help me buy a speaker for my bedroom with airplay
March 25, 2023 5:00 AM Subscribe
I am absolutely lost with the speaker jargon in reviews. All I need is a speaker to plug into a wall socket in my very small bedroom so I can play music via airplay (this is important) from my mac or iphone. I mostly listen to classical, edm and folk music. I do not need to control my speakers or stream to them - I just want to play my ripped CDs essentially for less than US$150 as an upgrade from my $30 headphones and laptop speakers. (The mac homepod is not available in my region btw)
It's hard to find an AirPlay speaker at your price point. The IKEA products start at $150 and go up.
You may be better off looking for a Bluetooth-based solution, of which hundreds are available at prices from $10 up.
If you pair it with your (Apple) laptop, you can still use your phone to control playback with the iTunes Remote app.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:07 AM on March 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
You may be better off looking for a Bluetooth-based solution, of which hundreds are available at prices from $10 up.
If you pair it with your (Apple) laptop, you can still use your phone to control playback with the iTunes Remote app.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:07 AM on March 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
An alternative would be to buy a used 2nd generation Apple Airport Express (model A1392) from eBay (they're about £30-40 in the UK) and any powered* speaker that you could connect to it. e.g. using a 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable. You can then stream to the Airport Express which will play the audio through the speaker. (A random example of a guide)
A new alternative to the Airport Express is the Belkin Soundform Connect. They go for around £55 although I've occasionally seen them quite a bit cheaper. I have one connected to some old computer speakers and it works well.
* A powered speaker is one that you plug into an electrical socket, as opposed to the ones that need to be connected to a separate hifi amplifier with speaker cable.
posted by fabius at 6:29 AM on March 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
A new alternative to the Airport Express is the Belkin Soundform Connect. They go for around £55 although I've occasionally seen them quite a bit cheaper. I have one connected to some old computer speakers and it works well.
* A powered speaker is one that you plug into an electrical socket, as opposed to the ones that need to be connected to a separate hifi amplifier with speaker cable.
posted by fabius at 6:29 AM on March 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have an old AirPort Express setup like fabius recommended and it works fine. I also use AirPlay on my Sonos speakers. The Roam SL is $159 retail, so slightly over budget, but fairly elegant and can be a portable device too. Works fine with AirPlay if you wanted to skip using the Sonos app.
posted by advicepig at 8:18 AM on March 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by advicepig at 8:18 AM on March 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: With the Sonos Roam, you would need to use the Sonos app to initially add the speaker on your network, although I think you could subsequently airplay to the speaker w/o using the app. The Roam has some operational quirks with its battery, although it does sound good for its size. It doesn't come with a charger, you'd need to buy/find a USB charger, I think it requires a minimum of 10W / 5V @2 amps to work well.
The Ikea Symphonisk mentioned by jacobean is a Sonos/Ikea collaboration product, but isn't a portable unit. I haven't heard one but this is probably a very good choice. I believe you can add a second one and set them up as a stereo pair for even better sound if your budget expands down the road.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 9:04 AM on March 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Ikea Symphonisk mentioned by jacobean is a Sonos/Ikea collaboration product, but isn't a portable unit. I haven't heard one but this is probably a very good choice. I believe you can add a second one and set them up as a stereo pair for even better sound if your budget expands down the road.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 9:04 AM on March 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The simple answer is Symfonisk, it's what one of my good friends went with and its great.
My solution more involved but has sounded great and been upgradeable. I have several of the Apple Airport Express (A1392) and my simplest set up is the one that's just connected to a powered set of 2.1 "computer" speakers. The A1392 is discontinued but has been updated to support airplay 2, which is great for streaming to multi room, and the device can still be configured in the airport manager app on an iOS device. However, there is no guarantee that this will work for ever - it's well past its end of life. My plan is to just keep an iPhone with the working software and never update it - which is what I did with the previous version of the AirPort Express.
A similar device is available from Belkin, the Soundform Connect is about 70$USD.
My particular speakers were discontinued 2 decades ago by Yamaha, which is why I suggest spending the bulk of your budget on decent speakers that will last. My speakers have been in continuous rotation - this is the third configuration for them. Models like the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 or a Logitech 2.1 set up are widely available and get good reviews. You may have to angle the speakers toward your listening position as these are often intended to point from a desk at your head. For my set I have hidden the subwoofer box up on a bookshelf, and if that doesn't work for your situation the Yamaha NX-50 are a powered set of bookshelf speakers that are amazing for just over 100$.
posted by zenon at 10:15 AM on March 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
My solution more involved but has sounded great and been upgradeable. I have several of the Apple Airport Express (A1392) and my simplest set up is the one that's just connected to a powered set of 2.1 "computer" speakers. The A1392 is discontinued but has been updated to support airplay 2, which is great for streaming to multi room, and the device can still be configured in the airport manager app on an iOS device. However, there is no guarantee that this will work for ever - it's well past its end of life. My plan is to just keep an iPhone with the working software and never update it - which is what I did with the previous version of the AirPort Express.
A similar device is available from Belkin, the Soundform Connect is about 70$USD.
My particular speakers were discontinued 2 decades ago by Yamaha, which is why I suggest spending the bulk of your budget on decent speakers that will last. My speakers have been in continuous rotation - this is the third configuration for them. Models like the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 or a Logitech 2.1 set up are widely available and get good reviews. You may have to angle the speakers toward your listening position as these are often intended to point from a desk at your head. For my set I have hidden the subwoofer box up on a bookshelf, and if that doesn't work for your situation the Yamaha NX-50 are a powered set of bookshelf speakers that are amazing for just over 100$.
posted by zenon at 10:15 AM on March 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I came here to also say the Symfonisk. If you keep an eye on FB Marketplace or the resale site of choice in your area, you can often find someone selling one for cheaper than new. They're great and the price point is A+.
Alternatively, you can pick up an old Apple Airport and plug a basic speaker set into them and play things that way (usually a headphone jack to RCA AV cable connector). We still have an old receiver system on that setup and it works just as good as it did in 2005.
ETA on preview: basically what zenon said in their second paragraph! It's an awesome feature and I will be sad if it is ever discontinued.
posted by urbanlenny at 2:00 PM on March 25, 2023
Alternatively, you can pick up an old Apple Airport and plug a basic speaker set into them and play things that way (usually a headphone jack to RCA AV cable connector). We still have an old receiver system on that setup and it works just as good as it did in 2005.
ETA on preview: basically what zenon said in their second paragraph! It's an awesome feature and I will be sad if it is ever discontinued.
posted by urbanlenny at 2:00 PM on March 25, 2023
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Sweet sounds and robust Airplay connection.
posted by jacobean at 5:25 AM on March 25, 2023 [3 favorites]