One Piece Stereo Music Box Thing

[j44ke]

I want a nice looking box that sounds good. We've had Bose Wavewhatsit units before, and they always sound a bit muddy to me - except that I could turn the volume down to almost nothing and listen to the BBC perfectly clearly as I drifted off to sleep. But I liked the utility of it and the lack of anything more than a power cable.

I found this one from Revo, which looks great. I am a big Dieter Rams fan, and this reminds me of some of his Braun radio designs from the 60's and 70's. But I know nothing of the company. Price isn't horrible, but if someone has experience with them, let me know. But this is the sort of box with the sort of features I imagine getting. Plus it matches the house.



There are also some I've seen from Ruark that I like, but it doesn't look like I can get those in the USA.



And then I am a sucker for anything Eames (Eames toilet seat? Sure!) so of course I like the limited edition Vitra Eames Radio (which I think is made by Revo actually.)



More design than HiFi and just music files, internet radio, etc. Really don't like Sonos.

Any experience/suggestions?

[robin3mj]

I picked up an Audio Pro C10 earlier this year after being in the same boat as you.
It’s nicer than any Bose I’ve ever heard, one piece, plug and play, and I like that you can stream over Bluetooth and WiFi. The latter seems to have better range and no audio drops.
They can be paired with other speakers from the same company if you’re looking to do a multi room setup.
Mine is easy to move, so it generally lives in my home office during the week and out into the main room for the weekend.


https://us.audiopro.com/product/addon-c10/#grey

[Marvinlungwitz]

Four sizes and price points.

https://www.dynaudio.com/home-audio/music

Attachment 117378

[9tubes]

I dunno your budget but in a pandemic how else are you spending money? www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/lifestyle/RS200

Of course, for that price you could get a NAD amp and a pair of Sonus Faber speakers.

[j44ke]

I dunno your budget but in a pandemic how else are you spending money? www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/lifestyle/RS200

Of course, for that price you could get a NAD amp and a pair of Sonus Faber speakers.

Whoa. That looks amazing but yeah, the price.

[Peter Polack]

The Tivoli radios have been around a while so they must be popular. I don't own one so I can't vouch for them.

[j44ke]

We’ve had two Tivoli radios. A Model One and a Music System, both earlier non-Bluetooth models than are listed on their site. Both slowly decayed electronically over several years until they finally stopped working. That’s the only way I can describe it. Decay. Slow build up of static, noisy pots & tuning dial, progressive loss of volume. Very weird. They look very nice but I can’t in good faith buy another one.

The fall back is a Sonos 5, the newer model that runs about $500. Sound is actually excellent and it can be operated from any computer or device in the house because it doesn’t contain a radio - as Thomas suggests, this might be the best option.

I’ve heard the B&O portable speakers and they are similarly excellent, but the price is exponentially more for living room size than the Sony so if I go that route I might as well stick with the Sony. I am also not much for B&O’s bizarre designs in their larger models.

I liked Geneva Labs but they don’t seem to make the speakers that they used to make. But I’ll need to go back and look again. I wish I had known they made an excellent-looking tv pedestal with speaker - I might have gotten that for our television.

Our house is a smart speaker free environment. We have enough leaks of our personal information already. No Siri, no Alexa, no Hey Google. We’ve turned off as much as we can find on our computers and phones and appliances. I actually liked the Sonos more when I found I could get versions without any microphone.

One thing - why are all the cool, esoteric, elegant audio solutions coming out of the UK? Every time I find something neato burrito it seems to have a UK home address.

[davids]

You're looking at the Sonos Five? I'd recommend two Sonos One SLs in a stereo pair. They will be cheaper and you can create a stereo pair which, ATMO, is vastly preferable to a mono speaker.

This is the setup I have in our living room. It's an inconspicuous, great-sounding system for less than $400.

ones.jpg

[rwsaunders]

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...abletop-radio/

Jorn...here are a few from a 3-year old NYT article, but you could always go shortwave if you’re into the BBC and Radio Free Europe, although replacement tubes might be tough to source. My Dad gave a Hallicrafters WR-600 to me for my 10th birthday when I was a kid...what else does one expect as a son of Marine Corps radio operator, right?

