Kids music in bedrooms without devices

Echo dots? Work for us ..

Yep, echo dot or similar voice controlled speakers with a Spotify family account.

Define "device"? iPod?

Something like https://www.amazon.co.uk/KLIM-Boombox-Red/dp/B08S463XDS ?

We have exho dots and a family Spotify account. It’s not always brilliant. Sometimes ‘Alexa’ gets confused and plays the wrong account int the wrong room when they boys want to listen to different stuff at the same time. Or playing on one rooms immediately stops the music in another. This, predictably leads to WW3 breaking out.  I’ve spent countless hours trying to resolve but it’s a known/common issue and to do with the echo dots being registered through one master Amazon account (mine.). The clumsy work around is to have the kids set up their own Amazon account, and have the echo dots individually tied to that. However a) really not keen for Jeff to have his claws in that early 2) I think we’d lose to ability to ‘broadcast’ round the house and use it as a neat intercom system “dinner’s ready” etc. 

Eldest will get his own phone next year so should solve the issue, but it’s been a bit of a pain. In the meantime I’ve had d to restrict the youngest’s listening to Amazon kids (really lame)  to remove the conflict: 

What I like about Echo Dot is that, when my son should be up but isn't, I can remotely start playing music in his room. Usually the Lion King intro Circle of Life. It never gets old. For me. 

Could the device in their room be a: guitar, piano, drums, flute etc = sorted!

No one has suggested a turntable, fancy amp, exotic speakers, and unicorn wire yet?

Get them a turntable. Maybe they’ll turn their backs on digitized music then?

A simple cassette boombox? They can enjoy/endure the fun of copying music in real time to cassettes and then the awful sound quality.

Burn tunes to CDs and get a CD player?

By ‘devices’ I suppose you mean phones, iPads, and laptops or that sort of potentially highly interactive sort of thing?

Easiest I’d expect to be a non-networked ‘mp3 player’ with headphone or line out for your amp. some of these can be cheap new and many can be gotten used for not much at all.

A raspberry pi might be an option with some sort of play/pause skip/rewind shuffle set of buttons wired up. Sounds like harder work than an ‘mp3 player’.

Thanks for the suggestions. By device I mean internet browser access device.

We don’t have subscriptions or Amazon stuff.

Could the device in their room be a: guitar, piano, drums, flute etc = sorted!

One plays the guitar, the other the drums. His kit will be just outside his room (he’s really good so that’s acceptable). But they can’t play Drill music 😬

Maybe a bt speaker each and the devices outside… a bit restrictive in terms of changing tunes perhaps unless there’s a way of seeing the files on the speaker.

yeah - this was going to be my question.  If you want to use your MP3 files rather than a music subscription, then you either need an old school iPod type device in each room connected to your speaker of choice.  I expect aliexpress is awash with these, but the content needs to be loaded onto each one of them/updated manually, which seems like a bit of a ballache.

There other way to go is a central music "server" (any old PC you have laying around) and then local devices in each room to select/play content.  You could get any old shitty android/kindle thing and wipe everything except the music player software.  You could look at Plex/plexamp for this, although emby/jellyfin are also supposed to be good - I'm sure there are others.  I have a Plex server, and this is what I'm planning to do for the kids.

Either way, you are going to need hardware.

Echo-dot is certainly the simplest way of achieving what you want.

Most of that went over my head tbh. We have a Mac with most of our music on it, does an echo dot connect to that… and can you use it separately from Amazon?

