nicholtl Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 Also called "Airtunes" in their new product "Airport Express." In theory it sounds like the best thing since sliced bread. If you have wireless internet set up around your house, which really isn't all that expensive now, with this device you can supposedly connect an analog or optical cable from the airport express unit (which plugs directly into an outlet) to your preamp or receiver. Then you simply use your computer's MP3 player to play whatever song you want, and voila! It'll play on your home stereo. So imagine being anywhere in your house, and you have your laptop sitting with you out on the porch, on the crapper, in the kitchen whipping up a gourmet feast for you many concubines...and you decide to play a song. Just hit the button on your laptop or computer, and the music will play in whichever room you designate. That is, if you have multiple stereos. If not, then just on your main unit. It's awesome since people have thousands and thousands of songs on their computers, and it would be instantaneous. No need to wait for the CD changer to search and play. So what I'm wondering is how good the sound quality can actually be? For one thing, while MP3 is the new "music revolution," I think that only refers to people who don't spend thousands on stereo equipment, or waste their life on these boards (haha). Secondly, how can it possibly transmit digital signal via optical cable, if it's receiving the MP3 data wirelessly over internet? I mean, is that even possible??? At lastly, it's a given that unless MP3's are encoded at 192 bits or more, the sound will be noticeably crappy on a revealing system. Or to golden ears. Oh, and here'st he link to Apple's product: http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 ---------------- On 6/14/2004 2:29:27 PM nicholtl wrote: So what I'm wondering is how good the sound quality can actually be? For one thing, while MP3 is the new "music revolution," I think that only refers to people who don't spend thousands on stereo equipment, or waste their life on these boards (haha). ---------------- The sound quality, like you said, is MP3. The only real advantage to MP3 is that it is a convenient format in which to store large libraries of music or to be able to take music on the road. Pretty neat that you can take several hours of music on a device not much larger than the palm of your hand vs having to lug around a large case full of CD's. ---------------- Secondly, how can it possibly transmit digital signal via optical cable, if it's receiving the MP3 data wirelessly over internet? I mean, is that even possible??? ---------------- Easy! Your computer is streaming the audio to this device, whether it be through wired or wireless. No different sending any other data. The device will pickup the data stream and convert it to the optical or analog format and send it through to your reciever/pre-pro. I do something simliar already in my house, although it is all wired 100mbps LAN. No different when you hear streaming audio off the internet on your laptop. ---------------- At lastly, it's a given that unless MP3's are encoded at 192 bits or more, the sound will be noticeably crappy on a revealing system. Or to golden ears. Oh, and here'st he link to Apple's product: http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/ ---------------- No argument there! I encode all my MP3s to at least 192 kbps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelstano Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 I, too, have read about Airport/express. If I understand it, it works like x10 home security or appliance control: a transmitter and a receiver communicating over normal household wiring. Here is a caution: one of my x10 modules wouldn't turn on the lamp plugged into it. As it turns out, the module and the controller were plugged into outlets that wheren't "in phase." An electrican had to solve the problem with some rewiring in the breaker panel. So, unless there is something really unusual about my house wiring, the Apple stuff may not always be as simple as "plug-'n-play." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondial Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 AirPort uses standard 802.11g wireless transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkp Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Oh boy, here we go! Home Depot 12 guage wire vs. expensive silver wire (etc etc) vs. (the latest in high technology) infrared beamed signal...lol I can see the thread titles now: Can I update my K-Horns with the new Infrared technology? Which infrared antenna is best-Home Depot or silver (etc etc)? Which transmitter provides the best signal to my speakers? O.A.E. (Outrageous Audio Equipment) recommends mirrors on the ceiling of my theater in order to provide a cleaner signal to the speakers via infrared transmission. (I think Fini will like this one...) Has anyone upgraded the power cord to their infrared transmitter? LOL On a more serious note, I wonder it they will ever incorporate something like that into loudspeaker systems? David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted June 15, 2004 Author Share Posted June 15, 2004 Thanks guys for the responses. I called up Apple and asked them about it, and they basically reaffirmed what Skonopa said. Yes, it's