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Wireless speaker solutions using Airplay

B

brayhite

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 21, 2010
873
0
N. Kentucky
Are there any Airplay "receivers" that plug in, connect to wifi, and have an aux output for speakers?

Also, any recommendations for quality but low-cost speakers would be cool. Good enough quality to handle loud music for parties but small enough to hide behind furniture, mount to the wall/ceiling, etc.

TIA
 
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brayhite said:
Are there any Airplay "receivers" that plug in, connect to wifi, and have an aux output for speakers?
Click to expand...

The airport express is the only one I know of. The first gen airport express can be found used/refurbished on ebay for around $40-$50. Refurb from the apple store is $70. Refurb 2012 express is $85. New is $99.
 
I think brayhite was referring to AV receivers. There are several AV receivers that have the AirPlay functionality built in. You would need to look up the specs on each one to see what kind of wired connections they offer for speakers.

The receiver is just getting the audio through airplay but obviously you'll still need speakers so I'm pretty sure most if not all Airplay AV receivers should have connections for wired speakers.

I did a Google search and got plenty of results. Unfortunately I don't own an Airplay receiver so I can't speak to which ones you might look at or performance.

Good luck on your search!!!

jhsfosho said:
The airport express is the only one I know of. The first gen airport express can be found used/refurbished on ebay for around $40-$50. Refurb from the apple store is $70. Refurb 2012 express is $85. New is $99.
Click to expand...
 
stoster38 said:
I think brayhite was referring to AV receivers. There are several AV receivers that have the AirPlay functionality built in. You would need to look up the specs on each one to see what kind of wired connections they offer for speakers.

The receiver is just getting the audio through airplay but obviously you'll still need speakers so I'm pretty sure most if not all Airplay AV receivers should have connections for wired speakers.

Good luck on your search!!!
Click to expand...

I have three Griffin Twenty's ( http://www.griffintechnology.com/twenty ) that I use for demos. Each one has a pair or ORB's and they all share a Definitive Technology subwoofer. You would be amazed at the sound I get out of these tiny D-Grade amps. I cannot recommend them highly enough. All you need is a pre-loved old Airport Express ($40-$50 on eBay) a $99 Griffin Twenty, hook up your speakers and away you go.
 
jhsfosho said:
The airport express is the only one I know of. The first gen airport express can be found used/refurbished on ebay for around $40-$50. Refurb from the apple store is $70. Refurb 2012 express is $85. New is $99.
Click to expand...

This sounds good. I wasn't sure how cheap the older models were. $50 for an old Airport Express sounds fair, though I can only find them for $60 on Amazon :confused:

stoster38 said:
I think brayhite was referring to AV receivers. There are several AV receivers that have the AirPlay functionality built in. You would need to look up the specs on each one to see what kind of wired connections they offer for speakers.

The receiver is just getting the audio through airplay but obviously you'll still need speakers so I'm pretty sure most if not all Airplay AV receivers should have connections for wired speakers.

I did a Google search and got plenty of results. Unfortunately I don't own an Airplay receiver so I can't speak to which ones you might look at or performance.

Good luck on your search!!!
Click to expand...

Unless the receivers are cheaper than $60 (see comment about Airport Expresses), I'd rather not buy a receiver. Those cost around $400 each and I'm looking to spend less than that on all four. Thanks for the help though!

crhendo said:
I have three Griffin Twenty's ( http://www.griffintechnology.com/twenty ) that I use for demos. Each one has a pair or ORB's and they all share a Definitive Technology subwoofer. You would be amazed at the sound I get out of these tiny D-Grade amps. I cannot recommend them highly enough. All you need is a pre-loved old Airport Express ($40-$50 on eBay) a $99 Griffin Twenty, hook up your speakers and away you go.
Click to expand...

This sounds fair enough if I was looking for a very nice, somewhat permanent set-up. However, money considered and flexibility desired, I'd say the Griffin Twenty's just aren't what I need. Thanks though!
 
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jhsfosho said:
If I were you, I would consider buying a computer speaker system, either 2.1 or 5.1 if your budget can handle it.

You can pair an airport express:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Airpo...425523?pt=COMP_EN_Routers&hash=item2c6c882ff3

with something like these Logitech speakers:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...l?ie=UTF8&colid=&coliid=&me=&qid=&seller=&sr=

and probably do it all for around $100 if you aren't opposed to buying used.
Click to expand...

This is the route I was planning on going. I have a pair of Logitechs (not the ones linked) that to me sounds perfect for a medium sized room, and they're only $35 or so. I was hoping to find some equal in quality for around $25 and buy 4 more, plus the cost of 4 more Airport Express' at $50 each, so $300 total.

On a related sidenote, does anyone know of any Airplay speaker management software, for either iOS or Mac? I have Airfoil on Mac, but I'd like something that can be used on both iOS and Mac.

