[systemerror909]

Anyone have any experience using the Apple Airport Express to stream music? I have a Cambridge Audio DacMagic and I would love to not have my computer tethered to it via USB.

I haven't looked extensively at other options yet, but this appears to be a fairly inexpensive solution to getting streaming spdif.

It looks like there is an older and a newer model:

The older A1084 which uses wireless G and sells for between $30-$40 on ebay

or

The newer A1264 which uses wireless N and sells for between $40-$60 on ebay.

Anyone used the older unit? Is it functionally the same as the newer one, but with the N networking?

The apple site suggests that the setup for these units is as simple as plugging the thing into the wall, attaching your spdif connection and then your computer automatically recognizes the device in itunes and you can begin streaming music. And the device isn't supposed to interfere with your existing network. Could it possibly be that simple?

Thanks

Also, any other simple, cheap suggestions for streaming to spdif are welcome.

 

[hypoicon]

I use both the newer and older express units around my house. The new "N" units are definitely better-- fewer dropouts and connection problems in my experience, using a dual band airport base station. In general, there are a lot of stability issues. It's hard to say how it will work out for you. Mine really sucked until I installed a total of 3. Interestingly, the more remotes you have the more stable the network becomes. Of course my set-up is kind of elaborate and difficult-- 2 floors plus basement, base station plus time-capsule, etc. When it works (most of the time now) it works great. Occasionally, I have to reboot the whole network (one piece at a time, in a fairly finicky sequence). It's a pain-- far less than perfect plug and play.

I started with just the old express and time capsule. It was almost unusable for streaming. Updated to the latest base station and it helped, but I still got really awful dropouts. Added the second newer express and started to get decent stability. Added yet another new express, and now I'd say I probably only have to reboot things once every two weeks or so.

Oh, and it's strictly Toslink-- optical mini connection. That is less stable than SPdif, and when there are problems you really hear them. The onboard DAC is more forgiving (I use it that way in my bedroom and basement expresses) but the sound quality is not exactly hi-end.

 

[systemerror909]

Thanks for the feedback. So it looks like this theoretically works, but the execution is not so flawless.

Can anyone else comment on wireless devices with toslink or spdif outputs? I would be very excited to find another low cost solution.

 

[mugtastic]

i use the newer express. it's currently my only wireless - works great. just get one - plug it in and start streaming. i've had to reset it sometimes but not often.

make sure itunes is set to check for remote speakers.

if it turns out to be too much trouble you can just return it. but you'll love it.

 

[McPanse]

I use a newer Airport Express connected via toslink to my DACMagic and it works and sounds great. The only exception is when my Macbook's Time Machine starts up for wireless backup to my Time Capsule.

Apple tech support was a big help getting the AE to work with my Verizon router, which was a bit tricky as I recall (full disclosure: it was the first time I ever networked anything).

If you're a Mac user, you should definitely get an AE. If you don't like it for music, you can always pair it with a Blu-Ray player that doesn't have built-in WiFi.


I now use my Time Capsule as a base station and have had no problems since.

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

I have the newer "N" unit. Performance has been basically flawless (with one exception that I'll get to next). Setup is extremely easy for Mac users -- plug the unit in, run the Aiport utility, decide whether you want to use it over your existing network or create a new one, restart the unit and you're ready to go. With iTunes, you'll be given the option to play music on your computer speakers or stream to your AE's network. I have not experienced the need to restart that others (here and elsewhere have reported) -- I sometimes need to restart if I've been away for a week or so, but that's the only time it's happened.

Now, about the exception. I have a similar setup to the one you describe: Computer > AE > DacMagic via TOSLink. With iTunes, it works flawlessly. Using the popular third-party application Airfoil, on the other hand, is problematic. Using TOSLink, I experience very noticeable half-second dropouts that occur frequently enough to make listening impossible. I've worked with tech support for all three manufacturers (Apple, CA and Rogue Amoeba software) and have discovered that it's a problem unique to using the Airfoil/AE/TOSLink combination. Rogue Ameoba's support has admitted that the problem is on their end and that they're working on a solution, but six or seven months have passed with no resolution.

Now, this is only a problem if you ever plan to use Airfoil instead of iTunes. I personally use Airfoil frequently with web-interfaced applications like Pandora and other streaming programs like Radioshift. The work-around to for me is to switch to analog out from the AE when I want to stream via Airfoil -- annoying and unfortunate, as it takes the DacMagic out of the picture. Again, if you're 100% iTunes, I'd recommend AE > DacMagic without hesitation.

Hope that helps.

 

[grokit]

I must add that in my experience, the Airport express did a much better job streaming AAC/Mp3 compressed music than it did with Apple's Lossless encoding format, but I was using the older "G" version, not the newer and faster "N" version, and that's when I stopped using my Airport Express for streaming music.

Could someone please share their experiences regarding whether or not they have shared compressed or lossless music files wirelessly over the newer Airport Express, and if it works better with lossless formats now?

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

I occasionally stream lossless (ALAC) files, and have experienced no problems with the "N" model.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olias of Sunhillow /img/forum/go_quote.gif I occasionally stream lossless (ALAC) files, and have experienced no problems with the "N" model.

Thanks Olias, good to know...

 

[hypoicon]

I forgot to mention that my use is almost exclusively lossless files. People who own high end DACs still listen to MP3s? Sheesh.

 

[krmathis]

I have two (2) original AirPort Express (bought in 2006) which both have served me well during the years, and still do.
A drop-out occur once in a while, but only when I max out my connection.

Great device!

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hypoicon /img/forum/go_quote.gif I forgot to mention that my use is almost exclusively lossless files. People who own high end DACs still listen to MP3s? Sheesh.

Yea, I stopped using it years ago when I went lossless. Good to know about the "N" version having no "dropouts" though.

 

[tosehee]

AE is great, but tends to have pretty ugly jitters. Other than that, SPDIF works out well.

Also, there is NO difference in terms of audio quality from old to new. I'd buy old one if I were you.

 

[Mojo777]

N will address any bandwidth problems you may have encountered, at least it did for me. I use one to stream to my home theater system from my Extreme Dual band in the office. Works perfectly without hiccups.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tosehee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also, there is NO difference in terms of audio quality from old to new. I'd buy old one if I were you.

If you peruse this thread, you can see that the older version can have dropouts with lossless compression because of the increased bandwidth requirements, especially if the network is otherwise occupied