Streaming itunes from ipad2 to hifi/amp

Rob8980

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Had a search but couldn't quite find what I was after so thought I'd ask the question here. I have and iPad2 and an iPhone4, I would like to stream and navigate the music from these devices to my home stereo/amp. Is there a way of doing this without having to have iTunes open on my main computer (don't want to have it switched on all the time or have to wait for it to boot up when I just want to listen to a quick bit of music). Is this possible using airport express? It looks like that relies on using the iTunes on your main computer and it's not possible to solely use the iPad/ iPhone but I would love to be wrong. Hope Someone could help me with this
 
So glad to say, your wrong. ;-)

If you have content on any iThing, then you can simply AirPlay to Express or ATV without going via iTunes.

Have both and can confirm it works fine for me.
 
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Thanks for that info. My next question is what connection options to the amp do I have? Is it optical only? My amp only has one optical in and that is currently occupied by the sky+ hd box. Could it be connected via coax? Or 3.5mm jack plug lead?
 
Oh one more question. If I'm streaming music from my iPad using airport express. can I still surf the net at the same time by connecting to my normal Hom wifi connection. Will the I pad handle the 2 connections at the same time?
 
Airport express has a combined analog and digital output via the 3.5mm jack so you could just get a 3.5mm to stereo phono lead if you don't want to use the optical connection.

Yes you can airplay music and surf at the same time.
 
Ok that's good enough for me. I'm now on the look out for an airport express. Anyone selling one cheap? :)
 
Ok that's good enough for me. I'm now on the look out for an airport express. Anyone selling one cheap? :)
best bet is to post a wanted advert in the classified forums.

Curly
 
Does this stream videos as well?
 
You need Apple TV for video, airport express is audio only.
 
Just to add, if you use Match to store your music would have access to your whole music collection without having to turn the PC on.
Ive been doing this all over Christmas and it feels very liberating knowing i have fingertip access to over 20,000 tracks from anywhere in the house. The Airport Express works very well. I just use the 3.5mm jack out to 2 phono's as my amo's digital inputs are used by other devices.
 
Hello everyone,
I too am thinking of doing the same as Rob but before I go out and spend my hard earned cash, could somebody confirm the connection process. Would I be right in saying that I can use a 3.5mm jack to optical/phono?

And one more thing, is the Airport Express a relatively simple setup as I'm not the most computer savvy person? BTW I do have wireless internet so I have got a little idea of how it may work!

Many thanks :)
 
Was in similar position to yourselves .... wanted music from iPhone to Amp - no PCs or iTunes!
Go for the Apple TV - doesn't cost much more than Airport Express.
I don't have a digital amp - so Apple TV is connected to TV via hdmi. Tv is then connected to amp with regular phono cables.
Only drawback is that you have to have tv on in order to listen to music. But there are digital-analog convertors out there is this bothers you.

Why not go with a Spotify subscription also? Works brilliantly with Airplay.
 
Just a quick update. Bought an airport express today and am typing this on my iPad whilst listening to music streamed to my stereo from the same iPad ;) . Set up was quite straight forward just followed the instructions on the set up CD and added the AE as an add on to my wireless network and typed in the security code for my wireless network and all was well. The only problem I had was after install my computer would not connect to my wireless network any more. Not sure what happened iPhone and iPads could still connect but not my main computer. After a bit of head scratching and resetting the router (sky one) which did not work, I tried removing the network from the computer and setting it up again. Thankfully this worked and all is now well. So all in all from shop to fully working took about an hour. I think the most important bit is just setting it up right using the set up guide and picking the right option from the list. I have just connected my amp using a normal 3.5 jack lead from the amp to the AE. I don't have any spare optical inputs so I'm stuck with this solution at the minute. May treat myself to a new small amp and speaker set up in the living room and use it there.
 
As a question on top of this probably aimed at dave_bass5 how 'convenient' is it to pick and choose what you want on the fly? I have 3 airport express dotted about the house and it can be a pain having the PC on with iTunes running so you can pick stuff off it using the remote app. It's not a streaming app so I'm guessing you have to pick the tracks, sync it down to iPhone or iPad then airplay it over straight from your device?
 
In my limited experience with Match (ive only had it for a week) you open the Music app on the phone or ipad, and you see all your music, just as if it was on the device already. you can then either select what you want to download (say, a few albums, songs etc) or just click on the track and it starts playing after a second or two. It is downloading but its also playing as it does. Once its played it does stay on the device until you delete it.
This way you dont even have to hook the device up to load new songs on to it, and of course you can delete the songs off the device if it starts getting full etc.

