Low, or lower-end audio. Or middle. But not high.

[JoshInKC]

For the past few years I've been trying to figure out a justification for getting reimbursed on purchasing a karaoke machine to take into the field in the summers. I think it'd be a riot to have contests through the summer, but not enough to pay for it out of my own pocket.

[Yw-slayer]

It's not THAT expensive, right? Just do it, man!

(over here, the main concern is space and neighbours - but admittedly karaoke is also a much bigger thing over here)

[JoshInKC]

That's true, but the lack of cell service where I work in the summers means I'd need piles of cds on top of the machine.

[Kchrpm]

Or a full hard drive?

[Yw-slayer]

I agree with Keith. This rig populates its disk via WiFi.

[George]

Yesterday I bought and installed a Sonos One speaker and the iTunes Remote app on my wife's iPhone and iPad. I still have some things to learn about how the iTunes program on my Windows PC works, but so far, so good.

The Sonos One continues to work as it should and sounds good.

Recently, my wife discovered Pandora and has been streaming music from the internet, having temporarily exhausted her interest in our CD collection that's on iTunes on my PC in the basement. This is good for music variety, but of course she can't use the Sonos One to play music from her phone (other than from the Apple Remote app), since it's wifi-only and is not a bluetooth speaker. I know. I researched this before I bought the Sonos One and understood its limitations when I bought it.

An iPhone on maximum volume sitting on a countertop or table playing even one's most favorite music is a horrible thing. It's like the sound of an amplified beehive turned up to eleven. It's a shrill sound that pierces the air and makes everyone within earshot tremble and cringe from the overload of treble. Everyone except my wife, I guess, but she, like me, grew up with AM radios in our cars and in our parents' kitchens. She's perfectly happy with low, or lower-end audio. Or middle.

But then, our son, shaking his head as usual at his old and technologically-challenged parents, showed us how to "cast" music from our phones.

Did you guys know that you can send audio from any website on your phone to a speaker that's connected to a home wifi network?

I didn't. I guess I just assumed it only worked with the Apple Remote app that connects to iTunes on our PC.

[CudaMan]

I cast stuff through Chromecast. That's not even required anymore? Or do you have it and I forgot?

Agreed on phone speakers for listening in a room. I can't stand it. Even my $35 Amazon bluetooth portable speaker is a huge improvement. And acceptable for some things like cooking or working out.

[Yw-slayer]

Did you guys know that you can send audio from any website on your phone to a speaker that's connected to a home wifi network?

I don't think it's the wifi connection per se. Rather, it's a protocol built on top of the wifi connection that allows the casting. Since you are talking about an iphone, you are probably using the airplay protocol to send the data (over wifi) to the Sonos. If you had an Android phone then you would probably have to use Chromecast.

[Kchrpm]

Even with trivia hosting, I have no reason to get this monster speaker. But when I buy a new house and put a theater/karaoke lounge in the basement? Oh yeah.

[FaultyMario]

I thought Spotify only broadcasted music in lossy formats. Has that changed?