Audio equipment from the 1950’s to 2010 has generally been interchangeable. This meant you could buy speakers, amps, record players, and tape decks from different manufacturers to build a system customized to ones needs. In the last five years, digital music streaming, phone docks, and wireless bluetooth and wifi connectivity have exploded. These new music sources and playing mechanisms have complicated the landscape about what can and can’t be done with both old and new equipment. Furthermore, the new devices and applications are unlikely to have the lifespan of past equipment. Many also have a large investment in high-quality audio equipment that lacks the newest features.
To make sense of it all is much more complicated and inflexible than the past. Consider this model;
The following grid shows what is possible given the right accessory. Apple, Sonos, and other companies engineer in some level inflexibility to tie you to their commercial interests.
The table could be expanded to Windows PCs, Bluetooth, and Chrome Audio.