I'm aware of and use one solution by Airfoil that allows playing music to the Mac via Airfoil Speakers (an app) then, via Airfoil, plays to the speakers its connected to. I'd like to be able to control all of this from my phone though, including volume of each speaker, combination of speakers to play to, etc.

Any suggestions?
 
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Have my whole home setup

I have 5 rooms in my house setup with a combination of airport express' and Apple TV's. iTunes allows you to control volumes and selections of rooms also use remote app on iPhone and iPad. It's best on the low price end to use a powered speaker system with a airport express. Many computer speaker systems will do just fine. Of you need a higher power for large speakers Bose makes a two channel power amp that works great with airport express. Model SA-3, it pushes 100 watts per channel of clean sound. It powers a pair of 901's in my living room. What is cool about that amp is you can hide it easily and it auto powers on when it receives a signal and powers down when not in use. It's not cheap at 299.00. My home theatre is a high end Onkyo THX 7.1 system which I use ATV. Also in MBR I use ATV connected to a Bose Cinemate sound bar. In my kitchen, spare bedroom and covered patio I use small powered speaker systems with airport express. HK sound sticks with sub, great sound almost invisible because they are all made of clear acrylic. Also in one room use 2.1 Bose Cinemate system with stands and sub. My friend has a Logitech THX 2.1 powered system with sub I set up for him. Also sounds great. Any of the last three systems you can get on Craigslist pretty cheap.
 
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I know that this is not exactly what you asked, but it might be a simple solution to your needs...

Plug in any set of speakers to the audio out on your TV (that ATV is connected to), and your TV effectively becomes the "Airplay receiver". The only catch is that you have to turn on your TV/ATV to work them.

This is the set-up I have and it's pretty cool. I use Airfoil to stream any audio (ie, Spotify) to my speakers!
 
cire1244 said:
I know that this is not exactly what you asked, but it might be a simple solution to your needs...

Plug in any set of speakers to the audio out on your TV (that ATV is connected to), and your TV effectively becomes the "Airplay receiver". The only catch is that you have to turn on your TV/ATV to work them.

This is the set-up I have and it's pretty cool. I use Airfoil to stream any audio (ie, Spotify) to my speakers!
Click to expand...

i actually have this set up in my bedroom. this way, when i connect to the apple tv via airplay, it sends a signal to the soundbar and it turns on automatically, and starts playing music. literally all i have to do is connect to the apple tv from my device and push play.. the apple tv and soundbar does the rest.


i did want to update this with my solution i've decided on. due to finding this jailbreak gem called Airfloat, i've turned my two old iPhone 4's and my ipad into airplay receivers. this, combined with airfoil, i have a total of 10 airplay receivers.

imac (airfoil)
2008 macbook pro (airfoil)
fiance's macbook pro (airfoil)
macbook air (airfoil)
1st iphone 4 (airfloat)
2nd iphone 4 (airfloat)
ipad 2 (airfloat)
iphone 5 (airfloat)
apple tv
airport express

i can finally give my fiance a reason for not selling our old apple devices :D

now i just need some more aux cords and decent computer speakers, and i'm good to go. granted, i'm no audiophile and neither are my friends, so as long as the speakers aren't fuzzy when the bass is up and it doesn't sound like they're coming from a netbook, they work. we have a set of these dells at my work, and they fill our ~30x13 office quite nicely. i think i'll be purchasing a few of these in the near future.
 
We're at a pretty cool time with technology, with Airplay we can do things that previously required lots of dedicated wiring, Crestron controllers, multizone amps, now with Airport Expresses we can distribute our audio pretty damn easily!

I've been wiring up our house with some indoor and outdoor speakers and here's some stuff I've found that is pretty cool -

Audiosource Amp-100 $100 @ Amazon, sounds good, has good power for a set of secondary speakers, and has priority input so you can hook up a radio tuner (or anything else) as your first input, but when the Airport Express kicks on, it overrides the other input.

Leviton 48211 digital volume control, $80 on eBay or $170 new - lets you add a volume control in your wall in a standard "decora" style wall switch plate; all you have to run is a cat5 to a control box you can place by the amplifier (say, in a closet)

For speakers you really have to consider what you're trying to do, how much bass you want, how big the room is, how well you want the speakers to blend into your environment aesthetically, what your budget is, you can get as ridiculous as you want.

Rob
 
pktech said:
I recently bought a portable wireless speaker from the below link and trust me it has really cool features, sound quality and water-resistant too. I would suggest it any day and its value for money too.

http://www.bitmore.co.uk/collection...e-storm-super-bass-bluetooth-portable-speaker
Click to expand...

Ugh! No thank you. That might be fine for covenient on-the-go portability, but Bluetooth is no substitute for Airplay. And as small as that speaker is it would not come close to providing reasonable sound for in-home use. I would recommend anyone looking for home audio solutions steer clear of Bluetooth.

Airplay is about HiFi. Bluetooth is about convenience, best left to portable audio (like headsets) where convenience is desired over sound quality.
 
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