PuppyDaddy
New Member
I use my current system for a mix of home theatre like movies and TV shows played via a Fire stick and also for listening to music by myself and in the background at parties etc. The music plays via a Squeezebox player — I have Spotify and SoundCloud plug-ins installed. I am using a Denon PMA-80 amp and a pair of Dynaudio Audience 62 speakers to complete the setup. The Squeezebox plugs into the amp while the fire stick goes into a splitter which outputs the audio via RCA to the amp and the video via HDMI to a projector.
I’m thinking about upgrading this setup for a few reasons, first the amp is beginning to show problems — it cuts out sometimes and the right channel occasionally becomes softer than the left. Second, the setup with Squeezebox is cumbersome. The player is old and the server runs on a Raspberry pi which seems to have a problem every 6 months or so. Basically, it’ll randomly not work and I have to debug it for 10-15 minutes but its enough that my wife doesn’t end up using it for music much. I’d really like something as easy as can be to play music. Third, after doing HT on a 2.0 for several years I’m tempted to get a 5.1 or 7.1 surround theatre.
I’ve been thinking about the following options
1. A fully wireless 5.1 setup like Sonos arc+One+Sub or possibly Sony but I’m not sure if this would give a great stereo listening experience
2. Replacing the amp with an AV receiver with built-in streaming and adding centre and rear speakers.
3. Adding a pair of wireless active speakers like KEF LS50 to simplify the music listening bit and leaving the HT setup as is
My room is not too large for HT viewing about 14’x12’. It’s just off the middle of the main living and dining area which is about 30’x20’. It’s a bit like a stubby T. When we have a party I play the music in the TV area and just turn it up a bit to let it flow into the living area.
Would love your suggestions on any of the options above. The main thing is to balance HT with music listening and make it much easier to stream music from Spotify or one of the hires streaming services.
I’m thinking about upgrading this setup for a few reasons, first the amp is beginning to show problems — it cuts out sometimes and the right channel occasionally becomes softer than the left. Second, the setup with Squeezebox is cumbersome. The player is old and the server runs on a Raspberry pi which seems to have a problem every 6 months or so. Basically, it’ll randomly not work and I have to debug it for 10-15 minutes but its enough that my wife doesn’t end up using it for music much. I’d really like something as easy as can be to play music. Third, after doing HT on a 2.0 for several years I’m tempted to get a 5.1 or 7.1 surround theatre.
I’ve been thinking about the following options
1. A fully wireless 5.1 setup like Sonos arc+One+Sub or possibly Sony but I’m not sure if this would give a great stereo listening experience
2. Replacing the amp with an AV receiver with built-in streaming and adding centre and rear speakers.
3. Adding a pair of wireless active speakers like KEF LS50 to simplify the music listening bit and leaving the HT setup as is
My room is not too large for HT viewing about 14’x12’. It’s just off the middle of the main living and dining area which is about 30’x20’. It’s a bit like a stubby T. When we have a party I play the music in the TV area and just turn it up a bit to let it flow into the living area.
Would love your suggestions on any of the options above. The main thing is to balance HT with music listening and make it much easier to stream music from Spotify or one of the hires streaming services.