[kenreau]

Looking for suggestions for an easy-to-use (ie non-techie, wife/familiy friendly) sound system for non-critical general background music in a large living room.  We are all Apple product users, so I was thinking something in the Apple related world would work best as the interface. We have iphone 6s, macbooks, an ipad and apple TV around the house.  I also have a Synology NAS with my primary music library available.

From searching around, the Audioengine HD6's look like a very viable solution.  They have an integrated amp, DAC and bluetooth receiver built in.  Has anyone used these with success?  I'm open to other system suggestions if they are similarly integrated solutions and k.i.s.s. easy to use.

Thx
Kenreau

[srb]

With the HD6 I'm thinking you would still want some kind of Wi-Fi and/or Ethernet based network receiver because I'm guessing you want to access the master library on the NAS, not local content on an iPhone or iPad through short-range Bluetooth.

For this background music, do you need stereo?  Bluesound (or Sonos) might be good solutions.  You can link them to the library on your NAS and control from any phone or tablet.

They have self-contained speakers with everything built in including music transport controls.  If you really need stereo you can buy two speakers and designate them left and right of a stereo pair.

The Bluesound has 3 speakers - Flex, Mini and Pulse 2 ($300, $500 and $700) which are more expensive than Sonos lineup of Play:1, Play:3 and Play:5 ($200, $300 and $500).

For some reason, only the smallest Bluesound Flex has 5 preset buttons which can be programmed for one-touch playlists, music services, etc.; it would be nice to see that incorporated on the other models as well.

I think Bluesound is the better sounding system, but Sonos is cheaper and supports a much wider range of music subscription services, if that's a priority.

Steve

[nature boy]

Went with a Riva TurboX here.  Great form factor, excellent sound and battery life.

NB

[Doublej]

Wouldn't a powered Airplay speaker be as simple as simple gets?

Or you could buy a receiver with Airplay such as the Yamaha RX-V 4xx and above series and add your favorite speakers.

Bluetooth seems a bit flaky to me. It works most of the time mostly.

[davidavdavid]

In reading and re-reading the original post and that the system is for "non-critical" use, the SONOS play 3 does not get any easier. Mind you, I'm not a fan of SONOS, but I had to set up a remote music system for a friend of mine who is as non-techie as one could get, and not only is it continually up and running, but since it was set up the afternoon of July 11th I have not heard one peep, so that just about says it for the SONOS play 3.

It fills up a rather large living room with sound and seamlessly connects to apple macbooks, ipads and iphones.

Back to Rio, after this

[gbeard]

Hello Kenreau,

I can attest the HD6's being a viable solution for you. However, if you want to use your NAS, you will have to use some form of an endpoint. I use a $35 Chromecast Audio with mini-Toslink. I am not familiar with Apple options, but surely there are some inexpensive ones?  Bluetooth works very well with Pandora and has excellent range. Although the Chromecast does sound better, in a background music setting, I doubt you'd notice.

I've no experience with the others recommendations.

Good luck!

[kenreau]

Thanks for all the great suggestions and feedback. I will definitely look into the Bluesound platform as well.  I do need to reconsider going a single, or stereo pair.

Another scenario that caught my attention, although more expensive, is using the NAD 7050 supplemented with speakers.

Fwiw, I did just get a back to school email sales flyer from Audioengine with some B-stock good sales prices.

I'll follow up with what direction I landed on the next few weeks.

Thx
Kenreau

[kenreau]

In reading and re-reading the original post and that the system is for "non-critical" use, the SONOS play 3 does not get any easier. Mind you, I'm not a fan of SONOS, but I had to set up a remote music system for a friend of mine who is as non-techie as one could get, and not only is it continually up and running, but since it was set up the afternoon of July 11th I have not heard one peep, so that just about says it for the SONOS play 3.

It fills up a rather large living room with sound and seamlessly connects to apple macbooks, ipads and iphones.

Back to Rio, after this

I did give the SONOS suite a glance, but was not impressed with the sound quality.  A friend has a system and has played it during dinner parties and the sq was just meh.  It could be his music source (MP3s, or similar) files.  I'll go to a local store and give another listen.

Thx
Kenreau

[srb]

Bluesound and NAD are sister companies under Lenbrook Industries, and Bluesound uses NAD amplifier and DAC technology in their products, which might be partly responsible for their better sound compared to Sonos.

