Ethernet Audio Hub

[IGWright]

Howdy,

 

 

I'm trying to figure out a viable way of wiring up the speakers in the various rooms of my apartment and I was wondering if there have been any developments in this area.

 

Currently everything is connect via audio cables. Is there any kind of ethernet solution that would allow me to play MP3s from a Laptop on a home network?

 

 

 

As always, any help is much appreciated.

 

 

Ian

[blue2blue]

So... you're not talking about using the laptop as the satellite, right? You're talking about using the laptop as the media server and you want some sort of a remote speakers or dumb player that will slave to a media player on the laptop?

 

There are some solutions out there that act as remote speakers for a media player but they tend to be pricey for what are, after all, just remote speakers.

 

Also, there's the issue of, if you have multiple speakers over ethernet, they will be out of synch with each other, as ethernet transport is not, by itself, time-stamped and ready to synchronize.

 

It'd probably be easier and more flexible just to buy a cheap latpop to act as the "remote" and have it access the media files on the "server."

 

I dunno... maybe I'm missing something.

[daklander]

There are wireless speaker systems available if that's what you are looking for. You would pull the stereo out from your laptop into a transmitter and that transmits the sound to the speakers, which can be in another room. They range from about $100.00 to about $250.00.

There are some systems coming out soon, of not already.

Here's some information.

 

And Here Is A System.

[blue2blue]

dak -- they don't seem to actually HAVE any product! http://www.avegasystems.com/

 

They do, however, have diagrams and press releases... heh.

___________________

 

From the CNET write-up on the Avega vapor-driven non-speakers:

 

 

It was a finalist for the Best of CES award from CNET Networks. The speakers, however, never shipped.

That pretty much sums up CNET's acumen, it seems to me. Along with other loser companies like Lycos and some others that somehow survived the internet shakeout, they continue bumbling along from one bonehead thing to another, coasting, one presumes on that fat initial capitalization.

 

 

Anyhow, wireless speakers may be "the holy grail" as the CNET write-up suggests, but WORKING "wireless" speakers using a number of systems have been around since at least the early sixties.

 

In the very early days of stereo -- before the advent of Stereo LPs, even -- there was at least one major manufacturer of radios who had an FM Multiplex-ready table radio pair -- the AM-FM receiver was in one cabinet with one speaker and transmitted the other channel over the house's power lines (filtering out 60 Hz, of course!) to a satellite cabinet with the other speaker.

 

And, over the years, a number of manufacturers have used that basic trasmission media for mid-fi remote "wireless" speaker systems.

[daklander]

dak -- they don't seem to actually HAVE any product! http://www.avegasystems.com/ They do, however, have diagrams and press releases... heh. ___________________

 

Somewhere I saw an ad release about a successful demo of the system so thought they had one. I didn't look at the site to see if they actually had anything to sell.

[jwlussow]

My whole house is setup for wireless media. I have 3 Apple Airport Expresses (the one that is just the small square that plugs into a power outlet). I have computers in my studio in the basement, a MacMini alongside the 5.1 system in the media room and a couple laptops floating around. I have computer speakers plugged into each of the Expresses. I can play any music or movie or TV show on any and all of these expresses and the Mini. The iTunes library is shared so each computer can play songs on any of the computers and on any (or all) of the speakers. The music on the deck will be in sync with the music in the basement and the music in the media room. It is really a cool setup. Each express can also play it's own music at the same time other "zones" have different music. Most of this works right out of the box with iTunes. I am running a Logitech 5.1 system in the basement, A Tannoy Active system in the studio, A Sony 5.1 system in the media room and a set of Bose speakers for the deck and another for the family room. I have a cheap set of powered stereo computer speakers in the exercise room. The system works great and it is wireless. The Expresses actually have both analog and digital outs on them and they are tied into the wireless computer network I hooked up at home. I am Mac based but I believe the Airport Express will work with PCs and iTunes also.

[blue2blue]

Mac or Windows:

 

http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/

 

 

It really is cute. I'd missed this. It's a little $100 plug in -- that is, it plugs in the wall -- with an ethernet port, a USB printer port, and a 1/8" audio output. It forms a network or joins an existing network and lets you select what speakers to route sound to from iTunes running on your Mac or PC.

