What it does is allow you to access streaming services such as Spotify Connect, Internet radio and music stored locally (via UPnP/DLNA), using your existing Wi-Fi network and apps for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. It also comes complete with a 3.5mm-to-two-RCAs cable, allowing it to be connected to audio equipment. So what is a Gramofon? Well, it’s a little box just over three inches square and less than a couple of inches thick (or 8x8x4.3cm in new money), with a multicoloured ring of light surrounding a pushbutton on the top, and sockets for the supplied mains adapter, Ethernet and 3.5mm stereo analogue out on the rear. Why Madrid? Well, that’s where parent company Fon, best-known for its Wi-Fi-sharing services, is based. However, when the package arrived, it contained two Gramofons. Intriguing, but then I do tend to get sent CDs and the like all the time. Spool forward a month or two, and I received an email alert that a parcel was on its way to me from Madrid, sender unknown. I dropped the PR person an email requesting a review sample, as I thought a piece on Gramofon in Gramophone might be a bit of a wheeze – and then kind of forgot all about it. I have to say I viewed the initial press release with some amusement, as you might expect given that one of my gigs is as Audio Editor on Gramophone magazine. And that’s just what the Gramofon is designed to do. If you’re starting from scratch, though, you may be on the hunt for ways of ‘wirelessing’ existing systems, or perhaps looking for a way to run a pair of affordable powered speakers in a kitchen, say, to give you music while you cook. However, for the fun side of network music – for example the ability to access content wherever you are in the house – wireless has clear advantages, to which end I have various bits and pieces of multiroom systems scattered around the house. Regular readers will know that I’m thoroughly sold on the benefits of wired networking for music: no, I’m not going to claim sonic benefits, but for stability and reliability, especially when streaming hi-res music, Wi-Fi just doesn’t hack it. The Gramofon is small, inexpensive, and can deliver music from your network or streaming services to wherever you have an audio system – simple as that
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