Im sure there are downsides, and hopefully it will improve, but it seems much quicker and easier than using the remote app.
 
Thanks, For me it probably also has the advantage of spliting the music up to a device so I can listen to different music to what the other half wants in a different room, at present we either overwrite each other's choice in the remote app playing on itunes or have to airplay from the local device what you have on it which invariably is limited for me as I don't want to fill up the phone or iPads space with mp3s, that was the advantage of the airport express boxes but then meant you needed your PC on 24/7.
 
Same here, with only a 16GB iPad2, and not really intending to listen to music on it but wanting some for occasional listening at home, using Match seems like the ideal choice.
Ive also linked my girlfriend and sons ipod touches in to my account so they have access to it as well.

It took a bit of fiddling (plus some swearing) and a lot of time and effort getting Match up and running, not just due to the number of tracks but due to the bugs in the system, but now its up and running adding new tracks in a non issue.

As a bonus ive now got higher quality versions of a lot of my tunes.
 
One more thing that I have noticed today is that I now get better wifi signal in my house. Has the airport express acted as a booster? I thought this was only the case if I had a apple router ( I don't it's the bog standard black sky one) either way I'm not complaining its an added little bonus I wasn't expecting and now means I won't use my 3G allowance so fast :). If anyone could explain this it would be handy though.
 
Yes, if set up to extend the network then it does just that, boosts the signal to areas you may not have reached before. It's a great bit of kit.

You don't have to have the Router from Apple, it just makes life easier overall with older non Apple Routers.

You have just proved how simple it can be, just like I posted above, whilst others try and scare that it's not straight forward!
 
Setting up a Airport Expess isn't always easy. I've had problem setting just my one up. A lot of people have found that the default setting for the AE is not the mode they want and it can take some fiddling and know how to sort it out.
Just saying. It should of course be as easy as turning it on.
 
There is no default mode. It gives you a choice when you first start up.
 
This is taken from another forum. This is also the issue i had, once when i first got it and once about 3 months later for some reason.
This is not my post but thought it would explain the issue better than i could.

Problem:
"I'm trying to use my Airport Express to stream music from iTunes on my Windows PC. It's fresh out of the box, I've plugged it in to my stereo and to the wall, and I get the flashing amber light indicating it can't find the internet.

I have an 802.11.g wireless router (not an Airport Extreme base station). I'm connected to the internet, and the wireless part is working. I know this because I'm online here, and my wife's laptop is connected to the internet wirelessly through the router. I've repositioned the Airport Express several places, and still the flashing amber light.

According to the instruction book, I need to connect the Airport Express to the wireless network using the Airport Utility, and "follow the onscreen instructions." However, there are no instructions because the utility just says "Airport utility was unable to find any Airport base stations." Re-scanning results in the same message.

I dug through some other forums, and figured out how to add the Airport ID printed on the case, or the MAC, to my router's access control list. Still no luck."

Solution:
You have to override Airport Express's default desire to make itself the hub of a new network, and force it to be added as a client to your own network.

First, plug the Airport Express into the wall, then reset it by holding down the reset button with a paper clip for about ten seconds. Plug in an ethernet cord that's attached to your wireless router.

Open the Airport utility which you should've installed from the cd in the package. It should now recognize your Airport Express and the light will turn green. Be patient...mine took awhile, and even started flashing amber before it worked.

You will need to manually configure the AE from the utility by typing in the name of your wireless network, setting AE to "join an existing network" instead of its default "create new network," and enable Airtunes.

You may need to add the "Airport ID" printed on the case of the unit to your router's MAC list. This allows the router to recognize the device. Type your router's IP address into the address bar of internet explorer to access the router settings."


Airport Express won't find my wireless network - MacTalk
 
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Fair enough, but it has to start up in that way in order for you to at least connect into it in the first place.

First search for WiFi networks locally and choose the Airport Express one. Then go to the utility.

Then you simply follow the wizards to set it how you like it.

Simples.
 
Out of the three I had two where fine and one was an absolute git requiring direct ethernet cable connection, downgrading the firmware then upping it before finally it would even see the wireless network then acted all flakey for a few days before it and touch wood has worked fine since. They have all been recon units as well.

Currently playing with the fun that is iCloud with mine and the other halfs iPhones on a shared Apple ID, once I'm past that we'll move onto Match :)
 

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