 

So, at $100 a satellite location, it's not necessarily cheap for either Wi Fi networking or wireless speakers -- but when you put it together -- AND you figure that a lot of times your printer may well be where your router is but your laptop or junior's tower probably isn't -- so the USB printer output could be a tie-breaker. And if you need a pair of extension speakers in the room with Airport Express, so much the better.

[IGWright]

That does look like the answer. My girl friend uses iTunes, but I use Winamp. Would I be able to play MP3s with Winamp?

 

I also like the printer capabilities.

 

 

Ian:cool:

[daklander]

Yeah, seems I remember seeing blurbs on that a couple of years ago and thought at the time it was gonna be something pretty good but at that time it wasn't touted as something that you could stream music from a computer to a stereo on. Wonder why that isn't pushed. Looks like it's something I gotta get 'cause I listen to a couple of internet stations on a couple of different computers. It would be really cool to just keep the garage computer tuned to one of the stations I listen to and turn on the stereo in the house when I also wanted to hear it inside the house.

[blue2blue]

Well, I'm not at all sure it will work without iTunes -- and I'm thinking that means it might not work with subscription services that use players like MusicMatch, etc.

[IGWright]

I've got the WIFI goin' at home, so I need a receiver that will port an MP3 to either a 1/8" or a 1/4" TRS.

 

 

Ian:cool:

[daklander]

 

Well, I'm not at all sure it will work without iTunes -- and I'm thinking that means it might not work with subscription services that use players like MusicMatch, etc.

 

 

Not sure but it looks like it may. I would think anything that you can get to go out of your audio would be able to be sent to the wireless Airport Express.

[greendoor]

What's wrong with simple balanced audio cabling? Ethernet, if it was even available, would require D/A conversion - which isn't cheap to do right. For home audio, a quality converter like a Benchmark DAC-1 sounds so good, you won't want to settle for crap conversion any longer. But they aren't cheap. So why not have one quality converter for the house, and run balanced cables (just like studios have done for decades) to the amps. Or - run speaker wires and have one quality amp. This removes power transformer hum from the listening room too.

 

Or - if you want ethernet for harddrive access, just get an ethernet hub.

[greendoor]

Scrub that. If you are happy with MP3s then quality of D/A converter probably isn't of interest either. Until you actually hear with your own ears.

 

I had a conversation with a hifi shop owner recently, and he was lamenting the current "lifestyle" hifi appliences these days. Most people wouldn't recognise true hifi if it bit them on the arse. It's about as shocking.

[jasps]

Howdy, I'm trying to figure out a viable way of wiring up the speakers in the various rooms of my apartment and I was wondering if there have been any developments in this area. Currently everything is connect via audio cables. Is there any kind of ethernet solution that would allow me to play MP3s from a Laptop on a home network? As always, any help is much appreciated. Ian

 

How many rooms? If your speakers are of the powered variety you could get one of these: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=mtpt15hda&subtype=216

 

with one of these:

http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=mtpda4&subtype=216

 

And up to four of these for four rooms w/above equipment of distributed audio and video over "skew-free" cat5 cable: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=mtpr15hda&subtype=216

 

If you didn't want to buy the DA for home runs, you can get a receiver that does a "loop through," instead.

 

By the time you add up cost, it probably doesn't make sense if you aren't going to do video with it. Balanced mic cable is cheap and you can get an analog DA to do the same thing that my suggestion does for less $. Since you aren't running distributed video--that would be my suggestion.

 

I think home theatre people also have solutions you might want to think about, but I am unfamiliar with that product.

 

Good luck w/your search!

[Zooey]

 

I've got the WIFI goin' at home, so I need a receiver that will port an MP3 to either a 1/8" or a 1/4" TRS. Ian:cool:

 

 

There are lots of wireless bridges on the market, but very few have audio outputs. Linksys makes one: search for "Wireless-G Music Bridge." It's for sending audio wirelessly to a stereo system with line inputs.