[ides1056]

I have an Arcam rCube that suffices.

https://www.amazon.com/Arcam-rCube-P.../dp/B0047ZGFYY

[j44ke]

You're looking at the Sonos Five? I'd recommend two Sonos One SLs in a stereo pair. They will be cheaper and you can create a stereo pair which, ATMO, is vastly preferable to a mono speaker.

This is the setup I have in our living room. It's an inconspicuous, great-sounding system for less than $400....

Good tip. That may be the least painful and thus simplest answer. The white ones fit the decor as well.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...abletop-radio/

Jorn...here are a few from a 3-year old NYT article, but you could always go shortwave if you’re into the BBC and Radio Free Europe, although replacement tubes might be tough to source. My Dad gave a Hallicrafters WR-600 to me for my 10th birthday when I was a kid...what else does one expect as a son of Marine Corps radio operator, right?

I had a Grundig with an earpiece I used to listen to the BBC World Service as I fell asleep when I was younger. We met plenty of people in Eastern Europe who similarly listened to RFE. Very few Americans know how valuable that service is or what it even does. Travesty what's happened to it. Hopefully Biden will reverse the destruction and revitalize the service.

[mnoble485]

So like most threads, I’m following this with interest. I need, want etc something for when we are at our daughter’s and SIL’s cabin. Any suggestions in the Shimano 105 range for those of us who are frugal?

Mike

[davids]

So like most threads, I’m following this with interest. I need, want etc something for when we are at our daughter’s and SIL’s cabin. Any suggestions in the Shimano 105 range for those of us who are frugal?

Mike

Two Sonos One SLs in a stereo pair.

[j44ke]

So like most threads, I’m following this with interest. I need, want etc something for when we are at our daughter’s and SIL’s cabin. Any suggestions in the Shimano 105 range for those of us who are frugal?

Mike

Mike, for portable sound, my sister has a Bose Soundlink Color II like this one here at B&H. Seemed like it put out remarkably larger better sound than it should for its size.

[sk_tle]

Our house is a smart speaker free environment. We have enough leaks of our personal information already. No Siri, no Alexa, no Hey Google. We’ve turned off as much as we can find on our computers and phones and appliances. I actually liked the Sonos more when I found I could get versions without any microphone.

I too am trying to limit any intrusion of anything close to alexa or google home but the choice seems to be increasingly limiting. Working almost 100% at home I was in the market for some quality headphones with voice support and noise cancellation. I looked at Bose, Jabra and Sony and all their high end devices have some home assistant function. I will eventually have to try one but I hope they don't force enabling it on my smartphone if paired to it.

[davids]

There's a lot of headphone/mic combos without "intelligence". You've got to shop more expansively than the first Google hits.

My favorite is the Massdrop x NuForce EDC3 earbuds, which unfortunately are not currently available. $100, and I use them as my workout headphones, then change the cable to add a mic, and plug into my desktop PC for my 'office' phone.

I am sure there are other great values out there, slightly outside the mainstream.

[j44ke]

That BrionVega turntable stereo is a reissue of a 50+ year old design I believe. Their radio “cube” design was ripped off by a Sony clock radio that seemed to be everywhere in the 80’s. My granddad actually had one of the original BrionVega cubes. He liked modern furniture.

[j44ke]

I like that Elac. I had some Jones-designed Pioneer speakers I bought on recommendation from a friend who knew. They sounded excellent and were not very expensive actually. I gave them to my niece a couple moves ago. Anyway that’s interesting. Plus it has airplay which I prefer over bluetooth for its stability.

[sk_tle]

follow up to the non stereo for small places thread drift, I received that little beast today and it sounds really nice for the small form factor. Like my Bose soundlink mini but slightly better sounding. It can even be mounted on a tripod.

[one60]

Let me know if you see or hear one in real time. I am also enamored with the smaller KEF LS50 active speakers but that's an all-in-two box system