Apple Express with low Volume

[IMACOMPUTER]

Hello,

I've been having issues with my airport express that I purchased off of craigslist's and before I surrender and consider that I might have been duped I was wondering if you guys can help me and see if there is something I can do to alleviate the issues I am having.

My devices:
Airport Express model A1084 (old version)
Bose 3.2.1. Series III

Two things:
1. The Volume playing out of the airport express is kinda low. I'll plug an ipod into it and comparably, when both played at max volume, the airport express will play at around 75% volume of the ipod.
2. There is a humming noise, which after going through trial and error can maybe say that there is an interference of where I decide to plug it in.

I've been reading the forums for about 2 hours and using the search feature could not find anything about the volume issue. The volume is maxed out on both my system and itunes. I've considered getting a DAC since that helped other people out in other situations. Would a DAC help with my BOSE system? Would it remove the humming noise and increase the volume output?

Thanks for helping me out.

 

[warvanov]

One problem that I've experienced is that the standard 1/8th jack does not seat very well in the APX audio output. It slides in and out easier than it would in another device, and it sometimes needs to be pushed in slightly to get the connector to seat correctly. There's generally not enough resistance to keep the connector plugged all the way into the jack, in my experience.

 

[waw74]

it looks like that bose unit may have an optical in, you don't need a DAC in that case, just a toslink to mini cable.

if you're using airplay in iTunes (which is how you want to do it), the system volume has no bearing on the output of the airport.
if you airplay the system audio from the menu bar the system does affect the volume., but you're better off just sending from itunes.

 

[IMACOMPUTER]

it looks like that bose unit may have an optical in, you don't need a DAC in that case, just a toslink to mini cable.

if you're using airplay in iTunes (which is how you want to do it), the system volume has no bearing on the output of the airport.
if you airplay the system audio from the menu bar the system does affect the volume., but you're better off just sending from itunes.

I like that idea but I already have my TV plugged into the optical in, which has my PS3 and Micca Speck connected. Is there a way to share the input?

 

[waw74]

Is there a way to share the input?

you could get one of these but you would have to go over to the unit to set the switch to the appropriate input.