We all want to listen to music and watch movies, but we don’t want the technology to get in our way. Thus for LifeEdited 2, we deployed a very capable but very simple system.
Our needs:
- Play music from Spotify
- Play movies from Netflix & iTunes
- Allow guests to use the system without reading a manual
- Energy efficiency in all of the above e.g. music can play without the TV being on
What we used:
- Apple TV 4th generation
- J-Tech HDMI audio extractor (sends Apple TV sound to the speakers)
- An energy efficient television (in our case a Vizio 43-inch model)
- Kanto YU5 active speakers
- Cables: HDMI(2), TOSlink(1)
What we like:
- Music sounds great!
- Total cost is less than $1,000
- No need for a big A/V receiver or subwoofer
- To control it, all you need is the tiny Apple TV remote and a phone
- Guests have successfully used it
Alternatives:
- Rather than an Apple-centric system use a Google Cast system, or an Amazon-centric system, or a Sonos system, or a Roku system
- Projectors can also be great for small apartments — less wall space taken up.