Setting up a home stereo system.

[ChrisN]

Hi, well this summer I have decided I want to set up a stereo system or just various speakers in several rooms that will play my music from my laptop wirelessly. I assume I need some airport expresses right? I have a budget of whatever I make from my job this summer $300-400 I just want to get some good speakers for my bedroom, a living room, family room and maybe the outside deck.

Are there any good guides to setting this up? Any good speaker suggestions that will go good in those rooms.

If anyone could help or even point me in to a good audio website or something thanks.

BTW: I'm not a real audiophile so as long as the sound is pretty clear thats all that matters.

Thanks,
ChrisN

 

[ChrisN]

Also, I just want this to work with my music and not with my tv or anything, not yet atleast.

 

[nanofrog]

Would this be what you're looking for?

 

[ChrisN]

Well sort of, after a bit of thinking i thought of having an airport express in my bedroom with a bose companion 3 hooked up to the express.

Does anyone think that there will be a way to control the express from the iphone so you dont need a computer?

ChrisN

 

[aross99]

Airport express is a good solution if you only want to play music from itunes, but it would be hard to control form a remote location w/o an iPhone or iPod Touch.

You need amplified speakers, or a receiver/amp and speakers. it really depends on how much you want to spend. You can get some good amplified speakers like you use on your computer and put them in the other rooms with the airport express. This is a very inexpensive solution.

Just remember you need multiple computers with itunes running to play different songs in different rooms...

 

[aross99]

Well sort of, after a bit of thinking i thought of having an airport express in my bedroom with a bose companion 3 hooked up to the express.

Does anyone think that there will be a way to control the express from the iphone so you dont need a computer?

ChrisN

You need iTunes running on your computer, but you can control it from the iPhone.

Unless you want to just plug your iPhone into the speakers in the bedroom. Just watch out for GSM noise from the iPhone...

 

[nanofrog]

The way I read your post, is that you would use your computer as a wireless music server.

This should also work. AFAIK, not expensive either. Has its own remote, like the sonus.

Not sure about a device that would allow the iPhone to act as the remote.

 

[ChrisN]

Can anyone tell me how this sounds, (good or bad)

Bedroom- Airport express with Bose Companion 3- $250
Living Room- Bose Companion 2- $100 also with airport
Computer- Bose Companion 2 $99

I'm sure I can get those a bit cheaper maybe newegg or something.

I'm just wondering can a iMac G5 that doesnt have a wireless card in it control airtunes? It is connected to the airport extreme as is the laptop. My iMac has much more music and playlists on it.

Thanks,

ChrisN

 

[aross99]

As long as your iMac G5 is on the same network as the express (wired is fine), it should be able to control the Airtunes. Your suggested configuraiton should work fine. Just remember that itunes has to be running on the iMac for you to get music.

If the iMac is asleep, or iTunes isn't running, you will need to start iTunes and then you can control it from your iPhone with the new free Remote application.

To the other posters who are suggesting non-apple solutions, these won't work if you have DRM'd music from the iTunes store. You have to use iTunes an Apple TV, or an iPod/iPhone as your music source.

Which bring up another point - if you have a TV in the remote location, you could use an Apple TV and play your music through without a computer - but you would need the Apple TV connected to the TV. This would replace the Airport express in that room. Your music would be synced to the Apple TV like an iPod, and owuld not require the iMac to br involved in playback at all.

A bit more expensive, but a very nice solution. You can see your iPhoto library on the TV also...

 

[GGJstudios]

Can anyone tell me how this sounds, (good or bad)

Bedroom- Airport express with Bose Companion 3- $250
Living Room- Bose Companion 2- $100 also with airport
Computer- Bose Companion 2 $99

I'm sure I can get those a bit cheaper maybe newegg or something.

I'm just wondering can a iMac G5 that doesnt have a wireless card in it control airtunes? It is connected to the airport extreme as is the laptop. My iMac has much more music and playlists on it.

Thanks,

ChrisN

The Bose Companion speakers have great sound for the money. If you haven't heard them and have a Best Buy or similar electronics store nearby, they may have them on display so you can hear what they sound like. I was going for another set of Bose Companion 2 speakers, but I've decided on using the Airport Express with my stereo system with big JBL floor speakers that can shake the house if I want to.

 

[nanofrog]

Can anyone tell me how this sounds, (good or bad)

Bedroom- Airport express with Bose Companion 3- $250
Living Room- Bose Companion 2- $100 also with airport
Computer- Bose Companion 2 $99

Should work. There are other solutions though. You would have to check around and compare prices. The squeeze box may be a bit cheaper, but the difference I couldn't say.

I'm just wondering can a iMac G5 that doesnt have a wireless card in it control airtunes? It is connected to the airport extreme as is the laptop. My iMac has much more music and playlists on it.
ChrisN

I would think its possible with a wireless router, though it would cost more. (Equipment you already need + wireless router)

 

[Victor ch]

I support the AirPort Express thing (thats what I have) and I'll recommend anything but Bose for speakers.

Victor

 

[aross99]

Can anyone tell me how this sounds, (good or bad)

Bedroom- Airport express with Bose Companion 3- $250
Living Room- Bose Companion 2- $100 also with airport
Computer- Bose Companion 2 $99

I'm sure I can get those a bit cheaper maybe newegg or something.

I'm just wondering can a iMac G5 that doesnt have a wireless card in it control airtunes? It is connected to the airport extreme as is the laptop. My iMac has much more music and playlists on it.

