Cheapest AirPlay Audio Solution

[AtomicEdge]

Hey guys, I have Apple TV hooked up to all the TV's in my house, but I have a couple of rooms (garage, kitchen and bathroom) where I would like to have airplay audio in order to play music to my (existing) speakers without needing to plug in a 3.5mm jack and be tethered to that spot.

The airport express is obviously the first option, but the current version is £79(!) and I really don't want to be spending that.

On the other hand I could get a raspberry pi, a wireless dongle and a sound card for like £50, but that is not exactly the most streamlined solution and is going to be a bit of a mess to have lying around.

Are there any wireless Airplay receivers on the market? I can only seem to find airplay built into speaker systems, but my speakers are fine.

I know I could use a bluetooth receiver (I have one in my car in fact) but the sound quality and range might be a bit of an issue.

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated!

 

[waw74]

you can get a refurb airport for £59
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/FC414B/A/airport-express-base-station-june-2012

I'm guessing you've seen Raspyfi?

they recommend the edimax EW-7811Un for wifi, it's not much bigger than the USB port, about the size of a thumb drive, but looks like it only sticks out of the port 1/4 to 1/2 inch. no wires.

 

[AtomicEdge]

Just had a look at bluetooth again, and the Aventree Roxa seems to be well received. It uses BlueTooth 4 and has much better audio quality than a lot of older bluetooth audio receivers. One question I have though is this. If I have more than one of these, will I be able to tell which I am connecting to? You can tell with AirPlay because you can name the device, but if I have 2 "Aventree Roxa" devices detected, I might be stumped.

Has anyone else ever used more than one bluetooth audio device in a small space before?

 

[Phish311]

good article here on how to build your own:

http://www.balcells.com/products/how-to-build-an-airplay-speaker-for-under-$100.html

 

[endangered]

I'll suggest go for AirPort Express. I have been using them over the years and they never go bad. If you are on a budget, get used ones for £40-50 on ebay. Building one on the PI will not be much cheaper. You'll need a PI + a case + a good USB sound device + a wifi dongle and most importantly a good power supply with adequate power. The price will be more than what you'll be pay for a used AirPort Express. The AirPort Express will be a better solution as ShairPort (Airport Express software emulator on the PI) does not support multi-speaker synchronization.