fenderbender Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Just thought that I would report on the great success I have had with my latest project.... Hardware..... Macbook pro with 3, 1 TB external drives for media, Apple Airport Extreme Router, 3 apple Airport Express base stations, iphone.... So basically since I had the macbook, drives and the iphone...... all I am out is $300 for the 3 airport express Placed an Airport Express near each of my three systems : main listening room , HT, and bedroom connected the airports to my systems via, mini rca to rca splitters ( still waiting on a toslink cable to hook my Benchmark DAC to the main rig) and installed the airport utility and let her go..... it located all three airports with no problem and I appropriately named them..... Itunes recognized the three external systems in the dialog menu so you can choose any or all to send itunes to. I installed the "remote" app for the iphone and joined the network so as long as my computer is on and itunes enabled....... anywhere in my house, I just pullout my iphone, hit the remote app, choose which system to enable (system needs to be on) go to playlists (yep it shows all the playlists that you have in itunes) and choose whichever songs, shuffle, etc, just like itunes..... and you can control the volume the sound quality so far is very good and I have not been able to hear any artifacts or noise even through the klipschorns........ not as good as my ah njoeb 96bit tube cd player, but thats going from the airport express internal dac, to rca cables. Tomorrow i should receive my Toslink cable to bypass the internal DAC and hook into my Benchmark DAC.... that should beat out the cd player by a nice margin.... I'll report after I have fooled with it some... All in all, I am very very happy with this system.... I've only had one or two small glitches all weekend, ( going to happen in a congested area with tons of competing routers, wireless phones, electronics....blah blah) but in 20 hrs of listening maybe 3 ...2 second dropouts..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 I use the airport express option as well. Another program you may want to use is airfoil. With it you can stream things other than from Itunes. I use it for Pandora. Nice option. Not sure how you are now going to use the Benchmark in concert with I tunes or what effect it would have. The signal from the airport is already DAC'ed if you get my drift. I have a benchmark as well but use it with a dedicated music server that sits next to my preamp. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Congrats fenderbender, and once you use an external DAC I think you'll forget about any cd players you might own. Simple, cheap and sounds great... gotta love those iTunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 Thanks Josh ... I will check out airfoil.... As far as useing an external DAC I am under the belief that the optical port on the airport is " un-DACed". At least that us what I have read on numerous forums...... So I will go optical port out on the airport, bypassing it's internal DAC to the optical in of the benchmark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 I could be wrong but I do not beleive that there is an optical port on the airport. There isnt on mine. THere is a USB port on both the airport and the airport express but that is for wireless printing and in the case of the airport, connecting a hard drive for "time machine" use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 I could be wrong but I do not beleive that there is an optical port on the airport. There isnt on mine. THere is a USB port on both the airport and the airport express but that is for wireless printing and in the case of the airport, connecting a hard drive for "time machine" use. Fenderbender is using the Airport Express which has an optical output but requires an 1/8" mini jack adaptor. As far as I know the USB on the Apple TV can be used for audio output but the optical output would be the preferred connection there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 The airport express has a optic port.... Which doubles as the mini RCA... Apple sells the cable in the "airport express stereo conection kit". $40!!! I ordered one from Newegg for$6... it's a male 3.5 optic to toslink or some call it s mini toslink cable..... I read several accounts of people useing this method with great sucsess.... I hope to have good results this way or I will just rearange and hardwire my laptop to the DAC ang move my media external hardrive onto the router to share files wirelessly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 it's a male 3.5 optic to toslink or some call it s mini toslink cable..... I read several accounts of people useing this method with great sucsess.... There is an inexpensive adaptor which can be bought separately and allows use with any optical cable. I think you'll be quite happy with the results when using an outboard DAC. Streaming iTunes now accounts for about 70% of my music listening. Much like buying a remote controlled tv all those years ago, it spoils you forever. No getting up to flip records, no fumbling through cd jewel cases (especially those modern cardboard tree-hugger cases where the disc refuses to come out of its sleeve until I put all ten fingerprints on it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Interesting. I have an airport express ( actually 3 of them) and didnt know that the mini cable out was also optical and that when using it in that way the output bypased the DAC. I am connecting to the stereo via the mini to RCA option. Maybe mine are an older version and they do not have that capabiity but they sure look the same. THey are about 6 months old I would guess. Maybe Ill just check at RAT Shack and see if they have the mini to toslink cable and give it a go. Jssh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 Thanks hifi Jim !!! Josh.... No luck at radioshack... Got to go online from newegg or some other cable/ electronics company for the adapter or the optical cord.... And it is the 3.5 male mini that goes into the airport express.... BTW if you unplug your mini RCA from the airport and see a glowing red light in there it's n optical port .... I think they always made utvthat way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 What do you know. Just looked and yes indeed there is a red light on inside. I had asked the guy at the Mac Store if there was a way to hook the express up to an external DAC and he said no. I shoudl have known that he didnt know what he was talking about by the empty look on his face when I said DAC! Thanks for the info. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eighteen_psi Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 I've got a couple of these as well (with an Apple TV in the living room) - great setup. The quality is pretty respectable even with the normal analog out, but the optical is an improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted February 9, 2010 Author Share Posted February 9, 2010 UPDATE>>>> OK ....recieved my toslink cable today and hooked up the benchmark DAC I am VERY impressed!!!! The airport express, optical out to benchmark Dac, beats the crap out of my Ah! Njoeb Troeb 96 bit tube cd player($ 1200 and a bargain for what you get)....... the only thing I can compare it to is pulling cotton balls out of your ears! I could swear i'm getting another 1/2 octave of tight bass, but thats because its just cleaner and tighter....and much more punchy! the top end shimmers, notes hang longer, better separation and the music just sounds bigger..... I'm going to be buying/ripping a whole lot more cd's these days!!! just when i get my vinyl about to where I want it!!!! darn it all! to bad the record companies wont release most of their recordings lossless for download!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 UPDATE>>>> I'm going to be buying/ripping a whole lot more cd's these days!!! just when i get my vinyl about to where I want it!!!! darn it all! to bad the record companies wont release most of their recordings lossless for download!!! Tell me about it! I am a heavy user of eMusic and how much I would so love if they offered thier music in lossless format! The couple of services that offered lossless downloads wanted you to use Microsoft WMP and IE as well as strangled with DRM. Sorry, but that is a no-go for me. If it was offered in DRM-free FLAC, than I am all over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 My miniplug toslink cable arrived today from newegg. Fast shipping btw. Must be in California!. Have to say I am very impressed. I have been running my Olive Music Server through the Benchmark DAC1 and have been loving it. The Olive works well. I rip CDs in FLAC and can also drop Itunes MP4s onto it from my desktop as the olive is available on my wireless network.. Well I have to say that the Airport Express from my Mac Mini using the fiber optic cable to the Benchmark Dac and then onto the BBX is prretty darn nice. Could live with it for sure. The interface on Itunes is way better than the one for the Olive. I guess the only issue is the ability to download other formats to I tunes. But quite honestly just about everything I have on the Olive was loaded by me from CD, which I could have also done in lossless on the mac. If I were to do this again I would probably just use the Mac and the benchmark. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 Josh: it is pretty impresive..... I'm running a BBX also, makes a good combo!! The best part of it is that my wife actually loves it!!!! ( I was smart and ripped 20 of her fav cd's lol ). She lives that I can pipemusic into the bedroom system from my iPhone!!! And , hold onto your hat..... She actually told me that the benchmark DAC sounded much better than the original CD I thought I was going to pass out!!!!! She hates my " monster stereo" !!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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