I’m using a Bluesound Pulse Soundbar in our open kitchen.
I use it for music and to listen to the TV set in the living room.
Audio from the TV set is connected via Toslink to a Bluesound Node 2.
I’m also looking to replace my Kitchen speaker as my 2yo Bluesound Flex has seemingly just suffered a terminal hardware fault during the most recent update. Whilst Bluesound weren’t very accommodating, fortunately Amazon have provided a full refund.
Ideally I’d like to move away from Bluesound, but afaict the Flex is the only all-in-one, RAAT-enabled, wall-mountable, single speaker solution out there under £300. Have I missed anything? The Elac Z3 is both too big and too expensive. Given a free hand, I would probably go with the Ruark MR2 and RPi in this vague budget, but there’s very little space and no easy way to arrange things sufficiently tidily.
That said, this thread has been an amazing resource if I were to look to another room where there was space for an RPi!
Check out Vanatoo Transparent One and Transparent Zero for smaller - they are excellent with several input options.
Teufel Boomster?
Certainly seems like loads of options if I follow the OP and go the RPi route…maybe I’ll take another look at space!
Thanks all - I need to have a good look through. I have been keeping an eye on things and I still like the look of the Ruark MR1 Mk2’s, however I think a number of the speakers mentioned here may well sound better. These speakers though will be in the kitchen and not in a listening room, so they do have to sound good but I won’t get away with studio monitors which generally don’t look quite so good as the Ruarks.
I have just ordered the latest lot of Ethernet cable to get the kitchen connected properly and I will be moving away from home plugs. I am not sure what I am doing yet in terms of end point although, again, I need to balance cost with functionality. It won’t need to be the highest possible quality, even if I might want that, as there will be other stuff going on in the kitchen, cooking for one, so a RPi may well be a good compromise.
Fwiw I had a good listen to the Ruark MR1s at a show recently and was very impressed with their sound (for the size/buget). Would choose two of those over a single BS Flex for Roon any day if space/cables allowed.