[Ferdi]

Hi guys,

We have just bought a new house and we'll get the keys late October. We're now making our plans for outfitting the house to our liking and one of the areas is music for the kitchen.

My requirements are:
- Small
- Easy to use (I won't be the primary user)
- fairly cheap
- Pretty good quality but no audiophile pretensions

So are I am thinking in the following direction:
- Squeezebox2 (used wirelessly, I plan to go to a Squeezebox in the main system as well so I will have a slimserver anyway). This should fit the ease of use and small options. It is also much better than a CD player in a kitchen where things may get a little dirty at time.
- One of the small digital amps
- speakers.

Oh yes, the kitchen is about 3 by 6 meters.

I would like some views and ideas on especially the amp and speaker part.
For speakers I have a pair of infinity car speakers that I liked when I used them. Would they work mounted in-ceiling? If not, should I look for other in-ceiling speakers?

Still fiddling with several ideas on this....

thanks for your thoughts.

Ferdi

[KT]

Hello Ferdi,

How cheap is cheap for you?

I have a couple of suggestion for your kitchen system - well, as far as the amplification goes anyway.

For around $300 or much less depending on where you look, the JVC EX-A1 is a really cool little unit. For this price you get DVD (DVD-A as well as video) playback, CD playback, aux input, amp, tuner, and speakers all in one little great looking and great sounding unit. Here is a link to the discussion:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=20223

Mark also discusses the less expensive "executive" JVC systems, which I haven't heard.

I can also recommend the Sharp EX-111 amps that you've probably read about here on AC. This system sounds great, but you'll need to find speakers for it. Also, this Sharp system with speakers will be larger than the little JVC.

I love these two all-in-one systems because they sound great and are so convenient to use.

I give kudos, too, to the Kloss Tivoli Model 1 table radio, but at $99, it offers neither the performance nor features of the Sharp EX-111. It's just a one speaker radio with aux input. Great for what it is, but the Sharp is so much more for about the same price.

Don't know if this matters to you, but the EX-111 samples at 5.6mHz.

Best,
KT

[Carlman]

I gave some relatives a Sharp SD-EX-200 mini system for Christmas last year and they love it in the kitchen... sounds great.  I regretted not buying 2.  It was worked extremely well for them.

-C

PS, The one I linked to cost $64 to ship... buyer beware.

[MaxCast]

I suggest a receiver.  It is easy to just to turn it on for quick music (radio).  I also have it hooked up with the second zone output of my HT receiver so I can play CD's or have both rooms with the same music.

If you have a patio close be sure to get one with speaker B output.

[Soundbitten]

Come On Into My Kitchen - Robert Johnson