Hi all, I haven't posted here in years, but am in need of some guidance.
To start, I am an Apple guy. We have lots of Macs, iPads, etc. I would like to get the new homepod for my den, but we are getting a new 4K TV soon and I can't justify the additional purchase right now. I'm sure plenty of people here think the HomePod is lame compared to high end systems, although for me it would have been a good fit for my needs, except for the price. So I am trying to find a good alternative.
I have a very small home theater setup in the living room, consisting of a Pioneer receiver and a pair of Paradigm Atoms, which I love and decided on from advice here many years ago. I know this is very low power system compared to probably most of you, but it works for me. In addition to TV and Movies (antenna and Apple TV), I also play a lot of Pandora. This system handles all of my audio needs in the living room. However, my den is a bit of a dead zone currently, which is where a homepod-like speaker would be ideal. I am considering the Sonos One, but I also have an AirPort express that I thought I could make use of here. Seems like I could pair it with a good powered dumb speaker to get the wireless music coverage for my den, and ultimately achieve better audio than the Sonos, all while spending less. This way I wouldn't be paying for the wireless/smart capabilities that are not imperative for me.
With that said, I am on the hunt for a good powered speaker, $100-150 (or less) that offers really good room-filling (or close to it) sound. My concern for the Sonos is that it may not be able to fill the room as much as I would like. It's a large open space, den and kitchen together, 14 x 40. Surely there are some good standalone speakers out there for my Franken-HomePod that would be better than the Sonos One.
I would appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
--Derek