Digital radio listening?

[ckuttner]

So....I have two radio stations I listen to regularly, our local NPR affiliate, and our local classical station, which has an internet presence at allclassical.org.

If I want to avoid the static of real radio broadcasting, one solution is to pull these up on my MacBook or iPhone, and connect to my Bluetooth speaker.

I'd like something even simpler. In my ideal world, there would be a reasonably-priced internet radio with preset buttons. The one I've found on Amazon sounds fairly complex and kludgey.

One solution would be a "smart speaker," e.g., Alexa, HomePod, etc. But I really don't want Amazon or Siri/Apple or anybody listening to us all the time. What I'd like would be something like what I do with Siri on my iPhone, holding down a button to get the device to listen (e.g. "Play allclassical") and having it deaf the rest of the time.

Is this possible with any of the current smart speakers? An answer, or other suggestions, would be gratefully accepted!

 

[MisterSavage]

One solution would be a "smart speaker," e.g., Alexa, HomePod, etc. But I really don't want Amazon or Siri/Apple or anybody listening to us all the time. What I'd like would be something like what I do with Siri on my iPhone, holding down a button to get the device to listen (e.g. "Play allclassical") and having it deaf the rest of the time.

Is this possible with any of the current smart speakers? An answer, or other suggestions, would be gratefully accepted!

I know Alexa and Google Home have mute buttons and the LEDs make it quite obvious they are muted. They also have tap-to-listen but I've never tried it when they're muted. I only do it when music is blaring really loud. I'll try to remember to test it.

 

[MisterSavage]

Forgot everything I said. Neither of them will work when the mic is muted, even if you push the physical button for it to awaken. I guess that makes sense because mute is supposed to cut off the mic.

 

[ckuttner]

Forgot everything I said. Neither of them will work when the mic is muted, even if you push the physical button for it to awaken. I guess that makes sense because mute is supposed to cut off the mic.

So let me get this clarified: so if I push the button to ask to play a particular internet station, if I then do whatever I want with the button so the device doesn't listen, I won't be hearing my station? If so....bummer! But thank you for the info.

 

[MisterSavage]

So let me get this clarified: so if I push the button to ask to play a particular internet station, if I then do whatever I want with the button so the device doesn't listen, I won't be hearing my station? If so....bummer! But thank you for the info.

No! That would actually work.

Here's what you would need to do every time:

1. Press the mute button to turn off mute.
2. Press the command button or say your wake phrase.
3. Say your command to play music.
4. Press the mute button to turn on mute, which mutes the microphone not the speaker.

Here's what I was hoping would work (It does not):

1. Have mute turned on 24/7
2. Press the command button and then say your command.