as a remote to control a streaming service rather than actually stream from the phone.
For me Sonos still has a use ability advantage. It can be controlled by multiple users in the house rather than just 1.
Useful replies - thanks folks. I was coming round to the idea of 2 x Sonos One SLs on top of the kitchen cupboards (or more likely now 2 x Apple HomePods for the better sound quality). Good to hear that the HomePods are better than the Sonos Move - the quality of my Move is adequate but not fantastic (I only got one for the flexibility of moving it around).
Lithe speakers look interesting, as does the Denon amp that will power two zones (pricey at £999 list price but it seems to be £699 these days).
Now I just need to decide between the faff of fitting speakers and cables (not huge since we need new LED spotlights in the kitchen anyway) and where the amp would fit in vs standalone speakers on top of the cupboards, where we can easily get a couple of new 3 pin sockets wired in when re-doing the room anyway.
Any more thoughts on something similar to the HomePod/One SL (probably don't need something as big as the Play:5) but with better quality audio (with our without virtual assistant) and how sound quality is likely to compare with a couple of simple ceiling speakers?
Lithe speakers look interesting, as does the Denon amp that will power two zones (pricey at £999 list price but it seems to be £699 these days).
Now I just need to decide between the faff of fitting speakers and cables (not huge since we need new LED spotlights in the kitchen anyway) and where the amp would fit in vs standalone speakers on top of the cupboards, where we can easily get a couple of new 3 pin sockets wired in when re-doing the room anyway.
Any more thoughts on something similar to the HomePod/One SL (probably don't need something as big as the Play:5) but with better quality audio (with our without virtual assistant) and how sound quality is likely to compare with a couple of simple ceiling speakers?
Edited by pixelmix on Monday 13th April 20:51
paralla said:
Sonos Amp powering a pair of ceiling speakers but you can find much better bang for your buck with speakers from another manufacturer. Monitor Audio or Polk Audio are a good shout.
Anything on your kitchen bench will get mucky and be a pain to keep moving to wipe the bench down.
Definitely on my mind when I was thinking about ceiling speakers instead. The only mitigating factor here is that they will be on top of tall upper cupboards, so out of the way and won't need cleaned as often.Anything on your kitchen bench will get mucky and be a pain to keep moving to wipe the bench down.
paralla said:
If you have an iPhone and a Spotify account why does it matter how the music gets to the speakers. I much prefer to use my phone as a remote to control a streaming service rather than actually stream from the phone.
I use my phone as a remote to the Sonos Move, but I think that things like BBC Sounds still need to be streamed? Maybe they've got around to improving that, so I could be wrong.A pair of Sonos One SL’s will sound much better than the Sonos Move on its own, they are much cheaper than Apple home pods. If you don’t need the voice assistant functionality they are probably a better option.
I also have a small subwoofer in the boiler cupboard. The two ceiling speakers and the small sub sound great, gave perfect functionality and take no space.
I also have a small subwoofer in the boiler cupboard. The two ceiling speakers and the small sub sound great, gave perfect functionality and take no space.
I have used russound abus for a number of years and it's been faultless. I've connected an apple airport express to one of the inputs and get multiroom audio. It just needs a single CAT6 cable due to it being POE like.
https://www.russound.com/products/audio-systems/ab...
https://www.russound.com/products/audio-systems/ab...
A resurrection.
I have an ancient wired Linn Knect multi room system. The tuner element has died. Fortunately, I can send music to it via AirPlay (there is an Apple Airport wired into it).
So I’d like to send internet radio to the AirPort over AirPlay.
However, I want a dedicated device to do this.
The radio apps I’ve tried on my MacBook seem to send all sound there (which is problematic for my Zoom meetings).
I can do it from my phone using BBC Sounds but then again there are problems. Every time I start the app, I have to select AirPlay and increase the sound to max. Also, any other sound goes straight to AirPlay which is annoying. Furthermore, BBC Sounds is then the default player so when I get in my car, I don’t get my usual playlist.
So, another device is required.
I was looking at the HomePod Mini. Will this stream radio (such as TuneIn) without a phone? And play to AirPlay?
If not is there a cheap device (I could buy a IPod Touch for £199 but that seems a bit excessive).
TLDR : is there a cheap device that will stream radio in and play on AirPlay?
I have an ancient wired Linn Knect multi room system. The tuner element has died. Fortunately, I can send music to it via AirPlay (there is an Apple Airport wired into it).
So I’d like to send internet radio to the AirPort over AirPlay.
However, I want a dedicated device to do this.
The radio apps I’ve tried on my MacBook seem to send all sound there (which is problematic for my Zoom meetings).
I can do it from my phone using BBC Sounds but then again there are problems. Every time I start the app, I have to select AirPlay and increase the sound to max. Also, any other sound goes straight to AirPlay which is annoying. Furthermore, BBC Sounds is then the default player so when I get in my car, I don’t get my usual playlist.
So, another device is required.
I was looking at the HomePod Mini. Will this stream radio (such as TuneIn) without a phone? And play to AirPlay?
If not is there a cheap device (I could buy a IPod Touch for £199 but that seems a bit excessive).
TLDR : is there a cheap device that will stream radio in and play on AirPlay?
You could try using Rogue Amoeba’s AirFoil software on your Mac? It lets you transmit audio from one app or the whole system, so you could transmit your radio over airplay only.
Alternatively, I’m using Sonos speakers which have the ability to use TuneIn radio etc built in. I only use it occasionally , controlled from the Sonos phone app, but it seems to work well with the bbc stations I’ve used and is probably more reliable than AirPlay to a Sonos device.
Alternatively, I’m using Sonos speakers which have the ability to use TuneIn radio etc built in. I only use it occasionally , controlled from the Sonos phone app, but it seems to work well with the bbc stations I’ve used and is probably more reliable than AirPlay to a Sonos device.
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