[TriLUG] OT: cheap mobile stream playing?

Tom Roche Tom_Roche at pobox.com
Tue Oct 19 16:40:20 EDT 2010


I listen to mostly either FM or downloaded files, and I listen to them
mostly on a cheap Sansa player and consumer-grade in-ear headphones.
But some of my audio is streamed (e.g. last.fm) so I'd like to have a
way to play streams (presuming I'm in wi-fi-range) that

* doesn't involve conventional speakers. I'd like to be able to hear
  streams when others in the house are sleeping or studying.

* is small. The cheapest way I can see to do this would be to put my
  netbook in a fanny pack and plug the headphones into that. I'd like
  a smaller solution.

* is wireless. The next cheapest way I can see to do this would use a
  very long mini-phone-jack-to-same extension cord; I don't want that.

* is cheap. The next cheapest way I can see to do this would be to buy
  some decent-quality RF headphones (with transmitter, charger, etc),
  which I've seen for $60. I'd prefer half that price or less (i.e.,
  what I paid for my Sansa). I could also do this with a data plan for
  my phone, but that would soon get more expensive.

* provides reasonable audio quality. Based on the equipment above, I'm
  obviously not a major audiophile :-) but I don't want really crappy
  sound either.

Suggestions for this usecase are appreciated.



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