A bargain Spotify Connect adapter with great audio quality
What is Spotify Connect?
Spotify Connect is a proprietary system that streams music directly to a Spotify Connect-compatible device and is controlled using the Spotify app on a phone or tablet. A Spotify Premium account is also necessary to take advantage of Spotify Connect.
The biggest advantage Spotify Connect has over Bluetooth is that the phone is not tethered directly to the dongle or receiving device. That means dropouts are much less common, range is superior, audio quality is better and sounds from e-mail alerts and phone calls do not interrupt Spotify music playback.
Sure Bluetooth dongles for home stereo systems can be cheaper, but they're also less effective than Spotify Connect. Bluetooth is like a wireless cord from your phone's headphone jack to your stereo. Spotify Connect is like a direct connection to the service that just happens to be controlled by the phone.
Enter Gramofon
Gramofon is made by Fon, a company better known for making routers and powering its own wireless networks globally. The device is a product of a successful Kickstarter campaign. It works with Spotify Connect and Gramofon's own WahWah music streaming app, and is also a Wi-Fi extender.
Design
Gramofon is a tiny black box that would look at home next to an Apple TV or Roku. It has a two-tone finish -- matte on top with a glossy base. On the back is a power port, a 3.5mm audio-out (the device comes with 3.5mm-to-stereo RCA cable) and an Ethernet jack for up to 100Mbps networking, which should be way more than enough for music streaming. Gramofon also includes 802.11bgn Wi-Fi.
On the top is the sole control, a large circular button surrounded by a ring of light. The light changes color depending on the mode -- red for power, green for Spotify playing and so on. The button also acts as a Play/Pause button. Volume is controlled either through your speaker system or the Spotify app itself.
Music features
Much like Chromecast, Gramofon uses your phone as a remote control. The device itself connects to your home network and pulls down the audio directly over the Internet.
Right now, Gramofon can access two music services: Spotify and WahWah for Gramofon. The WahWah app is available for both iOS and Android and it's not rated terribly highly -- our experience was quite spotty with that particular app on both platforms. We had Facebook sign-in issues, the app did not always display music that was playing, and the app occasionally did not find the hardware. The Spotify app did not have these problems.
For multiroom audio setups, the Gramofon is limited by Spotify Connect, which sends audio to one Spotify Connect device at a time. Sending the same audio to multiple Gramofons at the same time, a la Sonos' party mode, is not yet possible. However, a future update to Gramofon should allow this feature thanks to Qualcomm's AllPlay technology.
Along with synced multiroom audio, AllPlay will also bring access to additional music services including Napster, TuneIn and Rhapsody, some DLNA compatibility, plus the ability to stream local audio from iOS and Android devices. Fon tells CNET that it expects to "launch / announce AllPlay end of March," whatever that means. If that upgrade does roll out, the Gramofon will get a lot more powerful and its price tag will make it look like a bargain
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