entirely possible. And it's mostly for the convinience factor. I think once the product comes out in mid-July, I'm gonna pick up 2 (one for the main system, one for the bedroom system) so that I can play MP3's from my computer through whichever system I want to fit whatever mood is appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriven Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 ---------------- On 6/15/2004 2:08:06 PM dkp wrote: Oh boy, here we go! Home Depot 12 guage wire vs. expensive silver wire (etc etc) vs. (the latest in high technology) infrared beamed signal...lol I can see the thread titles now: Can I update my K-Horns with the new Infrared technology? Which infrared antenna is best-Home Depot or silver (etc etc)? Which transmitter provides the best signal to my speakers? O.A.E. (Outrageous Audio Equipment) recommends mirrors on the ceiling of my theater in order to provide a cleaner signal to the speakers via infrared transmission. (I think Fini will like this one...) Has anyone upgraded the power cord to their infrared transmitter? LOL On a more serious note, I wonder it they will ever incorporate something like that into loudspeaker systems? David ---------------- It's not infrared, it's radio! You would still need amplification to get the radio signal to drive a speaker. Just like FM. So at that point you can get back to the wire, power cord, etc. arguments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schwock5 Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 I've seen many units like this ocme out recently, and even TiVo let's you do it now for free. But i'm looking for something that does All AUDIO, since i play games also, i don't want a unit just to play MP3s, is there any units, even this one, that would stream all computer audio so i can have 5.12 surround gaming and MP3s as well? Anyone know? Also, does wireless transmission lower sound quality at all? When i played MP3s through my TiVo, is sounded different from the hard wires going from my computer to my reciever, i don't think the TiVO unit utilized my sound properties from the mixer on Sound Blaster Audigy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Sounds very cool. But what I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want is a wireless rear speakers for HT. Something like a Bluetooth transmitter to get sound from the reciever to the rears without runnig wires all over the place. Anybody know if Klipsch or anybody else is working on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerohm Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 ---------------- On 6/15/2004 7:07:15 PM thebes wrote: : : But what I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want is a wireless rear speakers for HT. Something like a Bluetooth transmitter to get sound from the reciever to the rears without runnig wires all over the place. : : ---------------- When I first learned about Bluetooth years ago, that was the very first application I thought of ! It still would require a DAC/Monoblock for each speaker, so completely wireless is probably a pipe dream! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 ---------------- On 6/15/2004 7:07:15 PM thebes wrote: Sounds very cool. But what I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want is a wireless rear speakers for HT. Something like a Bluetooth transmitter to get sound from the reciever to the rears without runnig wires all over the place. Anybody know if Klipsch or anybody else is working on this? ---------------- Well you don't need Bluetooth, but Brookstone, RCA, Sony, and a few other companies already have wireless speakers. They require you plug the transmitter unit into your receiver/preamp/tv/whatever, and you can place the speakers up to a certain distance away. Then the speakers either plug into a socket or you can power them with batteries. The sound quality, however, will probably leave something to be desired... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Thanks Nicolti. Hadn't thought it through. Yeah I guess the sound would take a hit, but would the rears really have to be powered? I mean there's really not a lot of juice running through speaker wires. Not a very technical fellow, but isn't it mostly signal transference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Hey guys i know i am a little late but i do this just fine with my music and movies all the time. I have a 802.11 b also, I have a desktop and laptop in which my laptop has a 60 gig hd and my desktop a 40 gig hd and also the desktop is full. So i saved all my music and movies onto my laptop and then run it using the router by sharing the hard drives. just drag from the shared hd the item you want to play and voila it plays on my desktop which has my klipsch ultras. The wireless b is even fast enough to transmit distortion and laggy free dixv and xvid movies? i see that apple may have made it more simpler but hey i already have my wireless router and don't feel like buying the apple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtDark Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 I was actually thinking about posting about this as well. Here's a link to some more info. Initially I got really excited about this as well, but from everything I've read it basically just functions as a really long wire. I mean you still can't control what's