Streaming Music to AVR over a Network

[Transmaniacon]

Hello everyone, first time poster here;

I am just beginning my first home theatre, and am going the used/budget route at the moment as I get my feet wet. I was hoping to get some information about streaming music from my computer to an AVR.

I noticed in the Pioneer AVRs, they have a USB port on them. In our apartment, we have an Apple Airport Express as our main router, which conveniently has a USB port as well.

My question is if I could connect the AVR to the Apple Airport Express, and then treat the stereo as network attached speakers so to speak. I am not sure if this is possible, but I am hoping it could work. My other option would be to get one of those iPod docks and listen to my music that way.

I appreciate any and all help, this forum is a wealth of information!

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Sure, the Airport Express will do what you want, but not with the USB connection. Here's a link from Apple that tells you how to do it.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Transmaniacon]

Fantastic! Thanks for the quick response too

I have a question though, will the audio jack on the airport degrade the quality much? Would I see better results from playing my music with say an iPod dock?

 

[highfigh]

Hello everyone, first time poster here;

I am just beginning my first home theatre, and am going the used/budget route at the moment as I get my feet wet. I was hoping to get some information about streaming music from my computer to an AVR.

I noticed in the Pioneer AVRs, they have a USB port on them. In our apartment, we have an Apple Airport Express as our main router, which conveniently has a USB port as well.

My question is if I could connect the AVR to the Apple Airport Express, and then treat the stereo as network attached speakers so to speak. I am not sure if this is possible, but I am hoping it could work. My other option would be to get one of those iPod docks and listen to my music that way.

I appreciate any and all help, this forum is a wealth of information!

Airport as your main router- you mean Extreme, don't you?

The Express can be used to receive the audio from iTunes on your computer and then you can use the output jack for digital (TosLink) or analog audio (3.5mm stereo plug to stereo RCA Y cord). It only has one jack but it's capable of either. You would add the Express to the network and open iTunes and in the lower right corner, you'll see a button for 'Speakers', which is their word for the Express. Then, you click on the Express you want to connect to. If you have more than one, you can select one, more than one or all of them.

If you have an Extreme as your router, you should be able to use an Express to connect the receiver to the network, but I'm not familiar with the details of doing this with a Pioneer. I would assume that in the menu, there's a way to set up the network connection and designate DHCP or static routing, etc. The Pioneer's GUI should allow you to control what you'll be listening to and it may allow you to control the receiver using the computer.

 

[highfigh]

Fantastic! Thanks for the quick response too

I have a question though, will the audio jack on the airport degrade the quality much? Would I see better results from playing my music with say an iPod dock?

AFAIK, the jack on an Airport Express is output only, but it can be analog or digital. I set up two in a client's house- one to feed the house audio system and another to feed iTunes to the family room receiver, wirelessly. The one connected to the house audio is hard-wired to the router and that made life easier for me because at some point, the ethernet cable from the computer to the router failed, so I turned the wireless on (iMac) and they now use that. The house Extreme is only about 20' away, so it was very convenient.

To answer the question, the audio sounds great.

 

[Transmaniacon]

Lots of good info, no we have an Apple Airport Express as the main router connected to the cable modem. This would all be located in the same area as the receiver, so I just need to pick up a cable to connect the receiver to the router. I am glad it sounds good, this will make for a great system. Thanks again!

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Fantastic! Thanks for the quick response too

I have a question though, will the audio jack on the airport degrade the quality much? Would I see better results from playing my music with say an iPod dock?

Should be no loss from the Express to AVR connection. If any loss, if there is any, will between the Express transmitter and receiver - i.e., the wireless portion of the signal. You might try comparing it to a direct connection from the I-pod. I'd be looking for a loss at the highs and lows with the radio-wave transmission, if anywhere. Also, perhaps some added distortion. I think I'd trust the I-pod connection for the best sound quality - I just don't know that high fidelity wireless can be done cheaply...

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[highfigh]

Lots of good info, no we have an Apple Airport Express as the main router connected to the cable modem. This would all be located in the same area as the receiver, so I just need to pick up a cable to connect the receiver to the router. I am glad it sounds good, this will make for a great system. Thanks again!

How many ethernet ports does this have?

 

[Transmaniacon]

@Wayne - Yea I figured there would have to be some quality degradation, glad to know its minimal though, I plan on testing both ways to see if I have a noticeable preference.

@highfigh - It only has 1 ethernet port which is used to connect to the cable modem. It then has 1 USB2.0 port and 1 audio jack.

 

[mnnc]

Hello everyone, first time poster here;

I am just beginning my first home theatre, and am going the used/budget route at the moment as I get my feet wet. I was hoping to get some information about streaming music from my computer to an AVR.

I noticed in the Pioneer AVRs, they have a USB port on them. In our apartment, we have an Apple Airport Express as our main router, which conveniently has a USB port as well.

My question is if I could connect the AVR to the Apple Airport Express, and then treat the stereo as network attached speakers so to speak. I am not sure if this is possible, but I am hoping it could work. My other option would be to get one of those iPod docks and listen to my music that way.

I appreciate any and all help, this forum is a wealth of information!

I use an optical to mini optical from express to pre/pro and stream from 24" iMac using my iphone with remote app as remote control...wowsome!

 

[Transmaniacon]

Well I finally made a decision!

I took a trip to a local audiophile store and learned a lot, and realized I needed to up my budget a bit in order to get a quality receiver, and ultimately one that I can build off of and get some time out of.

I was debating between the Onkyo 607 and the Yamaha V663BL, and I decided on the Yamaha, http : //www . yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=567571

My reasons for choosing are primarily the pre-out connections, allowing me to add an amplifier down the road. Also, the Yamaha has the iPod dock support which I have been told provides better quality sound over an iPod to receiver audio cable. I was not concerned about the HDMI inputs, 2 is all I will ever need, so I am really looking forward to this getting here and hooking it up!

PS if anyone is considering those Pioneers I mentioned earlier in the thread, well just FYI, they feel pretty cheap in the store, and they are light. There was a considerable difference in build quality between comparable Yamaha models, so thats something to take into account.

Thanks for all the help everyone, now I just need a new entertainment center, and will hopefully be getting a plasma over the holidays!