Raumfeld multi-room wireless music system If you want a wireless music system with a trick remote control you have two options: spend a lot of cash and get a Sonos set up, or spend a lot less and get a Logitech Squeezebox Duet. Both rigs require your music library to be housed on an PC or Nas drive, and with the Logitech you also need some hi-fi kit to hand. Raumfeld …
Or, you can use PulseAudio. True, it might not look as good as the reviewed kit - but with a wifi router, and small computer being the server, a pair of active speakers of your choice, and a laptop of any kind serving as the controller - both the server and the controller running Linux, of course - you have a full equivalent setup. The system can look as good as you want it to look if you buy really nice speakers - the rest being pretty much hidden from view.
One or two advantages that I can spot is that you can have multiple 'controller' laptops connected to the same server, and the other one being that pretty much anything you play from the laptop - including BBC iPlayer, movies, YouTube - can go through the wireless sound system.
But yes, I'll be the first to admit it that it takes much more effort to setup then the reviewed system.
"The system can look as good as you want it to look"
" and a laptop of any kind serving as the controller"
Number 1 is ruled out by number 2. A laptop is not a suitable remote. Perhaps when some cheap, small tablets come out that might be a feasible idea, but even then the UI will be terrible.
Yor 'aving a larf, mate!
I have a PC with my media on it, I use a dlink media louge streamer that is hooked up to my TV, my surround sound system AND my hi-fi.
I can use wireless or wired
Video / Movies / images (HD as well!) to my tv and surround sound.
Music to both lounge and dining room via my hi - fi system (or I can switch a single room off)
Total cost? about £100.
Yeah, sign me up for one of these babies!
Top end audio kit has always cost a lot be it conventional hi-fi separates of techie stuff like Sonos. If you want it, you pay, if not you go for one of the myriad of cheaper options. I have German friends who own a Raumfeld (the system has been on sale in Germany since late last year). They bought it as a house warming present for themselves and are very happy with it. It's got their music library off the family laptop and replaced their old stereo & TV 2.1 system, lets them run music in three rooms - or in the garden, all you need is an extension cable - and control the whole thing from the remote. The convenience of being able to relocate the wireless speakers in seconds should not be overlooked. I was impressed with the sound too, especially from the larger speakers. Expensive? Yes. Do I want one? Yes.
I would certainly value ease-of-use over saving money and dicking about with setting up my own system which ends up with me having to use my laptop to control it.
In my eyes the ideal setup is speakers in each room and something like an iPad on the wall next to (or replacing) your light switches, with a central server hidden some place (or each pad clones data).
Does this already exist - using standard standalone speakers with a bluetooth/wifi connection and an iPhone app?
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