Smart Speakers, Internet Radio + Music Apps

[ska invita]

Id like to get some kind of voice controlled smart speaker or stand alone internet radio...whats stopping me is that I dont think it will work with the radio stations I listen to. I don't know this for a fact, Im looking for advice and your experiences.

So at present I listen to radio either through something called Audials Play App...this is a bit like the TuneIn app, which I've abandoned as all my stations have been kicked off from there. So on Audials I can listen to pirate stations like Underground Bass, Venture, Cyndicut etc.

Then there are stations like Worldwide FM and Real Roots Radio which I think only play from their website via a player that you click on within the website. No app at all.

Id be really curious to anyone reading this who has either a smart speaker or internet radio to see if you can get these stations.
So a good test would be to run though
Underground Bass
Venture FM
Cyndicut
Worldwide FM
Real Roots Radio (which is a dub station, in case it picks up some other folk station)

and let me know what kit you are using and which of those you get.
Thanks!!

 

[ska invita]

And another thing: say your smart speaker can access spotify or equivalent...is it reliant on you saying the precise name of an artist and album title....what if its unpronounceable? what if you cant remember the precise name of an album? can you somehow "search" through a catalogue?

 

[pesh]

‘Siri, list every track on every Fall album chronological till I remember which one I want’

 

[ska invita]

I think the ideal bit of kit would look like a small tablet running andriod apps encased in a well built speaker unit...I dont think such a thing exists

 

[ska invita]

I think the ideal bit of kit would look like a small tablet running andriod apps encased in a well built speaker unit...I dont think such a thing exists

I found this

JBL Link View review: Speaker first, display second

The JBL Link View is the second Google Smart Display on the market. This device is a speaker first, display second. But is it right for you? Find our in our JBL Link View review.

www.androidauthority.com

IT looks okay tbh.... though the speakers probably arent up to much...and its discontinued

my kind of lifestyle product

 

[ska invita]

Supposeldy these are called Smart Displays
And this is meant to be a good sounding one

Google Nest Hub Max review

The Google Nest Hub Max is a great smart display

www.techradar.com

ETA Supposeldy the Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd gen) has best speakers: 2x 1-inch tweeters, 3-inch woofer!! wub wub

...cant handle buying amazon anything though...

(Nest Max also has 2x 1-inch tweeters, 3-inch woofer supposedly)

 

[skyscraper101]

I

Id like to get some kind of voice controlled smart speaker or stand alone internet radio...whats stopping me is that I dont think it will work with the radio stations I listen to. I don't know this for a fact, Im looking for advice and your experiences.

So at present I listen to radio either through something called Audials Play App...this is a bit like the TuneIn app, which I've abandoned as all my stations have been kicked off from there. So on Audials I can listen to pirate stations like Underground Bass, Venture, Cyndicut etc.

Then there are stations like Worldwide FM and Real Roots Radio which I think only play from their website via a player that you click on within the website. No app at all.

Id be really curious to anyone reading this who has either a smart speaker or internet radio to see if you can get these stations.
So a good test would be to run though
Underground Bass
Venture FM
Cyndicut
Worldwide FM
Real Roots Radio (which is a dub station, in case it picks up some other folk station)

and let me know what kit you are using and which of those you get.
Thanks!!

I use Amazon Echos around the house. I did a test on those stations:

Underground Bass - played straight away
Venture FM - no matter how clearly I asked it insisted on playing some horrid country station called "BRFF 95.6 FM" (via tunein)
Cyndicut - played straight away (via TuneIn)
Worldwide FM - played straight away (via TuneIn)
Real Roots Radio (which is a dub station, in case it picks up some other folk station) - wouldn't play, insisted on playing a playlist from Amazon music called 'Real Roots'

Of course you can easily just link a phone or tablet via Bluetooth but it sort of defeats the point of being a smart speaker.

I used to have a lovely little Freecom internet radio where you plugged in the IP address of the station if it wasn't already listed and you could save it as a favourite. I had loads of stations on it, even Urban75 Radio back in tha day.

 

[ska invita]

Of course you can easily just link a phone or tablet via Bluetooth but it sort of defeats the point of being a smart speaker.

I used to have a lovely little Freecom internet radio where you plugged in the IP address of the station if it wasn't already listed and you could save it as a favourite. I had loads of stations on it, even Urban75 Radio back in tha day.

Thanks so much for doing the test! really useful.
Yeah right now I just use my laptop for EVERYTHING (tv, music, internet, backgammon!), and connect to bluetooth speaker setup, but as you say Id like a standalone dedicated unit. Love the Urban Radio thing!!

 

[skyscraper101]

Smart speakers are fine when they recognise the stations you want but the tendancy to route stuff through TuneIn can get annoying, especially when they run pre-roll trailers and ads befoire you can hear the feed you asked for. Minor gripe, but something to consider.

 

[xenon]

I use an iPhone and have a Sonos speaker. Various streaming services are supported, meaning you can play directly with a voice command.

I can just use the phone as a remote control to play stuff that is on streaming services that the Sonos supports. E.g. if the speaker isn't understanding my voice commands, I can go into the Sonos app, then to my streaming service and find what I want to play there.

If I wanted to play other audio, say from a radio app on the phone, I'd use Airplay.

Have not managed to get the Sonos speaker to play content from my server as yet. It is supposed to be able to and would be handy.

