Interesting New Gadget Turns Any Stereo into a Sonos-like System?

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eracode

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#143470 16-Apr-2014 02:54

Looks like a cool product and pretty cheap:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/15/gramofon-music-streaming-facebook-spotify-wifi-router/

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myfullflavour

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#1209860 7-Jan-2015 12:47

The Gramofon caught our attention late last year and we now have our hands on a few of them.

The short:

- Wireless router with a 100M WAN port and a 100M LAN port.
- Has Spotify connect built-in and a 3.5m audio output.
- Spotify connect is superior as your "remote" device can take calls or be turned off altogether and the Gramofon will continue spinning tunes

The FM tuner has been kicked into the corner and we replaced the existing office wireless router with it - so far so good.

Wireless signal and performance similar to our other residential routers (Huawei & Innbox).

So far working great on a UFB 100/20 connection as well.

We'll put a couple of dozen units out in the market and if all goes well, it'll be "Gramofon for 2015" at Full Flavour.

chevrolux

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#1209982 7-Jan-2015 16:10

Just bought one! Looking forward to it. This will be far better than constantly plugging in the phone to get Spotify on the stereo!

itxtme

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#1210008 7-Jan-2015 16:38

Got one for xmas, its good BUT I was of the understanding you could use the spotify in multiple rooms. However you can actually only use it on one speaker/device/gramfon at a time. In the future I will be looking at getting the Panasonic or Sony speakers which support multiroom over WIFI.

EDIT for clarity [What I mean by multiple rooms is stream the same song in multiple rooms of the house at the same time, ie. Lounge Kitchen Bedroom]

BTW for all you users out there who have or get one the PC version of Spotify doesnt support the wifi streaming, you have to use the App on Android or IOS. Hopwever they have a beta version thats undergoing testing that does support it on computer -> https://community.spotify.com/t5/Help-Desktop-Linux-Mac-and/Welcome-to-the-Desktop-Beta/td-p/932803

myfullflavour

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#1210419 8-Jan-2015 10:49

itxtme: Got one for xmas, its good BUT I was of the understanding you could use the spotify in multiple rooms. However you can actually only use it on one speaker/device/gramfon at a time.

I read that this was a feature they are introducing this year.

itxtme: BTW for all you users out there who have or get one the PC version of Spotify doesnt support the wifi streaming, you have to use the App on Android or IOS. Hopwever they have a beta version thats undergoing testing that does support it on computer -> https://community.spotify.com/t5/Help-Desktop-Linux-Mac-and/Welcome-to-the-Desktop-Beta/td-p/932803

Awesome, wasn't aware of this beta.

It seems to work fine with Gramofon - you can toggle the output button to choose between desktop and other devices.

The Spotify beta is still a bit buggy which is to be expected - but will be a sweet release when they do push it out to everyone.

chevrolux

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#1212330 12-Jan-2015 10:35

Just had a bit of a thought....

What do you think the legalities would be around plugging this in to a phone system for music on hold? Or for shop music?

I warn people off putting their own MP3 players on their PABX due to licensing issues but what do you reckon about Spotify? Would it just be a breach of Spotify's terms? Or actually illegal?

Jaxson

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#1212358 12-Jan-2015 10:56

Looks good.

Where does one acquire one of these now, and are they still at the discounted rate?

Interesting the choice of audio output looks to be analogue line level only, no digital out?

chevrolux

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#1212365 12-Jan-2015 11:08

Jaxson: Looks good.

Where does one acquire one of these now, and are they still at the discounted rate?

Interesting the choice of audio output looks to be analogue line level only, no digital out?

I got it direct from them but have shipped via YouShop UK - purely becasue the price was in Euro. But alos if you go to the Store it asks for your location. When I put NZ in there were no items available, however when you put UK the Gramofon shows up. It also required a UK mobile phone number, so I just googled a Real Estate Agent and used their number.

Edit: Cost was about $100 NZD which included shipping, not sure if that's a discount.

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Jaxson

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#1212686 12-Jan-2015 17:57

Agents number, lol

We used other agents numbers at open homes, but that's another story.

Do you have yours now mate? Any good?

stocksp

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#1212690 12-Jan-2015 18:29

I must be missing something. What's the advantgae of this vs streaming spotify via AirPlay to your amp ?

itxtme

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#1212718 12-Jan-2015 19:53

Nothing, but Airplay requires you have capable devices right? It is also a wifi extender, and allows anyone on your facebook friends to connect to it and play spotify (not sure how useful that is).

I bought mine from Amazon and they shipped direct.

Jaxson

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#1212724 12-Jan-2015 20:02

stocksp: I must be missing something. What's the advantgae of this vs streaming spotify via AirPlay to your amp ?

In my case my receiver doesn't have an Ethernet or wifi connection option, so this could provide me with the base station I'd need to avoid having to plug my phone into the receiver directly.

#firstworldproblems

chevrolux

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#1212756 12-Jan-2015 21:17

Jaxson:
stocksp: I must be missing something. What's the advantgae of this vs streaming spotify via AirPlay to your amp ?

In my case my receiver doesn't have an Ethernet or wifi connection option, so this could provide me with the base station I'd need to avoid having to plug my phone into the receiver directly.

#firstworldproblems

Spotify is the single propriety thing I will have in my house. Otherwise, if it's not open source it's not worth having!

And yea, I hate having to leave my phone next to the amp. Such a chore to go and change songs.

kiwitrc

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#1212891 13-Jan-2015 06:22

You guys might also be interested in this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crystal-Acoustics-WiDAC-wirelessly-smartphone-Black/dp/B00K79EHNU I have a couple of them I use at home and at work. They also have optical out and you can stream virtually anything through them using a phone or PC. Also being currently on special makes them pretty good value.

chevrolux

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#1222418 26-Jan-2015 14:08

Ok so got my Gramofon a couple of days ago. But am having trouble getting it working.

I feel like I must just be doing something stupid because the set up seems like it should be incredibly simple.

What I did....
Connect to Gramofon own SSID (Gramofon_xxxx)
Start set up
Click 'Connect through cable'
Plug in ethernet cabling in to 'Internet' port (the computer port has a blanking plate on it)
Click Finish

After that my phone disconnects from the Gramofon's SSID and goes back to my main SSID, the app tells me there was an error saving the config and thats that. The blue light continues to blink.

Looking at DHCP leases there are two MAC addresses (obviously these are different MAC's to the one printed on the unit as I assume the printed one is the Wireless interface but are defintely the same manufacturer as the first 5 octets are the same) that seem to appear from the Gramofon so I at least know it is getting an address on some sort of interface. When I do a port scan on these IP's I get absolutely no response on anything so can't even see if there is a listening port to access something on.

When I go through the set up and choose my wireless network it connects, and then clones the SSID. This is incredibly annoying because I don't want to use it as an AP and it also has WPS enabled which is just flat out stupid and I will not have WPS on my network. When I choose the option to not clone the SSID that same issue happens as above, error saving config, blue light keeps blinking.

I just want to plug in a cable and play Spotify. What am I doing wrong?! The app annoys me that it is so basic, i want more options to choose!!!

NonprayingMantis

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#1222421 26-Jan-2015 14:12

stocksp: I must be missing something. What's the advantgae of this vs streaming spotify via AirPlay to your amp ?

If, like me, you already have an Apple TV connected to your stereo, then nothing as far as I can see.