being played if you're in that other room. Like if I have my main computer with all the mp3's here in my bedroom and I want to listen to mp3's on my HT setup in the living room I just have to set iTunes playing (like with shuffle, playlist, whatever) and then if I want to change songs or whatever I still have to run back to the main computer and change it. I'm one of those people that changes what's playing on even the smallest whim, so I would like to be able to control what's playing remotely. Although a bit more complicated, I prefer the setup I had at my old place: main computer upstairs and a cheap laptop downstairs connected wirelessly, laptop connected to receiver, and just play whatever I want via iTunes (looking at my shared files) on the laptop. You can get a decent laptop for practically nothing these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooting_monkey Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 What would happen if you were playing really HQ files like wav and such. You think it would have a buffer underun and skip parts of the song? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 ---------------- On 6/16/2004 7:52:03 PM gtDark wrote: I was actually thinking about posting about this as well. Here's a link to some more info. Initially I got really excited about this as well, but from everything I've read it basically just functions as a really long wire. I mean you still can't control what's being played if you're in that other room. ---------------- To do what you want to do, you could get a Turtle Beach AudioTron and a wireless bridge such as the Linksys WET-54G. However, this will be an expensive solution, since the AudioTron costs something like $300 and the wireless bridge will be another $150 or so. It will give you exactly the kind of control you desire, though, and from what everybody is saying, that AudioTron unit is nice. I keep saying I am going to eventually get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 ---------------- On 6/15/2004 2:08:06 PM dkp wrote: On a more serious note, I wonder it they will ever incorporate something like that into loudspeaker systems? David ---------------- David, I answered that question way too many times at Best Buy when I worked there. The simple logisitics of wireless HT are pretty imposing. Consider the problems: 1) Powered studio monitors (which are still not wireless, but rather just line-level wired from the mixer) with integrated amps weigh in excess of 30 pounds each. No one is going to want to "mount" that on their wall. 2) Even without speaker wires, they still gotta have power cords for those amps inside - so much for "wireless" 3) The sound quality (to my ears) is already compromised by placing the drivers and the amp in the same cabinet. Imagine the sound quality problems with a wireless receiver in the same box... That's just the tip of the iceberg. A lot of people wonder about wireless loudspeaker systems, but no one really considers the idea that you can't send power over a wireless transmission, only signal. When someone overcomes that physics problem, you may see it happen, but meanwhile, it's a pipe dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 ---------------- On 6/16/2004 8:13:33 PM hooting_monkey wrote: What would happen if you were playing really HQ files like wav and such. You think it would have a buffer underun and skip parts of the song? ---------------- its wireless g which has a somewhere in 56megahertz correct me if im wrong which would mean that you would be able to download a average wav in 2 seconds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 ---------------- On 6/16/2004 5:25:39 PM Jay481985 wrote: Hey guys i know i am a little late but i do this just fine with my music and movies all the time. I have a 802.11 b also, I have a desktop and laptop in which my laptop has a 60 gig hd and my desktop a 40 gig hd and also the desktop is full. So i saved all my music and movies onto my laptop and then run it using the router by sharing the hard drives. just drag from the shared hd the item you want to play and voila it plays on my desktop which has my klipsch ultras. The wireless b is even fast enough to transmit distortion and laggy free dixv and xvid movies? i see that apple may have made it more simpler but hey i already have my wireless router and don't feel like buying the apple ---------------- also i use netmeeting and connect both my laptop and desktop to each other and have remote desktop sharing so i am able to control the laptop or desktop and be able to change songs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblue Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Want a better solution. Get a turtlebeach Audiotron and hook it up to a wireless ethernet bridge. Wala! The ability to stream mp3's and WAV files from any computer in the house wirelessly. Works great. WAV sound quality is amazing, HDCD files ripped as wavs maintain their HDCD integrity (if you run optical to a receiver with a built in HDCD decoder, like the HK AVR525), and the buffer works great (as long as you don't start skipping around the queue, then you'll get a hiccup but it recovers instantly). Best audio streaming home network product yet, imho. Oh yeah, and you can control the whole shebang with a REMOTE!!!! Audiotron homepage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.