Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

[vansmack]

Not having Biden Welcome the US Women's National Soccer Team at the White House today is a crime against the internet.

[Julian, Forum COGNOSCENTI]

Not having Biden Welcome the US Women's National Soccer Team at the White House today is a crime against the internet.

Especially now that he's announced he's not running. Can you imagine how handsy he would've gotten without any political career to keep him in check!?

[ye-ole-hatch ıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

so in a perfect world with wads of cash stuck in every corner of the house, I'd buy the sonos soundbar and all of the accouterments

sadly the reality of little children getting fed is making it hard for such lavish expenses

I'd like to get a decent Wifi sound bar in the $200 range...does it exist?

[vansmack]

I'd like to get a decent Wifi sound bar in the $200 range...does it exist?

What are you trying to stream out of your soundbar?

[ye-ole-hatch ıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

I'd like to get a decent Wifi sound bar in the $200 range...does it exist?

What are you trying to stream out of your soundbar?

well I want something that I can have for the tv/movies
but that I can also run things like Spotify or my own digital files from phone/pc

Just trying to see what's good value out there with WiFi
vs getting a Bluetooth speaker

[vansmack]

Cool.  There are a number of Soundbars that do Bluetooth, and in that price range, that's probably the best you're going to get.  WiFi capable soundbars survive on the interface that handles the content, and there really aren't any good ones in the price range.  You're looking at about $500 and up....   

So what I would do then, is buy the best sounding Soundbar in that $200 price range and purchase a streaming device to go with it - I would recommend the Chromecast at $35, but Apple fans may want to get an Apple TV at &149 (though the old one works too at $69). 

The best soundbar at that price is the Vizio S4221W-C4, if you can find one.  Vizio replaced this model with a much worse sounding version that I won't recommend, but if you can find one in a Box Store, then grab it immediately. 

An alternative that I almost tried was the Sony HT-CT260H, which has it's own HDMI port that I was going to plug a Chromecast into for streaming music.  You'll need to plug into a TV to set it up, but after it's setup I assumed it would work as a music only device that you would control through a phone.

[Yada]

I'd like to get a decent Wifi sound bar in the $200 range...does it exist?

What are you trying to stream out of your soundbar?

well I want something that I can have for the tv/movies
but that I can also run things like Spotify or my own digital files from phone/pc

Just trying to see what's good value out there with WiFi
vs getting a Bluetooth speaker

Save money on brewing mediocre beer and put it towards your AV needs! 

[vansmack]

Save money on brewing mediocre beer and put it towards your AV needs! 

I was going to say sell a kid and use the proceeds to upgrade your audio system, but this might be a better solution to try first.

[vansmack]

I'm not sure if anybody is still using laptops or desktops to listen to music, but if you are Zoorloo just released an affordable USB Audio Class 2 compatible DAC that supports up to 192kHz and 24-bit high resolution audio. If you've got a decent set of headphones, this things a must:

24-bit/192 kHz ]Review

ZuperDAC

I've been recommending their MicroUSB Z:ero in-ear buds to any Android user who will listen.  This will open it up to everyone.

[ye-ole-hatch ıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

dang, married life has got you pulling back it seems 

so could you conceivably buy one of these and drop your cell phone service, but continue to use your phone (ie with Googlevoice)?
although honestly...make about 5 cell phone calls a month it seems

Light usage (under 1 gb a month) is only $14
$50 is unlimited

Just don't know how reliable the service is

[vansmack]

Just don't know how reliable the service is

How reliable is Sprint LTE in your area?

[vansmack]

so could you conceivably buy one of these and drop your cell phone service, but continue to use your phone (ie with Googlevoice)?
although honestly...make about 5 cell phone calls a month it seems

Light usage (under 1 gb a month) is only $14
$50 is unlimited

You could conceivably do this, yes.  I have about 5 older/mid range phones that I use around the house in wifi only situations that also double as messaging devices when I don't have my phone on me at the moment.  As a matter of fact, I just purchased a Verizon Prepaid Moto E for $10 to use as my Sonos controller that I will never activate.  It just stays in the front room and plays Google Music or Pandora etc...

The deal with Karma, however, is whether or not the cost savings are really worth the hassle if Karma is not being used as a backup.  WiFi calls take up a lot of data, which is limited in the plan where you would be saving money, and a 1550mah battery does not allow it to be "always on" so you wouldn't know if you received a message or a call - you have to recharge every 5 hours or carry a battery pack in your bag.  Is that really worth saving $15 a month?  Plus you still have to purchase your phone outright as well as the Karma.

If you're cost conscious, I think you're better off purchasing a Nexus 5x and signing up for Project Fi.  That will double your network capacity (Sprint + T-Mo) will make your life easier (Google automatically finds free wifi for you) and is relatively inexpensive at $30 for unlimited calls/texts and 1GB of data, plus they refund you money credit (not data) for unused data.   

All that without going into the hassles of Google Voice and MMS support...     

[Yada]

so could you conceivably buy one of these and drop your cell phone service, but continue to use your phone (ie with Googlevoice)?
although honestly...make about 5 cell phone calls a month it seems

Light usage (under 1 gb a month) is only $14
$50 is unlimited

You could conceivably do this, yes.  I have about 5 older/mid range phones that I use around the house in wifi only situations that also double as messaging devices when I don't have my phone on me at the moment.  As a matter of fact, I just purchased a Verizon Prepaid Moto E for $10 to use as my Sonos controller that I will never activate.  It just stays in the front room and plays Google Music or Pandora etc...

The deal with Karma, however, is whether or not the cost savings are really worth the hassle if Karma is not being used as a backup.  WiFi calls take up a lot of data, which is limited in the plan where you would be saving money, and a 1550mah battery does not allow it to be "always on" so you wouldn't know if you received a message or a call - you have to recharge every 5 hours or carry a battery pack in your bag.  Is that really worth saving $15 a month?  Plus you still have to purchase your phone outright as well as the Karma.

If you're cost conscious, I think you're better off purchasing a Nexus 5x and signing up for Project Fi.  That will double your network capacity (Sprint + T-Mo) will make your life easier (Google automatically finds free wifi for you) and is relatively inexpensive at $30 for unlimited calls/texts and 1GB of data, plus they refund you money credit (not data) for unused data.   

All that without going into the hassles of Google Voice and MMS support...     

Sounds complicated.

[vansmack]

Sounds complicated.

Exactly.

Sign up for T-Mo's $30 100 minute/unlimited data plan (via Walmart)

or

Project Fi for $30.

Don't create a headache when you could just have a few less cups of coffee to make ends meet. 

[sweetcell]

Sign up for T-Mo's $30 100 minute/unlimited data plan (via Walmart)

or

Project Fi for $30.

thanks for this.  i've been meaning to dump my AT&T account and find another voice+data provider.  i'm currently paying too much ($66/month total) for too little data and too many minutes.  will investigate these two options.