Author Topic: Recommended home music playing device - cheap but good if possible  (Read 1547 times)

I'm guessing there's hifi aficionados on here who might be able to reccomend something.

We currently play music by a few methods. Smartphone,  cheap CD player and used to use a dab radio too. We were never much into playing music but recently we play a kid's party cd via my phone. We sometimes use a small,  portable bt speaker. We have seen a little box hifi thing at my parents that I think is a radio and bt speaker,  possibly cd player.

We want something like that. Not sure what but budget isn't high but to the low end. We're not in the market for outright quality more good enough not to notice any flaws. We don't even know exactly what we need.

So can anyone tell us what to get that might suit our needs.

Did I say it's a family music device thingy that would get used by 7yo child up up to adults.

Re: Recommended home music playing device - cheap but good if possible
« Reply #1 on: 06 February, 2020, 06:19:45 pm »
Amazon Echo, small, cheap, connects to Bluetooth, plays streaming services, has Alexa.

Re: Recommended home music playing device - cheap but good if possible
« Reply #2 on: 06 February, 2020, 07:46:55 pm »
Chromecast (about £25) plugged into hifi, is what I use go stream (spotify) from my phone

Re: Recommended home music playing device - cheap but good if possible
« Reply #3 on: 06 February, 2020, 08:29:51 pm »
Amazon Echo, Google Home Hub, or whichever variant suits your budget and preferences

We bought a new HiFi unit late last year, then bought a Google Home Hub when they were on offer at £69 in December & promptly rendered the HiFi redundant.

The Hub is in our Kitchen so when I walk in to make breakfast I just say "Hey Google Play Jack FM"
From the conservatory I can ask it to turn the volume up or down
If I want something different "Hey Google play The Rolling Stones"

Previously it was either get up to turn on or adjust the HiFi or to find where I'd left the remote

Heading out and "Hey Google Stop" and it turns off

As well as music it provides various other options the Hub can access; Weather, my calendar, timer for my pizza

I expect a 7 year old would take to it like a duck to water

Re: Recommended home music playing device - cheap but good if possible
« Reply #4 on: 06 February, 2020, 10:03:29 pm »
The base model with Alexa was £25 everywhere before xmas. My partner got one for her dad.  Then in the new year I saw then selling for £12.50 from Amazon Iirc. They're not bad.  And the boy took to it better than his grandad. Kept putting the clash on when his grandad put smooth fm on. Became a battle over control of Alexa.

Of course a family member had to change their Alexa's name because her son is called Alex and it kept responding when they called his name.

Re: Recommended home music playing device - cheap but good if possible
« Reply #5 on: 06 February, 2020, 10:04:35 pm »
Probably best option getting a smart hub.

Re: Recommended home music playing device - cheap but good if possible
« Reply #6 on: 07 February, 2020, 12:14:50 am »
As OP has a BT speaker and hasn't expressed an interest in smart speakers/home hubs, something like this might be more of what your thinking of:

https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/mini-hi-fi-system-deals/denon-dm41-blk-dali-spektor-2.html Bluetooth to connect to your phone, DAB radio and a CD player and speakers that will sound a hundred times better than anythign else you have. Don't know if £400 is in your budget but it ticks all your boxes.

Re: Recommended home music playing device - cheap but good if possible
« Reply #7 on: 07 February, 2020, 06:30:39 am »
As OP has a BT speaker and hasn't expressed an interest in smart speakers/home hubs, something like this might be more of what your thinking of:

https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/mini-hi-fi-system-deals/denon-dm41-blk-dali-spektor-2.html Bluetooth to connect to your phone, DAB radio and a CD player and speakers that will sound a hundred times better than anythign else you have. Don't know if £400 is in your budget but it ticks all your boxes.

+1 to this. And if you want the options for Internet radio stations and other streaming music services its got an RCA in to connect something like an Amazon Echo Dot (currently £29).

I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.