Here are some differences between the Airplay / Bluesound / Sonos systems:

- Airplay can only play the same music in multiple locations; Bluesound and Sonos can play different music in each room.

- Airplay doesn't sync the same music played in each room while Bluesound and Sonos do.  I have 3 Airplay systems (Airport Express).  One is on the patio (which doesn't interfere with the two in the house), but if the two in the house are both playing and aren't playing behind closed doors, it's not really listenable as they are usually out of sync producing bad echo.

- Bluesound also has aptX Bluetooth which might be a convenience factor when visitors want to share music on their phones or tablets but Sonos doesn't have Bluetooth.

- Airplay and Sonos are 16/44.1 and Bluesound is 24/192, although probably not a factor for casual listening.

- Bluesound and Sonos can also be purchased as as a receiver/DAC only or as a powered receiver/DAC for use with an existing or preferred pair of powered or passive speakers respectively, although that does up the cost ($500 / $800 for Bluesound and $350 / $500 for Sonos).

The NAD D 7050 is a nice piece, but I question AirPlay if you want to add more locations in the future.

Steve

[mr_bill]

The NAD 3020 is a great little simple system. I have one for my patio system.
I Deep Blue is also a great single piece - I have that piece two and can attest to both.

[kenreau]

Bluesound and NAD are sister companies under Lenbrook Industries, and Bluesound uses NAD amplifier and DAC technology in their products, which might be partly responsible for their better sound compared to Sonos.

Here are some differences between the Airplay / Bluesound / Sonos systems:

- Airplay can only play the same music in multiple locations; Bluesound and Sonos can play different music in each room.

- Airplay doesn't sync the same music played in each room while Bluesound and Sonos do.  I have 3 Airplay systems (Airport Express).  One is on the patio (which doesn't interfere with the two in the house), but if the two in the house are both playing and aren't playing behind closed doors, it's not really listenable as they are usually out of sync producing bad echo.

- Bluesound also has aptX Bluetooth which might be a convenience factor when visitors want to share music on their phones or tablets but Sonos doesn't have Bluetooth.

- Airplay and Sonos are 16/44.1 and Bluesound is 24/192, although probably not a factor for casual listening.

- Bluesound and Sonos can also be purchased as as a receiver/DAC only or as a powered receiver/DAC for use with an existing or preferred pair of powered or passive speakers respectively, although that does up the cost ($500 / $800 for Bluesound and $350 / $500 for Sonos).

The NAD D 7050 is a nice piece, but I question AirPlay if you want to add more locations in the future.

Steve

Thanks, Steve, a lot of great info.  I will definitely look hard at Bluesound.

Thx
Ken

[srb]

Thanks, Steve, a lot of great info.  I will definitely look hard at Bluesound.

I should probably also mention that Bluesound speakers use PSB Speakers technology, also a Lenbrook Industries sister company.

[tabrink]

I should probably also mention that Bluesound speakers use PSB Speakers technology, also a Lenbrook Industries sister company.

Mass Fidelity Core gets my vote.

[srb]

Mass Fidelity Core gets my vote.

Seems like it only gets content via Bluetooth?  How does it stream from a NAS library?

[Wind Chaser]

From searching around, the Audioengine HD6's look like a very viable solution.  They have an integrated amp, DAC and bluetooth receiver built in.  Has anyone used these with success?

Can't speak for the HD6, but I have the A5 and the built in amp just died. Looked on Google and discovered this problem is not uncommon.

[TomS]

I have 3 sets of A5+'s in the family, and use my office set with a $59 Muzo Cobblestone (wireless wifi) with great success. It has a standalone iPhone/iPad app or you can just use Airplay with it.

https://www.amazon.com/MUZO-Cobblestone-Wi-Fi-Audio-Receiver/dp/B00N9NZIKM

[srb]

Can't speak for the HD6, but I have the A5 and the built in amp just died. Looked on Google and discovered this problem is not uncommon.

The A5+ has a much larger heatsink to address that problem, although some users have still managed to get them to overheat when pushed very hard and use a small desk fan on the heatsink.

I see there's a local Craigslist ad for a nice pair of bamboo A5+ for $200.  Hmmm .....

Steve