Modern Audio for a Luddite

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mudguard

2114 posts

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#132215 13-Oct-2013 09:11

I'm trying to think of a more modern solution for my father, who is 60 this year and enjoys his music as much as any of us.
I bought him an iPod a few years ago, showed him how to use iTunes (he can use a laptop ok) and copy the music from CD's to the iPod.
However he has the grand total of one album on his iPod. So he doesn't really use it.

He still listens to vinyl but also has several Tivoli radio/CD systems around the house. I'm trying to think of a simple solution for him to get the music he wants at a reasonable price, and easily. About the only thing I can think of so far is to sign him up to google music or spotify, give him my old S3 which has a vertical dock, and leave it permanently plugged into mains and to the 3.5mm audio input on the Tivoli.

That way he would simply wake the phone, (wouldn't need a sim or security) and add music simply by searching for it. I don't think he's ready for any kind of remote system (IE streaming from a tablet or something like that)

Thoughts? Should be pretty cheap, just the cost of the subscription, and he doesn't really need to "move" the music around.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

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#914326 13-Oct-2013 14:17

yep, that's what I would do.

Although he might find the interface of other music services to be better, show him a few to see what he prefers. e.g. Rdio, Deezer, etc

Geektastic

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#914354 13-Oct-2013 17:04

How about something like the B&W Zeppelin or Zeppelin mini? Or a Bose Sound Dock?

Both those will dock the older iPhone/ipod touch units and can be found on TM from time to time if you don't fancy new.

I have a B&W Zeppelin Air which I cannot dock to now that Apple changed to Lightening. However I stream iTunes or Pandora to it all the time. Brilliant sound.

They have aux inputs too.

stevenz

2802 posts

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#914375 13-Oct-2013 17:53

Anything made by B&W and particularly Bose throws the "cheap" requirement (as well as value for money) out the window. Although if he has multiple Tivoli units, maybe the definition of "cheap" is fairly flexible?

The S3 dock would certainly work, but the interfaces for the streaming apps aren't very good. Google Music's is okay and would probably do the job, they seem to have better quality audio than Spotify as well. You could get the multimedia dock which would also give you HDMI output if need be, as well as a 3.5mm jack from the base rather than plugging into the top of the unit, more of a line-out than a headphone jack too so audio quality may be a bit better.

You can also get lightning to dock adapters for the likes of the Zeppelin, but they make things a little precarious, unless his existing ipod can be leveraged to provide the same functionality.

@KnightNZ

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

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#914412 13-Oct-2013 19:26

I'm in the midst of encoding my Dad's entire music collection for him...
300+ classical music CD's, so it is taking some time.
Once it's loaded onto his computer, it'll be a connection to an amplifier, a Harmony remote and a set of speakers. The key is to keep the music on the computer so it's accessible on his network, so he can listen anywhere in the house.

jpoc

1043 posts

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#914424 13-Oct-2013 19:52

You say that he can use a laptop.

Does he understand the concept of copying files around with drag and drop in windows explorer?

If so, get him a proper mp3 player that works with the tools that he understands rather than make him struggle with itunes.

afe66

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#914477 13-Oct-2013 21:51

Sonos 3 or 5 speaker running spotify and using the s3 with sonos app to search music.

A.

Geektastic

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#914504 13-Oct-2013 23:41

stevenz: Anything made by B&W and particularly Bose throws the "cheap" requirement (as well as value for money) out the window. Although if he has multiple Tivoli units, maybe the definition of "cheap" is fairly flexible?

The S3 dock would certainly work, but the interfaces for the streaming apps aren't very good. Google Music's is okay and would probably do the job, they seem to have better quality audio than Spotify as well. You could get the multimedia dock which would also give you HDMI output if need be, as well as a 3.5mm jack from the base rather than plugging into the top of the unit, more of a line-out than a headphone jack too so audio quality may be a bit better.

You can also get lightning to dock adapters for the likes of the Zeppelin, but they make things a little precarious, unless his existing ipod can be leveraged to provide the same functionality.

I suppose that depends on your definition of cheap.

I've seen the older Bose Sound Dock units on Trade Me for $250 - $300 which seems pretty cheap music to me when a pair of Krell monoblock hi fi amps could cost $100,000.....!!

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Geektastic

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#914505 13-Oct-2013 23:43

stevenz: Anything made by B&W and particularly Bose throws the "cheap" requirement (as well as value for money) out the window. Although if he has multiple Tivoli units, maybe the definition of "cheap" is fairly flexible?

The S3 dock would certainly work, but the interfaces for the streaming apps aren't very good. Google Music's is okay and would probably do the job, they seem to have better quality audio than Spotify as well. You could get the multimedia dock which would also give you HDMI output if need be, as well as a 3.5mm jack from the base rather than plugging into the top of the unit, more of a line-out than a headphone jack too so audio quality may be a bit better.

You can also get lightning to dock adapters for the likes of the Zeppelin, but they make things a little precarious, unless his existing ipod can be leveraged to provide the same functionality.

You could connect using the headphone out via a cable. I've done that into a Bose Wave Radio in our bedroom and it works fine.

ilovemusic

1439 posts

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#914512 14-Oct-2013 00:39

Geektastic:

I suppose that depends on your definition of cheap.

I've seen the older Bose Sound Dock units on Trade Me for $250 - $300 which seems pretty cheap music to me when a pair of Krell monoblock hi fi amps could cost $100,000.....!!

And the Krells would be worth every penny over the cost of a Bose !