Best music streamer for use with Bose Companion 20 speakers - needs Tuner and CD player

[Graeme Williamson]

Hi folks. I have Bose Companion 20 speakers which have only a 3.5mm jack input. I want to buy a unit that will allow me to:

- Stream music (Apple airplay preferably)
- Play CDs
- Listen to radio (DAB or Net)

All through the speakers. I have seen various streaming systems that have these source options but they seem to all be designed for passive speakers. Does anyone know of anything around the £200-300 mark that would do this? Thanks

 

[lovinthehd]

A computer?

 

[Graeme Williamson]

A computer?

Guess that's sarcastic but if it's a real suggestion, I don't want to use a computer due to the hassle of booting it up etc and I want to be able to stream music to the unit from a phone etc.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/Marantz-M-CR611-Receiver-Bluetooth-Internet/dp/B013647DN8/ref=pd_sbs_23_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0Y02NFT6MC7MV5EZ0926
It has RCA L/R out which you could get a cable at monoprice to wire to 3.5mm input.

Except the it's a terrible idea and you should seriously consider a laptop with optical drive instead.
Maybe something like : https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Certified-Refurbished-Microsoft-Surface-Pro-4--128GB-Intel-Core-m3/productID.4236432000
Add external usb drive and install (free Kodi) - I'm sure it would work great with touch screen and look fancy as well.
Kodi supports whole bunch of internet radio and video plugins as well as it also support Airplay target so you could play music from your idevices to it by network

 

[Graeme Williamson]

Something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/Marantz-M-CR611-Receiver-Bluetooth-Internet/dp/B013647DN8/ref=pd_sbs_23_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0Y02NFT6MC7MV5EZ0926
It has RCA L/R out which you could get a cable at monoprice to wire to 3.5mm input.

Except the it's a terrible idea and you should seriously consider a laptop with optical drive instead.
Maybe something like : https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Certified-Refurbished-Microsoft-Surface-Pro-4--128GB-Intel-Core-m3/productID.4236432000
Add external usb drive and install (free Kodi) - I'm sure it would work great with touch screen and look fancy as well.
Kodi supports whole bunch of internet radio and video plugins as well as it also support Airplay target so you could play music from your idevices to it by network

Thanks a lot, appreciate the input. Excuse my ignorance but can you explain why the first option is a bad idea? Thanks

 

[lovinthehd]

Guess that's sarcastic but if it's a real suggestion, I don't want to use a computer due to the hassle of booting it up etc and I want to be able to stream music to the unit from a phone etc.

No, not sarcastic, just seems like an economical way to meet your needs. When I want to stream music from my computer to various systems I just leave it running, which it normally does all day long anyways. I use my android phone to do the managing as to what to play and where to send it in my network.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Thanks a lot, appreciate the input. Excuse my ignorance but can you explain why the first option is a bad idea? Thanks

You're trying to combine old tech - aka CD player and new tech - streaming radio. I've yet to see company does both well in a single cheap unit. Just read Marantz reviews - the software is full of bugs.
You need something which can easily be updated - internet streams sources change and adapt, but hardware units like this are not meant for quick and frequent updates.

Not to mention Bose speakers are known for two things: Being overly expensive and usually not sound accurately.