running out of ideas...

[torbee]

A couple of years ago I decided to run a sound system with as few wires as I could and came up with a bluetooth solution, using a pair of Sharper Image KO500 bluetooth speakers. The idea was to be able to come home and play music through my newly bought iPhone.
First problem... while that solution worked well with my wife's Blackberry, the original iPhone couldn't play A2DP. So, for well over a year I was stuck listening to my wife's music.
Then came the iPhone 3GS which has A2DP.. so I traded my original iPhone for the newest and bestest and...
Second problem... the 3GS does A2DP but not whatever it is (forget the acronym) that allows playing music through speakers.
I know, I should get rid of the iPhone and move to something more open ( I hate Apple) but I don't (cost, contract..etc).
So now I'm looking to replace the bluetooth speakers (super discounted when Sharper Image went out of business) for another solution, wifi or bluetooth.
I've just read about the Sonos S5 ZonePlayer system which, for $500, gets you an iPhone controlled, 5 drivers single speaker that is said to sound quite nice. My problem is that beside the high cost, I've never been a fan of a single speaker solutions. So I'm looking for alternatives...
All my music is now on my pc (yes, I reluctantly lost my audiophile status many years ago after an nth move) which I've also uploaded on my iPhone. I'd like to be able to play music without necessarily having the pc on but, unless the speakers are driven by the iPhone, I don't know how that would work.
I'm also looking at studio type active speakers (Phonic for example has a wireless solution) but I'm not sure how to interface pro audio equipment with pc components.
Fundamentally I'm looking for a quality sound (speakers) that isn't driven by pre-amp/amp, cables, etc. but by iPhone/pc with wifi or bluetooth.
So far, I only seem to find single speaker/craddle solutions which would work fine as an alarm clocks but won't cut it for semi serious music listening pleasure.
Any affordable suggestions w ould be much appreciated, thanks!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Hey torbee ,
I think you can try Behringer Active monitors from MS series :
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/MS20.aspx
They, together with Apple AirPort Express connect with optical toslink.
Airport will serve as wi-fi audio client. You home pc's iTunes will find AirPort and send music to it, while you can fully control iTunes on your iPhone with iTunes Remote.

While these models don't have balanced audio inputs, Imo this should be a show stopper for your needs

 

[torbee]

Thanks for that suggestion which brings more questions...

Although I use iTunes and an iPhone, I don't want to be locked in to Apple for my music which I have downloaded to my pc in 8 GB of files. iTunes and iPhone are just the means by which I play the music and if tomorrow I switch to an Android based phone, i want to make sure my set up will continue working.

Also, I use headphones plugged into a high end Creative sound card for my pc. If that sound card can be used for the music that's even better! My house is already wifi enabled and our phones are wifi VOIP exclusively.

What I have in mind is to have the speakers in the living room with no wires (I suppose a wire needs to run between the 2 speakers?) and have my iPhone or other wifi enabled phone able to control the music, with pc turned on or off.

As for the speakers themselves, I don't plan on cranking the sound up much so wattage isn't an issue; but high efficiency is, precisely because the sound will most often be kept reasonably low.

I apologize for the rambling and appreciate further feedback, even if it refers back to the first suggestion! Thanks.

 

[torbee]

No feedback?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Well, just throwing it out there : you can always use Sonos system or Logitech Squeezebox (both expensive btw)

 

[bandphan]

Bottom line is that the system not be based upon your phone (or any portable device). If you want to use your PC as a server, then consider ther following:
Amplification ie powered speakers or receiver(s)
Speakers and their wires ( yes wirelesss speaker options suck)
Control application for the server
Docks/patch cables for devices not streaming
Volume control

 

[Quickley17]

Have you looked at the Sony S-Air system? I don't know a lot about it, but from what I've been told, it may fit your bill.