Smart Speaker Recommendations

[Silvio Tattiescone]

Sadly, my B&W Zeppelin is on it's last legs - buzzing, cutting out etc so I'm on the lookout for a replacement. The only music I listen to these days is via Alexa and a Music Unlimited account so not the highest fidelity but I want it to be as good a quality as I can for a budget of around £500. The options seem to be another Zepp, but wireless this time - 

 

 

Or a Sonos Play 5

 

 

Maybe a pair of Sonos Ones

 

Or is there better out there? 

[Venti]

Got a Sonos One Gen2 free with my latest phone upgrade. They are pretty good. Google assistant coming soon for it as well.

[peasy23]

Got a Sonos Beam last week, ideal for the size of my living room. Much better sound quality than my old Samsung sound bar which had a separate sub woofer.

[The DA]

Jordan Peterson is quite good but probably out of your price range.  Peter Ustinov and Kenneth Williams were both witty and engaging but they're both gone now.

[Dee Man]

Just make sure it's got the new AI non-gender specific voice rather than a male or female or you'll be labelled a sexist b*****d. 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/03/11/gender-neutral-voice-assistant-creators-say-alexa-style-ai-excludes/

[BawWatchin]

Panasonic SC-UA7E-K

1700w of pure bliss for less than half your budget.

 

[welshbairn]

1 hour ago, The DA said:

Jordan Peterson is quite good but probably out of your price range.  Peter Ustinov and Kenneth Williams were both witty and engaging but they're both gone now.

I'm free!

[whiskychimp]

46 minutes ago, BawWatchin said:

Panasonic SC-UA7E-K

1700w of pure bliss for less than half your budget.

 

That is fucking hideous

[BawWatchin]

1 minute ago, whiskychimp said:

That is fucking hideous

and Beats "looks" good. What's your point?

[Silvio Tattiescone]

1 hour ago, BawWatchin said:

Panasonic SC-UA7E-K

1700w of pure bliss for less than half your budget.

 

 

Its ugly as feck and powerful, but what's the quality like?

[BawWatchin]

1 minute ago, NewBornBairn said:

 

Its ugly as feck and powerful, but what's the quality like?

There's youtube videos. But obviously that's never the best way to judge the quality of a speaker. You could probably go into curry's or something and audition it.  Seems to be highly reviewed online though.

[Dosser-fae-the-shire]

Sonos Beam is really good but Alexa is a fuckin wee cow.

[Boostin' Kev]

If you want something with a bit more portability I'd recommend Dali Katch.  I literally take it everywhere with me.

 

https://www.whathifi.com/dali/katch/review

[Miguel Sanchez]

4 hours ago, The DA said:

Jordan Peterson is quite good but probably out of your price range.  Peter Ustinov and Kenneth Williams were both witty and engaging but they're both gone now.

He asked for smart speakers

[whiskychimp]

3 hours ago, BawWatchin said:

and Beats "looks" good. What's your point?

If it's part of your house, you actually have to see it. 

[BawWatchin]

5 minutes ago, whiskychimp said:

If it's part of your house, you actually have to see it. 

Not necessarily. Some people prefer speakers that don't stand out and just blend into the background. Really depends what you're going for I suppose.

[mathematics]

I’ve got Sonos speakers throughout the house. Not got a bad word to say about them.

[whiskychimp]

10 hours ago, BawWatchin said:

Not necessarily. Some people prefer speakers that don't stand out and just blend into the background. Really depends what you're going for I suppose.

Yup. Those people don't buy that

[Silvio Tattiescone]

That big thing has plenty louds but a lot of reviews point out not the greatest quality. As I'm unlikely to be using it to belt out my Kylie Minogue collection, I'm looking for something that's the best quality I can get for the money whilst not really wanting to go down the separates route. 

[whiskychimp]

I don't have one but I have been looking. This seems to be the best for that kind of money.