Best non-mobile device for playing music to Bluetooth speakers?

January 12, 2025 4:21 PM

My current home audio setup involves sending music from my Android phone (from storage or a streaming service) to one of three possible Bluetooth speakers in my apartment. Bluetooth speakers will remain the best option for me for the foreseeable future, but I'd rather not use my phone anymore. I know I could use a tablet, an old phone, or a portable mp3 player, but I really want something that isn't a mobile device, and is instead intended to live on a table or shelf, almost like a radio. So what are my options?

I really just want something that feels more substantial and permanent than a phone, tablet, or portable mp3 player. And mounting one of those devices on a wall doesn't solve for that for my purposes.

Given how picky I am, I have considered turning a mini-PC into a custom music server, but that's a little more effort than I want, and also I'm hoping for something slightly more aesthetically pleasing than a drab cube of computer.

More details:

* I don't want anything that requires a subscription to use the device itself, or that will stop working if the company that makes it goes under.
* Alexa or similar "smart" devices with a built-in home assistant are a hard no for me -- if the device optionally supports integration with a home assistant, I should be able to disable the assistant and the microphone.
* The device could be as small as an alarm clock or as large as a component of an old-school home stereo system stack
* The device doesn't need to have integrated speakers to play the music on itself -- it can, but it's not necessary.
* Relatedly, I'm very happy with my current nice Bluetooth speakers so I'm not interested in replacing them as part of this solution.
* I should be able to store music on this device either via native storage or expandable storage like an SD card (or both).
* I currently use YouTube Music for streaming but that might change (or I might stop using streaming services entirely), so it shouldn't be tied to any one streaming service
* It could have an alarm clock function, but doesn't have to
* It could have an AM/FM receiver, but doesn't have to
* I'm not interested in building anything myself from scratch or from a Raspberry Pi/Adafruit/etc. kit
* Please assume I will figure out any distance/reception issues between this device and the Bluetooth speakers

Beyond those requirements, I'm open to anything. :)

posted by rhiannonstone to Shopping (10 answers total)

Response by poster: Forgot to add: a device that looks something like this is what I first envisioned when I started thinking about switching to a non-mobile device, so the best version of something like that would probably be perfect. But I'm sure there are other options out there, too!
posted by rhiannonstone at 4:38 PM on January 12

Best answer: When I first read this I thought there just wasn't such a device. However, is this getting close to what you are looking for?

It works with a lot of streaming services, but also has usb (and other) connections where you could plug in external storage (so perhaps not an SD card exactly). It's not beautiful by any means, but better than a computer on a table. I kind of want one!
posted by jdl at 6:05 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: jdl that does look pretty dang close! And I've been pleased with the quality of other Crutchfield stuff I've used in the past.

I can't quite tell if it's possible to operate the device from the device itself, without using an app on another device, though. And I've realized that "does not require an app on another device to operate core controls" belongs on my requirements list.

There used to be a ton of devices marketed as "internet radio player" that were very close to what I'm looking for, maybe without Bluetooth capability or without additional internal or external storage, but I'd guess that Alexa-type devices and the ubiquity of streaming services have overtaken the market for those.
posted by rhiannonstone at 6:21 PM on January 12

Best answer: They're not cheap, but the Fiio R7 ($700) or R9 ($1500) would fit the bill. They are basically mini amps with android phones mounted on the front and can do any app from the play store (spotify, YT Music, plexamp, roon, etc). You can pop a USB with local files in the back and use it or stream from a local server or a streaming service.

The Wiim Ultra ($350) is close. It's got a 3.5" touchscreen on the front that is good for controlling music. It's made to be controlled by another device, though, like a phone or a tablet, and I don't think you can launch music directly on it.

If you want something fiddly (which isn't quite building from scratch but isn't not building), you could look at the Max2play touch bundles. They're basically like an open source version of the old Squeezebox. It's a shame Logitech killed such a great product line.

Those are all the ones that I currently have (don't ask). I end up using the Wiim most of the time, but the Fiio seems like a good fit based on what you are looking for.
posted by toothless joe at 6:27 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Oh, and what you want to google is "Music Streamer". There's a bunch of them out there that I haven't seen in person that might work (Eversolo, Bluesound, etc).

And yeah, you are right about the Wiim Ultra needing another device. There is some kind of preset "channels" you can set on it, but I don't think it's particularly flexible and it's nothing like the Fiio, in which you can pull up any app you want.
posted by toothless joe at 6:41 PM on January 12

Best answer: On the "Massive Overkill" front, you can use a Synology running the 6.x version of DSM with a Bluetooth dongle (see https://kb.synology.com/en-br/DSM/help/DSM/AdminCenter/connection_bluetooth?version=6 for setup instructions) in conjunction with the Audio Station app that runs on the Synology. This will provide a central storage or the music and permit you to stream to either your local device or a network connected speaker.

DSM 7.0 and newer removed the Bluetooth dongle support, but the Audio Station can stream to airplay, DNLA, and a few other network connected options. If your speaker has an 1/8" input, then a device like the Belkin Audio Adapter (https://www.belkin.com/p/audio-adapter-with-airplay-2/P-AUZ002.html) could bridge the gap.
posted by SegFaultCoreDump at 7:04 AM on January 13

I had some luck searching for "music streamer android". For instance, this Grace Link Internet Radio Tuner might fit the bill.
posted by wyzewoman at 9:27 AM on January 13

Best answer: Yeah, this is tough because there are lots of devices that do what you're looking for in terms of streaming, but they assume that you're streaming as opposed to storing, and that you're using a phone to control it.

The WiiM was my first thought (linked above), as it ticks a lot of your boxes. But when you start getting into storage and needing to be able to manage content, you're getting more into Raspberry Pi/full-fledged computer/NAS territory. Streaming devices are intended to be used alongside those as opposed to doing both the streaming and the storage.
posted by anotheraccount at 10:21 AM on January 13

Best answer: This may break your budget. :D But this is the Eversolo DMP-A6 streamer / DAP. Amazon price is in the $800 range. Has up to 2TB SSD.

On the other end of the spectrum, assuming you already have the content, Arylic A50+ will feed content to your Bluetooth (or any speaker setup) for under $200. Configure it with the built-in web interface (using any browser, no app needed).
posted by kschang at 11:11 PM on January 13

Response by poster: Just following up to say thanks everyone! You've helped me understand a little better what's possible and what compromises I might need to make from my ideal state.
posted by rhiannonstone at 12:29 PM on February 10