 "Jazz up your old 'powerhouse'")
The last decade or so has seen the way we listen to music evolve at breakneck speeds with new formats, new standards and new technologies.
If one bought a music system, say, seven years ago, one wouldn’t have heard about some of the things, such as streaming apps, which are common these days. Thus, in other words, your expensive hi-fi music system, which had a CD changer, digital FM radio and automatic cassette operation (and may be even an USB port), is obsolete.
Now, there are two ways of dealing with this situation. One, upgrade to the latest hi-fi system, which would have support for streaming services, internet radio and wireless protocols (Bluetooth, Airplay and so on). However, this would involve junking a perfectly working system.
Two, you could do as my friend did. This fellow tinkerer came across a stack of LPs, a turntable and his functional music system from high school. The Garrard changer had seen better days but a quick servicing (yes, after much googling) and a cartridge replacement made it fully functional.
My friend bought a pre-amp online and then a little bit of tinkering let him play the LPs (his parents’ collection) on his old Philips music system.
There are several cheap Bluetooth adapters available from a lot of companies that aren’t big names. Pick with care if all that you want is a cheap device that would let you stream the music on your phone to your audio system wirelessly.
Else, there is some branded stuff available as well — like the Logitech Bluetooth Audio Adapter that my friend bought for Rs 2,295.
He had set up the music system in the den, so he wanted to stream the audio from his mobile devices as well. The Logitech adapter seemed the perfect fit; all he had to do was connect it to his stereo’s line in, power up the adapter and tap its Bluetooth button and pair his phone. Next, he could play stuff on his phone and hear it on the stereo. Last heard, he was binge-watching Daredevil on his iPad, while routing the audio through the audio system.
For $35, one gets a device one can easily plug into any auxiliary input, power it with the cable, download the Chromecast app on the phone and pair the device. Next, most browser-based apps can be “cast” to Chromecast Audio, much like casting the video on the original Chromecast, according to CNET.com. Most streaming services in the US are supported, CNET reports, and one can also select a media server on the same network to stream audio off it.
Even multi-room music is supported and the “ability to feed 24-bit/96-kHz music to an external digital analogue converter will please audiophiles”, the tech website says.
If all that you want to do is play the music stored on your phone, you can buy an audio cable, available at most electronics stores, to connect off the headphones jack on your mobile.
A caveat: the music output might not be the best as even the tiniest discrepancies in sound, which we can’t spot while wearing headphones, get amplified.
Brand-specific solutions
If one bought a music system, say, seven years ago, one wouldn’t have heard about some of the things, such as streaming apps, which are common these days. Thus, in other words, your expensive hi-fi music system, which had a CD changer, digital FM radio and automatic cassette operation (and may be even an USB port), is obsolete.
Now, there are two ways of dealing with this situation. One, upgrade to the latest hi-fi system, which would have support for streaming services, internet radio and wireless protocols (Bluetooth, Airplay and so on). However, this would involve junking a perfectly working system.
Two, you could do as my friend did. This fellow tinkerer came across a stack of LPs, a turntable and his functional music system from high school. The Garrard changer had seen better days but a quick servicing (yes, after much googling) and a cartridge replacement made it fully functional.
My friend bought a pre-amp online and then a little bit of tinkering let him play the LPs (his parents’ collection) on his old Philips music system.
There are several cheap Bluetooth adapters available from a lot of companies that aren’t big names. Pick with care if all that you want is a cheap device that would let you stream the music on your phone to your audio system wirelessly.
Else, there is some branded stuff available as well — like the Logitech Bluetooth Audio Adapter that my friend bought for Rs 2,295.
He had set up the music system in the den, so he wanted to stream the audio from his mobile devices as well. The Logitech adapter seemed the perfect fit; all he had to do was connect it to his stereo’s line in, power up the adapter and tap its Bluetooth button and pair his phone. Next, he could play stuff on his phone and hear it on the stereo. Last heard, he was binge-watching Daredevil on his iPad, while routing the audio through the audio system.
For $35, one gets a device one can easily plug into any auxiliary input, power it with the cable, download the Chromecast app on the phone and pair the device. Next, most browser-based apps can be “cast” to Chromecast Audio, much like casting the video on the original Chromecast, according to CNET.com. Most streaming services in the US are supported, CNET reports, and one can also select a media server on the same network to stream audio off it.
Even multi-room music is supported and the “ability to feed 24-bit/96-kHz music to an external digital analogue converter will please audiophiles”, the tech website says.
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The device, however, comes with a caveat: one can’t stream from Apple Music or iTunes.
If all that you want to do is play the music stored on your phone, you can buy an audio cable, available at most electronics stores, to connect off the headphones jack on your mobile.
A caveat: the music output might not be the best as even the tiniest discrepancies in sound, which we can’t spot while wearing headphones, get amplified.
Brand-specific solutions