4 ms·

I was wondering what the advantage is to building something like this, compared to just using a bluetooth adapter that connects via RCA cables (like this box do

I was wondering what the advantage is to building something like this, compared to just using a bluetooth adapter that connects via RCA cables (like this box does). I suppose one advantage is that if you walk far away from your stereo, you can loose bluetooth connection and drop audio, where this device has it's own WiFi connection and pulls Spotify audio directly, and is just manually controlled via your phone.

bjelkeman-again 5y ago
That seemingly small advantage is great for me. Bluetooth is too short range.
- vel0city 5y ago
  I use a Miccus RTX Home on my non-Bluetooth home receiver. I can routinely get a few hundred feet of range from it at my house. Granted I don't have a ton of 2.4GHz noise, but it's noticeably much better range than any other Bluetooth device I've used. https://miccus.com/products/miccus-home-rtx-2-0 https://miccus.com/products/miccus-home-rtx-2-0
polpo 5y ago
It also means your phone's battery is not draining while you're playing music. I use spotifyd on a Raspberry Pi and it's pretty wonderful.
wodenokoto 5y ago
Also, music doesn't stop if you visit a webpage with an autoplaying video or open an app that plays audio.
jareklupinski 5y ago
and an Ethernet jack for even more reliability :)
hammock 5y ago
It's Chromecast Audio, but for Spotify.
- extr 5y ago
  Still can't believe they stopped manufacturing these. Such a perfect and cheap solution to the same problem as OP: streaming audio over WiFi to a "dumb" speaker.
- ct0 5y ago
  Exactly what it looks like, pretty cool. My Denon receiver has this built in. AVR-3600H, I love it and can send music from my phone, and still use the remote for the reciever. Song and title is displayed on the tv, it I turn it on.
apecat 5y ago
The tradeoff seems to be that * Bluetooth offers limited range and uses more battery, and is usually interrupted if someone calls, but supports any application that can play sound. * Spotify Connect is its own Spotify client and downloads the audio stream from Spotify which allows freedom to roam. But the implementation is indeed limited to Spotify and doesn't support niceties like volume normalization or nerdy details like crossfade (and perhaps not gapless playback)
mustacheemperor 5y ago
Bluetooth is inherently lossy/compressed, whereas Spotify Connect directly streams 320kbps to the client device. I’m not sure how much that advantage is negated on a device with such a cheap DAC, but cheap DACs can be good. Bluetooth audio is always going to have some quality compromises, and it looks like this device is intended for a component stereo setup where quality matters. Worth noting streaming Spotify over Chromecast (like on a chromecast audio) is oddly enough limited to 256 kbps AAC. The TV chromecast devices support Spotify Connect, I guess because they boot the full app GUI.
minimaul 5y ago
I think to be honest a project like this is not just about practical advantages. It's fun, and it's an amazing learning exercise.
paxys 5y ago
Bluetooth is terrible for music streaming. - Your phone has to be connected the entire time - Quality is flaky - It has to stay in range - You have to manually disconnect/reconnect it every time - You can't take calls while playing music - Only one person/phone can connect to the speaker at a time - It drains battery Having the speaker stream directly from the internet while having your phone (or multiple phones, or web browser, or voice etc.) acting as a remote is a game changer.
- dvsfish 5y ago
  I'm no fan of bluetooth for music, but wouldn't an internet connected speaker also drain battery? And are you really wanting to simultaneously take a call and listen to music? Will the person on the other end appreciate that? Seems like an inconsequential limitation to me. Fully agree with your other points. And they're enough on their own.
  - kube-system 5y ago
    It saves battery by streaming the music from Spotify directly over the internet, rather than through your phone.
  - paxys 5y ago
    It would not drain your phone battery. The speaker is almost always going to be plugged in anyways. And stepping into another room to take a call while others are listening to music isn't all that uncommon.
  - vgel 5y ago
    > And are you really wanting to simultaneously take a call and listen to music? Will the person on the other end appreciate that? Seems like an inconsequential limitation to me. You could be hosting a party, for example, and want to leave the room to take a call without interrupting the music.
- ohgodplsno 5y ago
  A single use speaker is not a game changer, it's just Spotify selling you useless gadgets. But if you're interested, I've got a mouse to sell to you that can only work on Word, and a keyboard that can only type the words "game changer". In practice, this is just a terrible speaker that can only ever play Spotify. It's a waste of energy and resources that you will throw away within a year.
smoldesu 5y ago
Scary anecdote: I was at the Verizon store, and the clerk attending to me was getting really hung up on some stupid allegory about L Ron Hubbard and phone salesmanship, so I started reading the news until he tired himself out. I swiped down into my status bar and saw my Spotify widget was playing something, so I paused it assuming that it was just me leaving it on at home. A few moments later, it was playing again, and someone on the other end repeatedly fought me for it. I ended up ditching our friendly salesman and resetting my password in the parking lot, but it's still one of those Orwellian moments that reminds me of the scale of the internet.
- ct0 5y ago
  Change your password.

