'AirPlay' to a computer?

[JarredWagner]

Hey. I work from home and I like to keep as few apps open on the Mac as possible, to help concentrate on my immediate tasks.

To help with this, I've been using the iPad as a second device to play music, etc -

It's great when using headphones, but I'd like to be able to play the iPad through my main speakers.

Right now I have Mac Pro > Duet > Speakers. I know I could get an analog mixer and do Duet > Mixer, iPad > Mixer, Mixer > Speakers, but I really don't have space and don't want to keep an analog mixer on my desk if I don't have to.

So I am wondering if there is any way to stream the iPad audio out to the Mac Pro a la Airplay? That would be ideal in this instance. If not, is there any minimal hardware solution to route the iPad's audio out through the Mac Pro to the Mac Pro's audio out?

Thanks for any help!

 

[cnguyen0320]

Connect to mac via usb cable, open itunes, go to your ipad under devices, you should be able to play the music through there. If not, try and select manually manage music. This is what i do, and it works great

 

[JarredWagner]

Thanks for the reply. With a little searching I did find Airfoil Speakers, which does exactly what I want.

 

[dmrowley]

Airfoil Speakers is great. I use iCatcher to download and play my podcasts on my iPhone. I use it to stream to the Mac when I am at my desk. There is about a 2 second lag as the music buffers, but it works flawlessly.

 

[gorskiegangsta]

AirServer is what I use. It allows you to send audio via airplay from any iOS device to your Mac (and mirror your display from iPhone 4S and iPad 3).