airport express with mac mini

[untamedhysteria]

hey all...just ordered my first mac and will be getting it monday! w00t
anyways, i was going to ask if airport express with do great with the mini for my audio (since the mini doesn't have good audio). I wanted a minimal cable clutter design (my broadband connection, audio, and printer) and took a look at the airport express which seemed to fit me perfectly in that way.

also, is the 512 good for the mini? i'm planning on doing simple stuff like maybe a game or two, internet browsing, email, audio backup (from cd's), and using iphoto or something for my big collection of photo's of the family.

i know if i need more i can go to crucial and buy more and do the putty knife hack on the mini to add it (which i'm a pc tech so it seems really simple enough). but i don't want to scratch the pretty new mac if not needed.

thanks in advance for the feedback.
untamedhysteria

 

[mad jew]

Sounds like the perfect set up. Very nice. The only issues I could possibly think of is the gaming part. Macs generally aren't seen as gaming rigs and the mini is more than a little lacking when it comes to GPU performance. Nevertheless, I think you'll love it.

 

[untamedhysteria]

gaming

i'm not talking about big games like doom or something like that...just some java games, flash games (love flash) and maybe a small footprint game (like the games it comes with).
thanks for the fast response!

also, about the system sounds and stuff...can that be transfered to the speakers via airport express too? even if it has to be a hack? otherwise i'll have to figure something else out (cuz some system sounds are kinda nice, like when you get messages from a messenger app).

 

[mad jew]

By default, the Express will only play iTunes sound (music) and not other application's sounds. However, there is an app called AirFoil that allows you to select some other applications that will forward their sounds to the Express too. It's shareware, so it costs US$20 though.

As for the gaming, the mini will be fine. I'm into the Flash stuff too (just worked out SIMGirl then, yay, I got a virtual date) and they're really not trying enough on the GPU for it to matter. Enjoy the mini, they're great.

 

[untamedhysteria]

thanks for the replies guys, and i'm really excited about getting the new mac (the wait sucks ). that airfoil program is neat...but i'm reading on version tracker it has syncing issues with games and video...guess i'll figure something else out for the audio...but the airport express will work fine for the printer and wireless setup anyway so it's not a waste (plus i can hide it under the desk)

 

[mad jew]

Yeah, I haven't personally worked with AirFoil and from what I've heard, I'm pretty sure the list of compatible apps is pretty pathetic. I doubt it'd do system sounds etc.

Oh well, I'm glad you're excited about the mini.

 

[untamedhysteria]

audio setup

hmm...on apples specs page for the mini it says audio out line...so can i put a 2:1 speaker system to it and have it work fine? n00b question i know

 

[mad jew]

That's right.

 

[untamedhysteria]

awesome...no worries then!

i just had to ask cuz i know it has a lot of problems with 5:1 and the like so wasn't really sure about 2:1

thanks again mad jew!

 

[dops7107]

hmm...on apples specs page for the mini it says audio out line...so can i put a 2:1 speaker system to it and have it work fine? n00b question i know

Yes I have that. Small satellite speakers that have an output for a sub. Small computer doesn't wanna be dwarfed by speakers IMO...

Mind you, I hooked the Mini up to my hifi (nice separates set-up) and compared to a CD played on the stand-alone CD player, a 160kbps mp3 played from iTunes sounded dreadful. Not sure if it was the mp3, the long AV cable or the innards of the Mini and its audio processor, but it was not pleasant. Haven't bothered testing properly. But I'm sticking to little £30 computer speakers for now!

 

[mad jew]

Well I've never tried 5.1 but I've got a pretty massive 2.1 set up and to be honest, the quality's fine with 160kbps mp3s. I don't have a mini but the three computers that do use the AirTunes give pretty much identical output.

 

[untamedhysteria]

audio

well...that's a killer for the airport express for itunes. but my 2:1 system speakers will be quite sufficient since i can hook them up just to the mini (that's what i was going to use for the airport express anyways for cable clutter issues).

and by the way, my 2:1 speakers rattle the windows with great sound quality (great highs, ok mids, and really good lows) so it's a perfect replacement for a big sound system for me (since i'm gonna be in college soon enough and it'll be great for the dorm room size), even though i know it's always better with a bigger setup.

thank god for altec speakers

i've already had these speakers for a good 5 years now (was 150 dollars when new) and they still have no issues (except for the low hiss sound...but now i'm used to it).

anyways, another question, what is the quality like if you hook the mini up to a big tv? does it scale with nice quality or will it have a big black box around the screen? (will be using s-video if it is considered nice quality)...i'm not going to currently be using this but maybe later on (so i don't have to have an extra monitor...you can see i hate clutter). and does the s-video setup cause distortions of any sort?