bjelkeman-again 5y ago

That seemingly small advantage is great for me. Bluetooth is too short range.

vel0city 5y ago
I use a Miccus RTX Home on my non-Bluetooth home receiver. I can routinely get a few hundred feet of range from it at my house. Granted I don't have a ton of 2.4GHz noise, but it's noticeably much better range than any other Bluetooth device I've used. https://miccus.com/products/miccus-home-rtx-2-0 https://miccus.com/products/miccus-home-rtx-2-0

polpo 5y ago

It also means your phone's battery is not draining while you're playing music. I use spotifyd on a Raspberry Pi and it's pretty wonderful.

wodenokoto 5y ago

Also, music doesn't stop if you visit a webpage with an autoplaying video or open an app that plays audio.

jareklupinski 5y ago

and an Ethernet jack for even more reliability :)

hammock 5y ago

It's Chromecast Audio, but for Spotify.

extr 5y ago
Still can't believe they stopped manufacturing these. Such a perfect and cheap solution to the same problem as OP: streaming audio over WiFi to a "dumb" speaker.
ct0 5y ago
Exactly what it looks like, pretty cool. My Denon receiver has this built in. AVR-3600H, I love it and can send music from my phone, and still use the remote for the reciever. Song and title is displayed on the tv, it I turn it on.

apecat 5y ago

The tradeoff seems to be that * Bluetooth offers limited range and uses more battery, and is usually interrupted if someone calls, but supports any application that can play sound. * Spotify Connect is its own Spotify client and downloads the audio stream from Spotify which allows freedom to roam. But the implementation is indeed limited to Spotify and doesn't support niceties like volume normalization or nerdy details like crossfade (and perhaps not gapless playback)

mustacheemperor 5y ago

Bluetooth is inherently lossy/compressed, whereas Spotify Connect directly streams 320kbps to the client device. I’m not sure how much that advantage is negated on a device with such a cheap DAC, but cheap DACs can be good. Bluetooth audio is always going to have some quality compromises, and it looks like this device is intended for a component stereo setup where quality matters. Worth noting streaming Spotify over Chromecast (like on a chromecast audio) is oddly enough limited to 256 kbps AAC. The TV chromecast devices support Spotify Connect, I guess because they boot the full app GUI.

minimaul 5y ago

I think to be honest a project like this is not just about practical advantages. It's fun, and it's an amazing learning exercise.

paxys 5y ago

Bluetooth is terrible for music streaming. - Your phone has to be connected the entire time - Quality is flaky - It has to stay in range - You have to manually disconnect/reconnect it every time - You can't take calls while playing music - Only one person/phone can connect to the speaker at a time - It drains battery Having the speaker stream directly from the internet while having your phone (or multiple phones, or web browser, or voice etc.) acting as a remote is a game changer.

dvsfish 5y ago
I'm no fan of bluetooth for music, but wouldn't an internet connected speaker also drain battery? And are you really wanting to simultaneously take a call and listen to music? Will the person on the other end appreciate that? Seems like an inconsequential limitation to me. Fully agree with your other points. And they're enough on their own.
- kube-system 5y ago
  It saves battery by streaming the music from Spotify directly over the internet, rather than through your phone.
- paxys 5y ago
  It would not drain your phone battery. The speaker is almost always going to be plugged in anyways. And stepping into another room to take a call while others are listening to music isn't all that uncommon.
- vgel 5y ago
  > And are you really wanting to simultaneously take a call and listen to music? Will the person on the other end appreciate that? Seems like an inconsequential limitation to me. You could be hosting a party, for example, and want to leave the room to take a call without interrupting the music.
ohgodplsno 5y ago
A single use speaker is not a game changer, it's just Spotify selling you useless gadgets. But if you're interested, I've got a mouse to sell to you that can only work on Word, and a keyboard that can only type the words "game changer". In practice, this is just a terrible speaker that can only ever play Spotify. It's a waste of energy and resources that you will throw away within a year.

smoldesu 5y ago

Scary anecdote: I was at the Verizon store, and the clerk attending to me was getting really hung up on some stupid allegory about L Ron Hubbard and phone salesmanship, so I started reading the news until he tired himself out. I swiped down into my status bar and saw my Spotify widget was playing something, so I paused it assuming that it was just me leaving it on at home. A few moments later, it was playing again, and someone on the other end repeatedly fought me for it. I ended up ditching our friendly salesman and resetting my password in the parking lot, but it's still one of those Orwellian moments that reminds me of the scale of the internet.

ct0 5y ago
Change your password.