Thanks,

ChrisN

Just to be clear: Your iMac is WIRED to the Airport Extreme, and you use your laptop wirelessly right?

Assuming this is correct, then your setup should work fine: Two expresses, and Two sets of speakers. I would consider replacing one of the expresses ($99) with an Apple TV ($229 for 40GB) if there is a HDTV in the Living room or Bedroom and you can afford the extra $129. Besides music, you could rent movies and watch video podcasts on your TV - without the iMac.

This is a very nice solution, and it is all controllable from your iPhone/iPod Touch...

 

[ChrisN]

Just to be clear: Your iMac is WIRED to the Airport Extreme, and you use your laptop wirelessly right?

Assuming this is correct, then your setup should work fine: Two expresses, and Two sets of speakers. I would consider replacing one of the expresses ($99) with an Apple TV ($229 for 40GB) if there is a HDTV in the Living room or Bedroom and you can afford the extra $129. Besides music, you could rent movies and watch video podcasts on your TV - without the iMac.

This is a very nice solution, and it is all controllable from your iPhone/iPod Touch...

Yes my iMac is wired to the extreme and laptop is wireless.
I just have a plain old Sony sd tv no hd :/ but I heard that the apple tv works with the tv so I might actually get it i don't know yet.

@Victor Ch- What speakers do you suggest, i wanna compare them to the bose companion series.

Also, if my iMac falls asleep with itunes running will the music stop playing?

Thanks,
ChrisN

 

[aross99]

Yes my iMac is wired to the extreme and laptop is wireless.
I just have a plain old Sony sd tv no hd :/ but I heard that the apple tv works with the tv so I might actually get it i don't know yet.

@Victor Ch- What speakers do you suggest, i wanna compare them to the bose companion series.

Also, if my iMac falls asleep with itunes running will the music stop playing?

Thanks,
ChrisN

Your setup should work fine with the express then.

If you don't have component (jacks will be Red/Blue/Green) or HDMI inputs on your TV, then the Apple TV isn't a good solution. I would stick with the airport express then...

I don't think your Mac will fall asleep if iTunes is running... especially if you are playing music.

 

[Victor ch]

@Victor Ch- What speakers do you suggest, i wanna compare them to the bose companion series.

Also, if my iMac falls asleep with itunes running will the music stop playing?

Thanks,
ChrisN

Well, it depends of your budget. I'll recommend any 'modest' amp with a pair of bookshelf speakers. Klipsch has very good bookshelves as well as other brands (Polk, B&W, etc) If you rather have an all in one package then some active monitors might do, like these or these.

Victor

 

[ChrisN]

The BX8 and studiophile look good especially studiophile with its cheap price but i dont like how big they are and I like how bose have the small speakers on the stands.

ChrisN

 

[Victor ch]

The BX8 and studiophile look good especially studiophile with its cheap price but i dont like how big they are and I like how bose have the small speakers on the stands.

ChrisN

I used to have the companion 3's... they're bassy and thats all I can say. They eat up certain frequencies, mids might sound odd at certain time and the small cubes have coloration at certain times. The overall sound is just OK.

Victor

 

[thegoldenmackid]

The BX8 and studiophile look good especially studiophile with its cheap price but i dont like how big they are and I like how bose have the small speakers on the stands.

ChrisN

but the sound will be better, check out the Behringer B2031a...

I'm sure you can find away to hide it

 

[ChrisN]

They look pretty good and are pretty much the same price as bose so thats good too.

Just wondering if anyone already used airport express with stereos wwhat has your experience been?

ChrisN

 

[aross99]

Just wondering if anyone already used airport express with stereos wwhat has your experience been?

I used an Airport Express for about a year, and then upgraded it to an Apple TV. Both work well for getting your iTunes Music to your stereo.

There is even an optical digital audio connection on the express for the best sound when connecting to your stereo - although with compressed MP3's/AAC's, I am not sure that this really makes a difference.

I never had any issues with dropouts or interference, so it worked great for me. I found it much more convenient than connecting my iPod to the stereo, because I could control what was playing from my computer.

 

[Victor ch]

They look pretty good and are pretty much the same price as bose so thats good too.

Just wondering if anyone already used airport express with stereos wwhat has your experience been?

ChrisN

I use one for streaming all my Lossless files over to my Hi-Fi system. It works fantastically (except for iTunes not recognizing the airport every-now and then but its solved by restarting iTunes) To my ears the sound is better than if connected to my computer or iPod (thru dock). So it kept me from buying an Apple TV. If you want pics of how the setup look like just ask, and trust me, you won't see the airport that is conveniently hidden behind the furniture.

Victor

 

[ChrisN]

I think i will get that then, should i get the new one or save some money and get a old one or refurb or just spend the 100 dollars and get it from apple new. Also did you get it from apple or did you get it from a reseller or somewhere else?

Thanks for the responses,
ChrisN

 

[Victor ch]

I think i will get that then, should i get the new one or save some money and get a old one or refurb or just spend the 100 dollars and get it from apple new. Also did you get it from apple or did you get it from a reseller or somewhere else?

Thanks for the responses,
ChrisN

I bought it new in an Apple retailer here in Costa Rica, but since I got it along an iMac they left it at US price; $100. And you'll also get wireless printing and 802.11n draft.

Victor

 

[ChrisN]

Do you know if most speakers will connect to an ihome ipod dock?

ChrisN