Home Audio Frustrations..... argh!

[panyan]

Im going to be renting a one bedroom flat, and would like a multi-room audio setup.
I was thinking 4-6 units overall to over the entire flat, all playing the same music.

It has to be cheap (sonos is a no-go!)
It has to be neat (no wires trailing about the place)

What would you suggest?
(budget £300-500)




Ive looked at:
- Sonos - nice and neat, good connectivity options, far too expensive
- Chromecast audio - cluttered as it needs to be hooked into other speaker systems (which I dont have), but it is cheaper (factor in that I'd need to buy speakers too)
- bluetooth speaker - nice and neat, fits within the budget - but I cant be bothered to carry it from room to room...
- google home's - nice and neat, but the "Max" is almost the same price as the sonos - no-go

UPDATE: landlord has OK'd ceiling speakers - so that is now a possibility

 

[panyan]

...Alexa Echos ...

Amazon Alexa?

... Google Home minis ...

Thanks for your suggestions guys,

After playing with both Amazon and Alexa - I have realised I don't want a smart system with a digital assistant...

What are your thoughts on installing ceiling speakers, wired into a central amp + bluetooth receiver?

 

[panyan]

Sorry for moving the goalposts on you guys - but I really do appreciate your input!

The update is that my buddy is the landlord and he is happy for me to install ceiling speakers.

And if I am going to do that, I am happy to spend some proper money to get a decent long-term solution (rather than a Alexa/Google system which will needs to be replaced every 3-5 years)

But I don't have internet/wifi in the flat, which is another barrier to getting a “smart system with digital assistant” - I would rather just Bluetooth my phone to the audio system and play my tracks myself

Just to clarify - I only want one/two zones (its a one bedroom flat)

What sort of budget would you expect for installing ceiling speakers, wired into a central amp?

Your £300-£500 budget would be stretched to breaking point to do two zones, let alone 4 to 6. Besides, cutting holes in the Landlords ceilings won't exactly go down well, plus you'll have to abide by all the safety rules for firehoods (£100-£120/pr) and LSZH fire-rated speaker cable. It's a non-starter. You have the wrong property and insufficient budget to do it justice for the amount of work required.

The “smart system with digital assistant” is by the by. You don’t have to use any of the smart functions in order to achieve what you’re after with minimum effort on the budget you have.

Surely the landlord won’t be happy with you drilling holes and routing cables for ceiling speakers? In any case, most amps will only allow two zones for sound, and I’m not sure if both zones can be utilised at the same time.

Ceiling speakers in a rented flat? Can't see the landlord being happy with someone drilling holes in the ceiling...

why don't you go for 3/4 sets of sonos (Play) ones? (circa £130 each)

Use two in stereo in one room and have a third for another, assuming smaller bedroom or kitchen. Easy to move them as they're just a plug socket also. suits rental houses.