Teaching an old dog new tricks.

[melmerby]

Hi all

Today I bought a replacement for my faithful now deceased 20 year old Aiwa Ghettoblaster, I could not get anything like nowadays, it so I opted for an LG "Mini HiFi".

One of the features is Bluetooth, which I have never used and didn't really know what it was about.

So I downloaded the LG phone app from Google Play, or rather I didn't because it couldn't find it. Google play kept telling me I must download Spotify instead🙃.

 

Had a quick trawl on the net and found that Google Play doesn't feature it anymore, even though LG tell you to get it there!

However, I found it was available as an "apk", whatever that was.

Quick bit of reading up and decided to download it, even though the phone protested that I shouldn't as it was unsafe. (I've no personal stuff of consequence on the phone)

Once dowloaded it gave me the option of installing it (more phone protests), which I did. Miraculously it worked. It asked me to pair it with a device and the Hi Fi was the only thing showing in the menu.

Great, it all works, I can play tunes from my phone through the HiFi.😃

 

Feeling clever I decided to install it on the tablet (Samsung) and downloaded it to there. Problem, the tablet said it couldn't install the file as there was no app to do it.

Another quick bit of reading up. I needed an APK installer, the phone had one, the tablet didn't, so more hunting on the web where I found a suitable one.

Downloaded that (protests this time from the tablet about security), installed it and tried the LG apk package again. It installed that and opened it.

 

I now have both a phone & a tablet which can communicate with the HiFi system.

I'm feeling quite chuffed.

Edited September 7, 2023 by melmerby

[Classsix T]

Well done Sirrah.

 

I'm of the generation that is on one hand supposedly familiar with microchip technology but additionally has had a hard time keeping up with the likes of Bluetooth, WiFi and all that jazz.

 

So more often than not I either have to explain how something works to my Dad, or seek advice from a whippersnapper why my stuff doesn't work properly!

 

Specifically to your tale though, LG kit can be 'funny'. I spent a not inconsiderable sum on a high end TV, and wondered why it didn't have More4 installed on it. Apparently LG and Channel 4 couldn't or wouldn't agree terms, thus to stream Ch4 content I have to use the PlayStations.

 

C6T.

[melmerby]

30 minutes ago, Classsix T said:

Specifically to your tale though, LG kit can be 'funny'. I spent a not inconsiderable sum on a high end TV, and wondered why it didn't have More4 installed on it. Apparently LG and Channel 4 couldn't or wouldn't agree terms, thus to stream Ch4 content I have to use the PlayStations.

I've got a Smart TV DVR by Panasonic, I can't get Channel 5 streams because the Chrome Browser* is not up to date enough and I can't see a way of updating it.

So what I do is call it up on the laptop and plug that into the TV

 

* I can get RMWeb though🙂

[The Johnster]

My 'system' is an old 32" Toshiba tv with only one HDMI port that works, a Fosi amplifier driving borrowed Morduant Short bookshelf speakers, Virgin Media hub driving Mac Mini (driving BT Sony headphones) and a VM TIVO box, all interconnected.  The core of it all is a two-way HDMI push-button splitter which determines whether the TIVO or the Mac is feeding the Tosh monitor.  Periperals include an iPhone 11 and a cheapo £15 'smartwatch' off Temu.  Miraculously, it all works!

 

Fosi amp is the most recent acquisition, off Amazon six weeks ago, after my 30-year-old Cambridge Audio amp gave up and died.  This little thing looks nonsense, no normal person would give it house room, a very simple box with a volume knob and and on-off toggle switch, not even an input selector, you must be joking.  On the back is a power input socket, a pair of RCA phono sockets for each channel, and a 3.5mm input, then speaker terminals, and that's it, and there's barely enough room for those!  It is smaller than the classic Naim Audio pre-amp, another 'knob and switch' piece of minimalism, but claims 50wpc mean RMS into 8ohms on it's own, without a power amp, though it can be used to feed a power amp if that is needed.  Playing through the Morduants suggests that this claim is meant seriously; the sound is simple, dynamic range is 'only' 20hz-20khz, but very 'clean' and noiseless with a somewhat centre-weighted but very clear and solid stereo sound stage.  It doesn't do much, but it does what it does very well indeed, and I have fallen in love with it.  Don't be fooled by the unimpressiveness of it; if, like me, you believe that an amp should add or subtract nothing from the signal and in fact barely make you aware of it's existence at all, it ticks all the boxes, and it was only 50 beer vouchers post free.  If you want flashing lights, loads of controls, extended bass response, graphic eq, db meters, surround sound, and such, it is not for you!  You take it out of the box, connect up, and play stuff, then you forget it (which is so easy to do that there's a bright red led power indicator to remind you to turn it off).

 

I think it looks nice as well.  Thoroughly recommended.

[melmerby]

My desktop computer(this one) is well away from my TV set up and sits in the "office" with a pair of Pure bookshelf speakers driven by a Marantz amp, which also has a Dual Turntable with Ortofon cartridge connected. I can record straight to digital on the PC from the turntable. (There's also a Marantz cassette deck but it hasn't been on for years.)

 

The oldish Sony 40" TV sits in the lounge with a Panasonic DMR BWT-740 Freeview + Blu -Ray & HDD recorder, a pair of Mordaunt Short Avant 914i floor speakers & 4 Gale bookshelf speakers on stands, driven by a Panasonic Class D 6 channel x 100W receiver

I've also got a 200W sub woofer sitting behind the TV for the 7th channel (although like most of it, it hardly gets used these days.)

 

The new LG thingy is really just to listen to the radio with😁

Edited September 9, 2023 by melmerby