Google Nest Audio Speaker Review

[oceansize]

At £69 each I'd snap them up now, as I believe interest in them is growing for some reason...

If US Google is chucking them out for<$50 each, there's scope for more price cuts this side of the pond.

 

[Emlin]

If US Google is chucking them out for<$50 each, there's scope for more price cuts this side of the pond.

I hope you are right, they're great little speakers.

 

[Walter]

Is it pretty fair to say that these might be the deal of the century if you can get a pair on a Black Friday offer for say £150 a pair ?

I work on a dining table. Have to clear aside nightly . What would be a sensible solution to raise them off the table to a better height without spending more on stands than speakers ?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006401401413.html

A pair of these in XL work great for me, but the price has almost doubled compared to the $14 shipped I paid. A different seller might have them cheaper.

 

[Walter]

Maybe from the 12th. But the dark and white ones arent in stock on UK store anyway.

I bought the "sand" color because I could get the them fo almost half of what the others cost. I really was not thrilled with that but money was tight. After a year, I'm actually glad I was "forced" into that decision. While they are definitely more pink than tan, it is not an obnoxious Barbie pink and it makes them less noticeable while adding a bit of color to a desk area that is otherwise almost exclusively black and various colors of wood.

 

[Emlin]

I bought one of these following the review, just to try out. So impressed was I by the sound, I now have a stereo pair.

But I have an enduring problem that I hope someone can help me with.

Although LMS can see the devices, when I attempt to cast to them I just get a sound from the speakers acknowledging connection, but no music plays. I can cast from Android devices, no problem, and even from the Tidal app on the same computer that LMS is running on. (Casting from the edge browser, I get horrendous stuttering, but I do get sound.)

When I turn off my firewall (Windows 11 Pro) LMS plays perfectly, but it's not perfect to have the firewall off, obviously.

I've googled to the best of my ability, but no help.

Thanks.

 

[Rottmannash]

Is there any way to stream sound from a tv or AVR to these?

 

[staticV3]

Is there any way to stream sound from a tv or AVR to these?

Not directly.

From what I understand, thee are three ways to play audio on these.

1. Connect your music streaming service with the Home App, then use the Nest Audio's voice assistant to play content ("Hey Google, play my weekly mix on Spotify")

2. From your phone, tablet, or PC, stream content to the Nest Audio from any App or website that supports Chromecast

3. With a Google TV Streamer or Chromecast stick connected to your TV or AVR via HDMI, play back any content available on them, using the Nest Audio.

 

[Maciekw]

I bought one of these following the review, just to try out. So impressed was I by the sound, I now have a stereo pair.

But I have an enduring problem that I hope someone can help me with.

Although LMS can see the devices, when I attempt to cast to them I just get a sound from the speakers acknowledging connection, but no music plays. I can cast from Android devices, no problem, and even from the Tidal app on the same computer that LMS is running on. (Casting from the edge browser, I get horrendous stuttering, but I do get sound.)

When I turn off my firewall (Windows 11 Pro) LMS plays perfectly, but it's not perfect to have the firewall off, obviously.

I've googled to the best of my ability, but no help.

Thanks.

At my place, a pair of these two speakers is seen by the LMS and plays music very well. I have Logitech Media Server version: 8.3.0 and the chromecast plug-in version 3.3.9 installed. The LMS is set up on a picoreplayer system on a raspberry pi 4.

 

[Rottmannash]

Not directly.

From what I understand, thee are three ways to play audio on these.

1. Connect your music streaming service with the Home App, then use the Nest Audio's voice assistant to play content ("Hey Google, play my weekly mix on Spotify")

2. From your phone, tablet, or PC, stream content to the Nest Audio from any App or website that supports Chromecast

3. With a Google TV Streamer or Chromecast stick connected to your TV or AVR via HDMI, play back any content available on them, using the Nest Audio.

That's how I understood it as well. I have a Chromecast TV dongle and I can't get it to cast to the speaker. Thanks for the reply-you are one of the most helpful members here.

 

[Jimbob54]

That's how I understood it as well. I have a Chromecast TV dongle and I can't get it to cast to the speaker. Thanks for the reply-you are one of the most helpful members here.

Not sure if the older oval TV could but the new desktop Google TV can pair by Bluetooth to chromecast devices like the Nest Audio. But it's Bluetooth not chromecast protocol.

 

[staticV3]

I have a Chromecast TV dongle and I can't get it to cast to the speaker.

This may help:
https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/7552173?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Android

https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/14k8cm8/nest_audio_pair_with_google_chromecast_working/

 

[elak]

On spinorama nest audio have low tonality. At the other hand, both objective measurements and subjective impressions are positive. Is tonality good indicator of sound quality?

 

[staticV3]

Is tonality good indicator of sound quality?

See this thread with comments from Dr. Olive himself:

I cannot trust the Harman speaker preference score

The more I look into it the less I can trust the Harman speaker quality score. IMHO it is a totally meaningless metric. I know the background, I read all the papers even before Harman was involved, and their patent. However, it works so badly that IMHO it is a meaningless metric. Here are some...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[elak]

See this thread with comments from Dr. Olive himself:

I cannot trust the Harman speaker preference score

The more I look into it the less I can trust the Harman speaker quality score. IMHO it is a totally meaningless metric. I know the background, I read all the papers even before Harman was involved, and their patent. However, it works so badly that IMHO it is a meaningless metric. Here are some...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thank You

 

[Jimbob54]

As I posted on @napilopez's great thread, I use these as cheap Genelec 8030C alternatives on my desktop. On stands (dish holders work well) and used with Roon/DSP they sound very good. Before anyone asks, I use my monitor's soundbar (also corrected with DSP) for non-music and video-related audio due to the latency. Bass is decent enough at the volume they are usually set to as it is not being limited as much. Certainly compares to the bookshelves I used most of my life.

View attachment 402880 View attachment 402910

These should go on sale during black Friday. Hopefully 2 for $100 again, which is a killer deal.

You got a link to those stand things please?

 

[USER]

You got a link to those stand things please?

Wish the link on my order page worked. Now it sends me to a 12 pack of the one I posted.

It turns out that that one was wrong and the plate holder is actually this one pictured. It is 4 inches wide at the base if it helps. The hinge makes it easy to adjust so that the tweeter is pointed at your ears.

Apologies that this is the best I can do.

 

[Maciekw]

I found such racks. Maybe they will fit.

https://pl.aliexpress.com/item/4000570634236.html

 

[ivayvr]

Yesterday evening, I set up my pair and I was astonished! I asked Google to thank Amir, ASR and all the good people who contributed to this thread!
Unfortunately, Google is not that smart, so I have to do it myself. Thank you guys!
I can't think about any other speaker having such high price/joy ratio.

 

[xray]

I can't think about any other speaker having such high price/joy ratio.

I think you mean either "low price/joy" or "high joy/price"

 

[ROOSKIE]

If US Google is chucking them out for<$50 each, there's scope for more price cuts this side of the pond.

They offer this price now and then in the USA.
Remember they could care less about making anything on these. The price is paid later, or rather the money they make is made elsewhere.
They would surly give them away for free but that would cause many who have no intention of using to just take one for free and it ends up in a closet unused.
The $50 or $100 is a just a fail safe to ensure legitimate users have them.
They were giving the Mini away a couple years ago with all sorts of purchases, including $20 purchases. I received a couple of those free and never used them. So yah, best to ensure a real buyer by charging something.