Speaking and Projecting

November 24, 2024 4:56 PM

I would like to buy two consumer electronics and I would like them to be compatible with each other. I prefer used. What I want is a projector, and some kind of speaker, and I'd like your advice on what to buy.

Speaker: I would like a simple smallish speaker that can fit on a bookcase that will play Bandcamp, Spotify, etc from my phone, but ALSO I am hoping it will work with the bluetooth record player I just picked up AND I'm hoping it will be compatible with playing the audio from a DVD player and my Switch. Finally, I am hoping it will be compatible with a projector. I am wary of "smart" speakers because of privacy stuff so less smart is better for me.

Projector: Looking for a second-hand projector for watching movies from my laptop (apple) and from a free-standing DVD player and for the above-mentioned Switch or movies from my computer. And as mentioned, I'd like to connect it with this speaker I hope to purchase.

For ethical reason I prefer to buy electronics a bit used - so if you see specific items listed on Swappa, Ebay, or SF Bay Area Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist - that's even better! But barring that, any general guidance or brand recommendations on buying a speaker and projector with above use-case would be appreciated!

I don't want to spend more than a few hundred bucks on each.

posted by latkes to Shopping (4 answers total)

I just upgraded from that turntable to the next level up of A-T Bluetooth turntable, and I have used my Sonos Roam to connect with both. From there it can also connect with our other Sonos products, neither of which are smart (Playbase, One SL - that one specifically because it came without smart features). So if you're willing to dive into the Sonos ecosystem, it's possible to get non-smart speakers that will work with that turntable. The One line is discontinued, and I think all its successors are smart - the advantage to them, however, is they have Bluetooth and the One does not, which is why I use the Roam. I believe you can disable the smart features on the Era line (One successor), but I don't know that for a fact.

I will say that I love Sonos' sound quality. I don't know about finding them on Swappa, but Sonos sells refurbished One SL's for $159 and Roams for $139.

I can't speak to projectors, sorry.
posted by pdb at 8:34 PM on November 24

The IKEA Symfonisk bookshelf speaker is a fantastic speaker for the price; I've had one for years and I love it. The sound quality is excellent for a speaker that size, and it's compatible with both Sonos and AirPlay.

It's a very popular product so it shouldn't be hard to find a secondhand one. One word of caution if buying used, make sure you know exactly what model/version you're buying, as some of the very earliest Symfonisk speakers might not be compatible with the latest protocols (but the same is true for all wireless speakers).
posted by mekily at 8:44 PM on November 24

My advice is to start with the projector, then get the speaker(s) based on what that specific projector (and your other equipment) supports.

A projector can output sound in several ways: an analog line out jack, an optical output (using a fiber-optic cable), a digital coax output, or HDMI ARC (through an HDMI port with an HDMI cable). Some newer projectors may also support Bluetooth, although an older used one likely will not. Some projectors output sound via multiple methods, some only support one method. Compatibility is going to be entirely dependent on the specifics of your projector.

The Sonos One SL and IKEA Symfonisks do not support any of the above methods for receiving sound from a projector, nor do they support Bluetooth - they're designed for streaming music from the Internet or an in-home network - so they're almost certainly not the answer here. The Sonos Roam does support Bluetooth, but as above, a used projector likely will not. (Some Sonos products do have line-in, optical and HDMI ARC inputs, but usually not all three.)

There are powered "dumb" bookshelf speakers that *do* have particularly flexible sets of inputs. These Edifier R1850DBs, for example, have multiple line-in, optical, coax and Bluetooth inputs that can connect a large number of different devices, which you can then switch between with a remote. If you have to get speakers before you know what the projector will support, something like that with several types of inputs would be your best bet.
posted by eschatfische at 5:43 AM on November 25 [1 favorite]

I know this isn’t a projector or speaker recommendation, but there are cheap accessories to solve any compatibility issues with old audio hardware, which sounds great and is usually quite cheap used.

I have a very late-model receiver and speakers that sound great and have dual phono stages for the turntables. I didn’t want to change out the whole system to add a video projector.

I’ve integrated a used business projector by adding an HDMI audio stripper, which was $35, to send audio from a Roku stick/laptop/DVD player to the receiver. I also bought a Bluetooth dongle for 25 bucks.
posted by Headfullofair at 6:10 AM on November 25