Smart speaker newbie, Sonos, Google, Echo, compatibility, expansion etc

fourmations

hi all

a bit of help please, im sure these have all been discussed but
its a minefield for a newbie so if anyone would clear a few things
up it would be much appreciated.....

so, i want a voice controlled speaker with bluetooth and an aux input
i have a spotify premium account, i have no other automations in my house
and no plans for any, budget is 300 tops

Sound quality is important to me, i generally listen to music at a low enough volume in my kitchen but i appreciate good sound and am cautious of muddy speakers, I also quite often have small parties and need a bit of volume for that, whats my options?

Am i right in saying i could buy a dot or echo and for everyday use but then i could add a bigger bluetooth speaker for parties that would still be controlled by the Echo? i get the impression that the Sonos cant do that? would i be better trying to save a bit more to get the Google Home max or Sonos play 5 than doing the Echo to bluetooth speaker route,
Whats my EQ options, are they all controllable through the apps?

I also have an Apple airplay speaker than sounds good but the connectivity
is outdated (docked old 30 pin) i believe you can connect the Echo or the Sonos to this, that would do the job and save me a bunch of money, its the original Airplay not the Airplay 2

any advice welcome, im not up on all this and dont want to choose badly
I dont have the funds to make mistakes!

many thanks
(let me know if this is the wrong place for this)

bk

Does your Airplay speaker have an aux input? If it does then an option would be a Chromecast Audio plugged into the aux in of the airplay speaker, paired with a Google Home Mini.

You could also do the same with an Echo Dot and you wouldn't even need the extra CCA, Echo Dots have aux out. But I prefer Google Home having used both, but it would work for you.

I've a Google Home that I use in my living room/kitchen and it works well for day to day use around the home and even at higher levels for the odd party. But that of course is purely subjective.

fourmations

bk wrote: »

Does your Airplay speaker have an aux input? If it does then an option would be a Chromecast Audio plugged into the aux in of the airplay speaker, paired with a Google Home Mini.

You could also do the same with an Echo Dot and you wouldn't even need the extra CCA, Echo Dots have aux out. But I prefer Google Home having used both, but it would work for you.

I've a Google Home that I use in my living room/kitchen and it works well for day to day use around the home and even at higher levels for the odd party. But that of course is purely subjective.

thanks for the reply BK

My Airplay speaker (Pure Contour 200i) has an aux in all right but im not sure how successful that would be, the sound off it is really good and loads of volume with my old battered cracked iphone 4 docked, but when i use my galaxy s6 with the aux lead the sound is way way lower and not loud enough for my small parties, I had read that you can use the Airplay feature to connect an Echo/Home it wirelessly, i was hoping that would have the superior sound that it has when i-devices are docked but having said that Im not even sure if the original Airplay will work, might be and Airplay2 thing,
maybe im clutching at straws!?

cheers

bk

No, I don't think either GH or Echo support airplay.

It might still be worth picking up a Chromecast Audio just to try it, they are only like €25, don't even need the Google Home Mini, you could stream from your phone, just to try it out, wouldn't be much money lost if it didn't work and these are pretty useful anyway. If it did work well, you could pick up a GH mini then to use with it.

I use CCA with some really good bookshelf speakers paired with GH mini and the sound quality is excellent.

https://www.mymemory.co.uk/google-chromecast-audio.html

And BTW an adaptor like this might be worth trying:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/For-IPod-Shuffle-Audio-to-30pin-Female-Dock-Connector-Cable-Adapter3-5mm-1-8male/352583971222?hash=item5217a47196:m:mwTHKEVIoyFcO6L0K_G9q5Q&var=621913866057

(note I don't know if the above ebay seller is any good, just an example of what you could get).

These are nice cheap options for you to try. If they don't work, you'll most likely need to think about full size GH/Echo/Sonos or even GH Max.

The high horse brigade

Grab a Chromecast Audio while you can, they are discontinued not making more. I have 2 of them, they are a great job

wexfordman2

As other posters said, cca is end of life and not being replaced.

With your budget, you are inn the ballpark for a Sonos or a Google home max. Personally, while Sonos is excellent (had 6 of them for over ten years), I would now lean towards the Google home max at that budget.

R.O.R

Get a 30 pin Bluetooth adaptor for your current airplay speaker and an Alexa or Google Home?

fourmations

thanks for the feedback all, much appreciated

just noticed that the google home max was half price last month, d'oh!

the dock to bluetooth converter is an interesting idea,
as i mentioned the docked sound on my speaker
is way superior to the aux in sound for whatever reason,
so that may serve me better that CCA

you've also got me thinking about a basic google home
and a pair of bookshelves or better audio speaker,
a few suggestions would be very welcome,
i assume i'm into better sound for the money that way
than 400 odd for the max, i was hoping to keep the spend to 300
so 60e for the G home, leaves me a couple of hundred for speaker(s)
Harvey Norman are doing the JBL Extreme 2 for 230 (was 300)
are these any good? (i like the earbuds)
i assume it will have that scooped mid sound but it looks like a decent unit
its also portable, waterproof and although its unlikely to ever move
i suppose its nice to have the option,
will the GH still hear voices if its near the 3rd party speaker

speaking of the JBL, (and having looked at it again)
its worth mentioning that i would prefer like something that looks cool and understated
dont want lights or big logos, metal grates and all that, nothing industrial
as it will sit on my counter 24/7, that another appeal of the GH max

all wisdom welcome

cheers

fourmations

So, I'm reporting back...

I got the home max from Google online UK in conjunction with parcel motel, 100 stg off at the time, 355€ to my door,

Briefly, it's very loud, and well bassy, it looks great, really minimal and classy, but it's not an audiophile item, it's the usual scooped eq.however, its a great party speaker though,
I'm pleased with it , is my first "smart" item but it was replacing my other kitchen speaker so it had to sound okay and it does!