Setting up a wireless audio package with Apple products

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Hello,
need all you creative Mac owners out there to offer some advice to set up a wireless home theatre/audio system using our Apple products. We have collected various Apple products over the years and now are building a new house with speakers wired though out and would like to use the airplay functionality. The person doing this for us is knowledgeable, but has never done anything like what we are asking, but he is willing to help us build what we want using what we have. (We will be purchasing audio equipment thru this person, he actually suggested bluetooth equipment). We recently purchased an Airport Express to boost our current internet signal, we already have a Time Machine and iPhone, iPad and MBP. We plan on purchasing an Apple TV as well. The system built into our house will all be centralized from the storage room in our basement. (i.e., the components, receiver etc, will be in that room). So my question is, how do we use our iPhone to control our iTunes library from the kitchen upstairs to a centralized unit located in the basement storage room? Would the Apple TV need to be physically plugged into the receiver unit in the storage room and then strategically place the airport express somewhere to boost the signal?
The nice thing is we are starting from scratch with this system (other than the Apple products we have now), so we can still add some boosters and docking stations in some places, our audio guy said.

 

[PAPO]

well some amplifiers have Airplay built in, and Airport express is ideal for anything that doesn't have it built in, but if your running speaker wire, run ethernet too (where-ever you think you might use it)

and then use TV where-ever you need video aswell

 

[ChrisA]

Hello,
need all you creative Mac owners out there to offer some advice to set up a wireless home theatre/audio system using our Apple products. We have collected various Apple products over the years and now are building a new house with speakers wired though out and would like to use the airplay functionality. The person doing this for us is knowledgeable, but has never done anything like what we are asking, but he is willing to help us build what we want using what we have. (We will be purchasing audio equipment thru this person, he actually suggested bluetooth equipment). We recently purchased an Airport Express to boost our current internet signal, we already have a Time Machine and iPhone, iPad and MBP. We plan on purchasing an Apple TV as well. The system built into our house will all be centralized from the storage room in our basement. (i.e., the components, receiver etc, will be in that room). So my question is, how do we use our iPhone to control our iTunes library from the kitchen upstairs to a centralized unit located in the basement storage room? Would the Apple TV need to be physically plugged into the receiver unit in the storage room and then strategically place the airport express somewhere to boost the signal?
The nice thing is we are starting from scratch with this system (other than the Apple products we have now), so we can still add some boosters and docking stations in some places, our audio guy said.

I really suggest you re-think this. You will end up with a 2012 technology mid-fi sound system that will be way-hard to upgrade.

One rules for good sound is "half the budget goes to speakers". Just in case you missed it _put half your budget into speakers_. Shop carefully for speakers. Bring an iPod loaded with music you know well turn you back to the speakers and ask if it sounds like speakers or a band. Speakers are the hardest part to buy as it takes hours of listening but it is the one part that matters most.

Each speaker will need an amplifier, or maybe two if you want to bi-amp.

pair of channels needs a "source" Apple makes only this part. Us an apple TV or and airport express.

I would never place an AV receiver in a basement. The speaker cables would be to long. and then how will you run the microphone that does the room analysis? you'd need a 100 foot cable. Just put the AV receiver in the room with the TV and the surround speakers

When you do run wire put the wire in over sized conduit so you can swap it out later for whatever is the current technology in 30 years.

 

[Uofmtiger]

So my question is, how do we use our iPhone to control our iTunes library from the kitchen upstairs to a centralized unit located in the basement storage room? Would the Apple TV need to be physically plugged into the receiver unit in the storage room and then strategically place the airport express somewhere to boost the signal?

Where will the router be? Airplay works by going from the iPhone to the wifi router and then to the Airplay receiver (Airport Express/AppleTv/receiver with airplay built in). Therefore, the ability to reach the router via wifi from the iPhone and the receiver would be the issue.

Bluetooth products don't need wifi access, the transmitter is built into the phone and the receiver is in the actual bluetooth receiver. Therefore, you have to be in range of the actual bluetooth receiver to be able to play music. I have read that the range can be 33 feet, where the range of Airplay is the range of your entire network.