 

[skyscraper101]

Nice to see Underground Bass is actually live. I left it on after I did that test, and then went in their chatroom, said hello, and got a shoutout on air within seconds

 

[ska invita]

Nice to see Underground Bass is actually live. I left it on after I did that test, and then went in their chatroom, said hello, and got a shoutout on air within seconds

Its my most listened to station...its continuity KOOL FM since Kool got sold to Rinse...a few old Kool FM Djs on there - always live, and with proper pirate energy. On the FM dial too on the Kool FM frequency 94.6 ive got the mug and the tshirt
deserves support

 

[ska invita]

I think just vocal command is too limiting for me for not being able to reach those little weird stations...which is a shame, I am up for it in theory

 

[hash tag]

I shudder at the thought of a smart speaker. I do have a transistor radio which has internet radio stations, there are literally thousands of them and I am sure it would have all the stations anyone could wish for and more.

 

[ska invita]

there are literally thousands of them and I am sure it would have all the stations anyone could wish for and more.

sadly not, my impression is that proper Internet Radio Radios only have legal licensed stations from around the world and are missing lots of actual internet radio stations. It'll be to do with some kind of protocol which those stations use and which allows the radio to find them when it does a scan.

If you can be bothered if you could check which if any of the five listed in the OP you can pick up on it, Id be interested. But my guess is it will be none of them.

 

[ska invita]

has anyone got a google nest product of any past generation? I have questions...

 

[BristolEcho]

What benefit does this have over just having a Bluetooth speaker and then streaming from a phone/tablet? Seems to me like there would be a pay off with either bad software, or the speaker not being up to much when combined?

 

[BristolEcho]

Never heard of underground bass before. Good shout playing gnarly bangers at 8:30am.

 

[ska invita]

What benefit does this have over just having a Bluetooth speaker and then streaming from a phone/tablet? Seems to me like there would be a pay off with either bad software, or the speaker not being up to much when combined?

You are right, and thats what ive done so far - Ive got a nice 2.1 minirig + two more bookshelf speakers, which can all get a signal simultaneously from a bluetooth device, which is usually my laptop and very occasionally my phone

what i want is a kitchen radio with good bass. at the moment i have to pick up my Bluetooth speakers, move them into the kitchen, connect bluetooth from the laptop, which itself sits in a different room. If im in the kitchen and want to change that station i go to the laptop in the other room etc.

Its workable and what Ive done for a long time now, but it wold be convenient to have a dedicated kitchen internet radio.

Having looked at the reviews it looks like the jbl link view form 2018 is the best for me ... best bass and not overly loaded with internet of things features (which i dont need). I cant see any sign of these having been available in Britian...I see a few selling second hand in the USA .... Im very tempted tbh.

My one concern is these things dont run regular Android...they run something called Android Things, designed more to handle household chore apps. I need to be certain Android Things can run a regular internet browser and can run a radio app like Audials

 

[dessiato]

I think the ideal bit of kit would look like a small tablet running andriod apps encased in a well built speaker unit...I dont think such a thing exists

I have that in my Cupra. I use it connected to Spotify or fm/DAB radio. It's voice controlled as well as manually controlled.

 

[ska invita]

I'm kind of tempted to build my own wooden casing for a good bluetooth speaker and a small tablet....maybe repurposing an old radio somehow....

 

[ska invita]

I have that in my Cupra. I use it connected to Spotify or fm/DAB radio. It's voice controlled as well as manually controlled.

yeah! if you google this kind of thing car displays come up! after market replacement head units often have these android screens as opposed to car manufacturer operating systems.

 

[dessiato]

yeah! if you google this kind of thing car displays come up! after market replacement head units often have these android screens as opposed to car manufacturer operating systems.

Mine is the standard OE.

 

[klang]

Real Roots and World Wide loud and clear on my cheapo kitchen digi radio.

 

[ska invita]

Real Roots and World Wide loud and clear on my cheapo kitchen digi radio.

What model is that and how do you find the stations? It's it voice or scroll or type in

 

[ska invita]

Never heard of underground bass before. Good shout playing gnarly bangers at 8:30am.

Btw it broadcasts live from 10am-2am, otherwise it's replays. No breakfast show at the moment

 

[klang]

What model is that and how do you find the stations? It's it voice or scroll or type in

Type in.
Can take pic later when I'm home

 

[ska invita]

Type in.
Can take pic later when I'm home

Please do and if you could check those other three stations id be really grateful

 

[ska invita]

My one concern is these things dont run regular Android...they run something called Android Things, designed more to handle household chore apps. I need to be certain Android Things can run a regular internet browser and can run a radio app like Audials

Just read that Android Things is dead

Google to shut down Android Things, a smart home OS that never took off

Another entry in Google’s graveyard.

www.theverge.com

So that JBL thing is basically junk sadly

 

[xenon]

What benefit does this have over just having a Bluetooth speaker and then streaming from a phone/tablet? Seems to me like there would be a pay off with either bad software, or the speaker not being up to much when combined?

For me. You can get higher quality audio over Wi-Fi. Dolby Atmos isn’t supported over Bluetooth. Also it is honestly much more convenient to use a voice command or in my case just tap the top of the speaker to play the last playing thing. My phone might be in the other room charging or whatever.