Cheap wireless multiroom speaker setup?

[Cheesus182]

Hey guys,

 

my mum listens to music occasionally around the house but currently only has an old stereo in the kitchen which needs replacing.

Now I wanted to find a solution to have one or two speaker in a few rooms in the house which connect wirelessly to her tablet.
 

I unfortunately dont know too much about Audio but have found something along these lines.

I need an amp to plug my 4-5 speakers into, then use something like Chromecast Audio to make it all wirless?
Here is where I get a bit lost. I have about 6 old pretty good speakers in the atic but they are all old speakers which dont have 3.5mm jacks but instead just a black and red wire coming out of them. 

Im not really sure if its an Amp I need or a  reciever for that.
Could someone recomend me one of the two? The cheaper the better really, since she only listens to music casually, it doesnt have to be top of the line quality.

 

Alternatively I have an old 5.1 Surround system which does the job really. I mean I guess using the back speakers wont produce ideal music quality but could be an alternative if the rest doesnt work.

http://www.trust.com/en/product/15989-soundforce-5-1-surround-speaker-system
Its basically the older version of that and it was dead cheap but does the job quality wise just fine.

The issue here is that 3  3.5mm jacks come out of it but Chromecast Audio only has 1  3.5mm in. 

I hope that made some sense and someone could recommend a fairly cheap solution for this.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help!

[yimello]

First of all. Wireless things are usually not the cheapest stuff, especially audio systems.  

 

Maybe buy some Bluetooth speakers and set them around the house (one per room) ?

[Cheesus182]

Hey,

 

Thanks for the reply.
Bluetooth has a really limited range, especially in my house since its all thick stone walls and as far as I understand, the whole wireless thing should be made cheap through things like Chromecast Audio or am I missing something here?

[Donk Quixote]

You're on the right track with the Chromecast Audio.  If the speakers don't have a 3.5mm input then you can get a 3.5mm to RCA cable or a Mini-TOSLINK-to-TOSLINK (optical) cable.  You would have to purchase those separately however.  It has multi room functionality.  That means if you buy 4 you can have 4 sets of speakers playing the same music, or you can have them playing different music if your internet connection can handle 4 music streams.  It's worthing mentioning that internet connectivity is a requirement (unless you are running a Plex server, which I know nothing about) 

 

Speakers need an amp.  If they have a way to plug them into the wall then they are powered speakers.  If they don't they are passive.  The cheapest way to power passive speakers is the Lepai 2020+ amp.  It has been recommended to upgrade the power supply, it allows to drive speakers louder http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z6ZR5O/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003Z6ZR5O&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwpuresimula-20

 

Those speaker you linked are powered speakers.  The amp is built into the subwoofer.  The Chromecast is all you need for that.  You will only get stereo sound, so I'm not sure how it would handle it.  It might only us 2 speakers plus the sub.

[Cheesus182]

Hey, thanks for the answer however I think i got lost along the way.
So I have a few passive speakers which seem to make more sense than the other ones.
I hook those directly up to the amp, then plug the chromecast into the amp and im good to go right?

Now you mentioned some multiroom functionality. That would be great but I didnt quite get that. How do I separate the speakers so that for example only the living room ones play?
As im using passive speakers, what would the setup look like, to have different rooms playing at different times? (Multiple streams arent needed, just so that the living room isnt playing at the same time as the kitchen basically.)

Also it seems your link sends me to a replacement adapter for a BENQ.

[Donk Quixote]

Yup, you just need the Lepai amp and a Chromecast Audio and you're good.  You would connect them together with the 3.5mm to 3.5mm wire that is included in the Chromecast.  And of course you need speaker wire to connect the amp to each speaker.

 

The multi room function is an option.  You can set up a group and have all Chromecasts in that group play the same thing, or you can have each individual Chromecast play separate things at the same time, or you can have just one playing at a time.  It's all controlled through a web browser or smart phone.

 

That is a better power supply than the one included with the Lepai.  It's capable of supplying 60 watts of power (12 volts X 5 amps).  The one included with the Lepai can only deliver 24 watts (12 volts times 2 amps).  You will get less distortion at higher volumes using the upgraded power supply.  Even though it says its for BENQ monitors it's compatible with the Lepai 2020.