Most of that went over my head tbh

Apologies!  I think if you keep your Mac running and have your music in iTunes, then something like this is what you want to be able to have the kids accessing it via a cheap Alexa-powered speaker (ie: echo dot or similar) which can be voice controlled, and so doesn't need "a device":

https://www.mymediaalexa.com/

Haven;t done it myself, but I'm sure somebody on here will have.  Seems like it could be a good solution for you

If you’ve got Apple stuff then you could try HomePod minis - apple’s version of Alexa dots. I think you might be able to link them to Apple Music on a Mac but I haven’t tried that.

the echo dot is probably the cheapest solution, i think they can be had for less than 20 a pop at the right time in sales etc

I'm not sure what the free version of amazon music is like, i assume it can also play from spotify etc, i use google home devices and they can tap into radio, spotify, or i can push a stream to them ie youtube etc from any device on the same network. I'm sure you can expand on the possibilities. you can then chuck a smart bulb in their room and they will be bale to turn it off and on from bed, or you turn it on when you need to get them up in the morning, set alarms etc

We don't have Alexa or the like so when the 9 year old wanted a music player we got her one of these and a George Ezra CD (all the rage in year 3/4):

https://www.majority.co.uk/oakcastle-music-systems/bx200/

It plays CDs, music saved to sticks, Bluetooth from whatever and the radio (I don't think my kids understand radio as a concept though).

Is a device like that or even a mini HiFi system a solution?

What about a wireless?

And while your at it, turn the heating off too.

Thems were the days

Define fortune? Pair of Sonos 1’s linked to the apple Mac to play your music would be my suggestion. Control via voice. Or mp3 players. 

Quite a lot of cheap mini/micro systems and boombox things will play MP3s these days, either burned on CD (so 10 albums or so) or on a USB stick. Or there's probably enough old 2000s/10s era iPods and other MP3 players languishing in drawers - worth asking around family and friends.

You can still buy new MP3 players - something like the Sandisk Clip Jam is £30, 8GB storage and expandable with microSD cards, nice simple interface, goes for 18 hours on battery. https://www.westerndigital.com/en-gb/products/mp3-players/sandisk-clip-jam

My kids have old google minis, so they can access internet radio and spotify. It also allows me to blast Bring Me Sunshine at my youngest, in a futile attempt to get her out of bed.

Went to a mate’s for dinner tonight and was discussing this and he pulled out an Echo Dot he’s never used and said, give it a try. So can see about setting it up to our music library on the Mac… but not sure if it’s possible to run two Dots playing different tunes from one Mac simultaneously…

What I like about Echo Dot is that, when my son should be up but isn’t, I can remotely start playing music in his room. Usually the Lion King intro Circle of Life. It never gets old. For me

We got our kids Dots for their bedrooms for Christmas a few years ago. I spent most of Christmas saying 'Alexa, play Black Sabbath in Evie's bedroom', 'Alexa, turn the sound up in Izzy's bedroom' and so on. 🙂

Alexa, play Black Sabbath in Evie’s bedroom’, ‘Alexa, turn the sound up in Izzy’s bedroom’ and so on. 🙂

And they’re not even your kids names, right?

it’s a good trick though. I was playing spooky music through the kids echo dots as they were trying to get to sleep on Halloween night. Sh1t them right up!

I was playing spooky music through the kids echo dots as they were trying to get to sleep on Halloween night. Sh1t them right up!

Hah quality. Reminds me of these classic albums...

Dolmetsch recorder and steinway baby grand

Aren't echo dots devices🤔

I’m not sure what the free version of amazon music is like, i assume it can also play from spotify etc,

The free versions are usually cluttered with advertising. That’s why they’re free…

I’m sure iPod Minis can be played in individual rooms from a Mac, using a Family setting. I don’t own any, but I’m certain I read somewhere that different playlists can be played through iPods in different rooms.

Went to a mate’s for dinner tonight and was discussing this and he pulled out an Echo Dot he’s never used and said, give it a try. So can see about setting it up to our music library on the Mac… but not sure if it’s possible to run two Dots playing different tunes from one Mac simultaneously…

That's a good result!  Yes, it should be possible to have separate speakers all streaming from the same iTunes library on your Mac.  That bit of software I linked to above looks a bit clunky, but seems to say it will do that - it's got a free trial (and is pretty cheap after that if it does what it says).  I would down load the trial and see if you can get it to work with the speaker that you have borrowed.

