Seeking to Send Audio throughout the House

[Edmond4]

I'm a student strapped for cash at this point, wanting to find the least expensive solution to my current frustration. I have streaming radio playing through half the day on my mac. I desire to listen to it in while I shower, shave, cook, or do other things when I'm not by my G5.

I purchased an FM transmitter, but the reception is awful, and does not work well.

What are my options to send audio to a radio elsewhere in the house? There is Airport, but do I need to scrap my router (hard wire) and get a wireless router were I to go that route? What is this thing, antena that came on the back of my G5? What can I use it for? Can it be part of the solution? Is it called Blutooth, or something else?

If someone gets an airport express, can it plug into a router (hard wired) and then send a wireless signal to a radio in the house?

I'm confused a bit on just what my options are. I want to just be able to pick up a signal from my mac with a radio in another room that gets a pretty good signal, fairly clear reception.

I'd greatly appreciate some good advice on this, some help for someone who is a bit clueless on all of this hardware stuff. I do have "Hijack Pro" which has something that can be purchased as well called "Airfoil" which broadcasts whatever audio the mac is playing using Airport, but I don't know how to set up airport, or what my minimum requirements would need to be.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Your least expensive option is to get a cheap used receiver or amplifier and speakers. Plug the computer analog audio out into the line in of the receiver and then run speaker wire to the other rooms to speakers. Or run line outs to powered speakers.

In order to do this via network, you're gonna need the radio and speakers anyway, and then $100 - $200 in airport or other gear.

I have an old Sony amp, a speaker distribution switch box, and speakers in 4 rooms. Reliable, low tech.

 

[ntg]

I have an Airport Express unit plugged into a power socket behind my a/v system, and have audio fed straight into the a/v from the express brick and also my photo printer hanging off the brick via usb.

I stream audio directly from my G4 laptop (or my wife's iBook G3!) via wi-fi to the express brick, and so into the a/v system, and also print wirelessly to the printer (tucked out of the way of my young children) hidden on a table behind the tv.

As long as you have both antennas in the G5 (includes wifi and bluetooth), or at least 802.11 support somehow (even a belkin usb dongle ~$30.00) then you will be able to configure an express to receive the music wirelessly and then, when the express is linked to any speaker system, iTunes will see those speakers on the express unit and will stream directly to that device (and any more express you buy and configure too).

It works a treat, and has been working flawlessly for me for coming up to two years now.

Nig.