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I really wish someone would come out with a $25 "box" that sits on top of my bookshelf speaker that allows me to Airplay to it and power said speaker with a ~50

I really wish someone would come out with a $25 "box" that sits on top of my bookshelf speaker that allows me to Airplay to it and power said speaker with a ~50w class-D amp. Then if I have multiple ones, it would allow them to pair and setup stereo or surround sound. I might even pay $50 for it. Kinda like a Sonos Amp but not at that price point.

whywhywhywhy 3mo ago
Whats the justification for Sonos Amp being 31 times the price you're willing to spend? Niche problem or is the tech inside it worth that?
- stuff4ben 3mo ago
  I do like my Sonos setup (have a pair of Era300s, an Arc Ultra, Sub4, and Sub Mini) and now that they've fixed the app issues, it works really well. And the sound quality is good enough for me. I just wish the Amp product was about half the price. It doesn't do all that much more.
- ssl-3 3mo ago
  Everything Sonos is already expensive. It's got the lifestyle-product tax built in. Anything involving Sonos with wires increases support cost. Simply involving wires produces new ways for people to screw things up (as if supporting their wireless-only customers wasn't expensive enough). And those who are using wires but not screwing things up gain the ability to expand and improve their audio systems in their own ways, without paying the Sonos tax to do so. They can buy/upgrade whatever speakers they want from any manufacturer in the world, while keeping the same Sonos Amp. That represents lost opportunity, so the amp gets taxed harder. (The tech inside the Sonos Amp isn't particularly novel. It's just a small Linux box with a trick proprietary software stack and some audio hardware.)
broknbottle 3mo ago
I went with iPod Hi-Fi + AirPort Express connected via mini toslink to mini toslink cable.
patja 3mo ago
Squeezelite-ESP32 is a solution that is sort of aligned with this scenario. No airplay and you would need an amp module to get to 50w.
nzach 3mo ago
I'm thinking about getting an Audiocast M5[0]. It seems to do exactly that. The price seems to be around US$ 30. [0] - https://audiocast.io/ https://audiocast.io/
- dmd 3mo ago
  That's missing the 'amp' part.
  - atrus 3mo ago
    You're 75% correct, one of the 4 products does have an amp though.
- stuff4ben 3mo ago
  Doesn't look like the Amp50 is available to buy...
lode 3mo ago
Does https://sonocotta.com/louder-esp32/ https://sonocotta.com/louder-esp32/ look like something you might be looking for?
- stuff4ben 3mo ago
  Whoa, yeah that does look very promising!!! Thanks!
JackMorgan 3mo ago
After reading this comment I also wanted the same thing and found this https://www.up2stream.net/products/up2stream-mini-receiver-board https://www.up2stream.net/products/up2stream-mini-receiver-b...
zubiaur 3mo ago
WiiM makes a few. With or without amp. It can be had for about ~40 refurbished from what I suspect to be their eBay store. Airplay 2. I have it hooked via optical to a soundbar.
deleted 3mo ago
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whywhywhywhy 3mo ago

Whats the justification for Sonos Amp being 31 times the price you're willing to spend? Niche problem or is the tech inside it worth that?

stuff4ben 3mo ago
I do like my Sonos setup (have a pair of Era300s, an Arc Ultra, Sub4, and Sub Mini) and now that they've fixed the app issues, it works really well. And the sound quality is good enough for me. I just wish the Amp product was about half the price. It doesn't do all that much more.
ssl-3 3mo ago
Everything Sonos is already expensive. It's got the lifestyle-product tax built in. Anything involving Sonos with wires increases support cost. Simply involving wires produces new ways for people to screw things up (as if supporting their wireless-only customers wasn't expensive enough). And those who are using wires but not screwing things up gain the ability to expand and improve their audio systems in their own ways, without paying the Sonos tax to do so. They can buy/upgrade whatever speakers they want from any manufacturer in the world, while keeping the same Sonos Amp. That represents lost opportunity, so the amp gets taxed harder. (The tech inside the Sonos Amp isn't particularly novel. It's just a small Linux box with a trick proprietary software stack and some audio hardware.)

broknbottle 3mo ago

I went with iPod Hi-Fi + AirPort Express connected via mini toslink to mini toslink cable.

patja 3mo ago

Squeezelite-ESP32 is a solution that is sort of aligned with this scenario. No airplay and you would need an amp module to get to 50w.

nzach 3mo ago

I'm thinking about getting an Audiocast M5[0]. It seems to do exactly that. The price seems to be around US$ 30. [0] - https://audiocast.io/ https://audiocast.io/

dmd 3mo ago
That's missing the 'amp' part.
- atrus 3mo ago
  You're 75% correct, one of the 4 products does have an amp though.
stuff4ben 3mo ago
Doesn't look like the Amp50 is available to buy...

lode 3mo ago

Does https://sonocotta.com/louder-esp32/ https://sonocotta.com/louder-esp32/ look like something you might be looking for?

stuff4ben 3mo ago
Whoa, yeah that does look very promising!!! Thanks!

JackMorgan 3mo ago

After reading this comment I also wanted the same thing and found this https://www.up2stream.net/products/up2stream-mini-receiver-board https://www.up2stream.net/products/up2stream-mini-receiver-b...

zubiaur 3mo ago

WiiM makes a few. With or without amp. It can be had for about ~40 refurbished from what I suspect to be their eBay store. Airplay 2. I have it hooked via optical to a soundbar.

deleted 3mo ago

[deleted]