If that doesn't work well, plex definitely does this (and is free, will also work on your phone etc).  It's a bit of overkill for music only, but its probably the best media streaming platform around, and works on anything.  You'll have to invest a couple of hours to set it up though.

I’m sure iPod Minis can be played in individual rooms from a Mac, using a Family setting. I don’t own any, but I’m certain I read somewhere that different playlists can be played through iPods in different rooms.

Do you mean the little apple speakers (hopmepods)?  yeah - they will only work like that if you have "iTunes Match" or Apple Music subscription - essentially they are streaming your music from the cloud rather than your computer.

You essentially have 2 options:  having individual systems with local copies of the music (on old Ipods/USB sticks etc) in each room, or having one central copy of the media, with some way to "serve" that to each room.

The first option is probably easier to set up, but more difficult to manage/grow as time goes on.  The second option is a bit more involved to get started, but then easier in the medium-term.

First option is quite appealing (especially to my wife) … as long as the boombox or whatever has a readable screen so they can select. They can probably then also access all our cds. I’ll never get around to putting them all on iTunes.

Bandwidth is a bit short at the moment as this is only one of a number of things we’ve got to get sorted to move back into our house in the next few weeks, along with buying furniture, curtains, an internet solution, new garage and shed rooves, etc, etc, etc…

There is a third option. Just get an Apple Music subscription. I feel it’s going to be a lot less painful than streaming from a local source, but whether the cost versus hassle is worth it is up to you.

OK, decided to get them each a mini-hifi that has BT, USB, CD, radio. This way they can connect their device from outside the room, download onto a memory stick, borrow our CDs and listen to their favourite radio station (not all at the same time!)

Fortunately their new bedrooms have sound insulation in the walls...

Excellent. Glad you're sorted. What are you getting out of interest?

they can connect their device from outside the room,

To do what?

Just got the cheapest Panasonic mini hifi with whopping 20w speakers 

They’ll be chuffed as currently they’re quite happy with the sound quality of their iPads.

Connecting to their devices outside of the room to play their music if they set up playlists etc.

This thread prompted me to dig out my very well-used iPod classic from the depths of the drawer of old tech. Battery was knackered so £10 on a new one, and an unnecessary purchase of one of the iFlash cards that lets you replace the hard disk with a SD card. All back together, synced up and working great again. Think I'll pick out a bunch of music to put on it and try it out with the 8 year old.

https://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/c-265-musicstreamers.aspx

Everyone should have a network streamer to listen to network stored music

A simple cassette boombox?

Thanks for the inspiration! I've got an old tape deck in the loft and a bucket of tapes (and a spare active speaker and a mini amp) I think my eldest would love working through them and picking out stuff he likes.

Some of the tapes would get trashed, because that's the natural order of things, but I can't think of a better way of getting them out of the loft and out of the house.

This thread prompted me to dig out my very well-used iPod classic from the depths of the drawer of old tech.

They’ve actually been through a total of five iPods already I think… didn’t know it was possible to replace the batteries. Might do that too.

I’ve got an old tape deck in the loft and a bucket of tapes

I would a) let the tapes come up to room temperature before attempting to play them and b) try a sacrificial tape first. The rubber drive belts are prone to perishing and may need to be replaced.

(Yours, here from retro computer Facebook groups.)

They’ve actually been through a total of five iPods already I think… didn’t know it was possible to replace the batteries. Might do that too.

It's a bit of a pain to get the back off, particularly if you want it to stay perfect after. Thin flexy metal scraper and there's a lot of good guides online for exactly where the clips are.

Once you're in, super easy to swap over the battery and most aftermarket ones are higher capacity too.

Needless to say the boys are over the moon with their mini hifi systems.  They’ve been making Lego stop motion films with their music pumping for the past couple of days. It’s been quite nice actually.