Why no audiophile Airport Express alternative?

[Miska]

I think USB is almost unchallenged when it comes to high end computer audio with Hires, DSD, etc.

 

I still think ethernet/network is better, allows plenty of bandwidth for multichannel PCM and DSD and also possibility for wireless and optical connections...

 

But I don't like UPnP because it puts player at the wrong side of the network...

[realhifi]

I still think ethernet/network is better, allows plenty of bandwidth for multichannel PCM and DSD and also possibility for wireless and optical connections...

 

But I don't like UPnP because it puts player at the wrong side of the network...

 

agree

[flohmann]

As the person who started this thread, I thought I should report back on the listening test I did based on the suggestions made on the thread.

 

Current set up:

iMac running iTunes (source)

Airport Extreme (wifi router)

Airport Express (streamer)

Genesis Digital Lens (RAM-based SPDIF buffer)

Red Wine Audio Audeze Edition DAC/headphone amp

Audeze LCD-2 headphones

 

I've found that the Genesis Digital Lens makes a readily noticeable improvement when inserted between the Express and the DAC. My goal was to find something smaller and cheaper to replace the combination of the Express and the Digital Lens (which is now over 15 years old).

 

Based on suggestions on this thread, I purchased the new Wyred4Sound Remedy and an Arcam AirDAC. The Remedy is a replacement only for the Digital Lens, not the Express, which still must do the streaming duties, with SPDIF being buffered and reclocked by the Remedy. The Arcam combines Airplay streamer with a coax digital output, so it is a complete replacement for the Express and the Lens.

 

Long story short, I will be keeping the Digital Lens. The Remedy was *very* close to the Digital Lens, so close that I'm not sure I could reliably distinguish in a blind test. Both were clearly better than the Express direct into the DAC. I think the Lens was very slightly better, creating a bit more vivid presentation (similar to blacker blacks for video), but a toss up. This is a good result for the Remedy, which retails for $399 (the Lens was $1800 when new and still fetches $450 on the used market, 15 years later). But in the end, I couldn't justify swapping one ~$400 thing for another (albeit larger) $400 thing.

 

The Arcam lost out on functional, rather than audio quality, grounds. It was a fine sounding AirPlay sreamer, and certainly is a tidy and compact single chassis replacement for the Express and the Digital Lens. However, after halting an AirPlay stream, after a few seconds, the unit seems to deactivate the AirPlay "input", and in this state it interacted badly with my RWA DAC, making a hiss interspersed with crinkling noises. This may be misbehavior on the receiver chip of my DAC, rather than the Arcam, but effectively ruled out the Arcam as an option for me. However, it does seem like a solid unit otherwise -- the closest thing I've found to "audiophile version of the Airport Express."

[rhmmmm]

Hey OP, I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but the Auralic Aries can act as an AirPlay target device.

[Quiltty]

I am replacing my AirportExpress with a NAD M50. No AirPlay, but I do get to use AES/EBU to connect to my DAC.

[jabbr]

Well, pretty much any Linux device can server as an Airplay endpoint, with a little software magic. But there are also a very large number of devices out there, some of quite respectable audiophile quality, that have Airplay already built in.

 

For example, the NAD D7050. it's more expensive of course - about 10 times more expensive. But it does more and it sounds very nice. There are a ton of AV Receivers that come with Airplay built in for very reasonable prices.

 

It just takes time, patience, and a bit of cash to get just about any level of audiophile excellence you want from Airplay.

 

-Paul

 

+1

 

Look at one of the Cubox devices running Volumio -- of course since its cheap you won't like how it sounds.

I'm considering starting a kickstarter project to bring a pure Rhodium pre-quantum entangled case to enclose a custom Volumio enabled board -- we are going to use rhodium rather than copper PCBs with special sockets from Angola. We plan to use special mushrooms as insulators over some of the chips which get rather hot:-)

[boatheelmusic]

I have found that the PS Audio PWD MK II, now a bargain at between $1,500 and $2,000, is a great match with the Airport Express.

 

Instead of buying a $1,500 reclocker, the Digital Lens reclocking abilities in the PWD reduces AE jitter to near 1 picosecond, along with being an outstanding US made DAC makes this an unbeatable value.

 

At least for 16/44, which I suspect is the lion's share of most of our collections.

[One and a half]

Has anyone tried the Remedy with an Airport Express yet?

 

A large percentage of my listening occurs through an Airport Express (802.11G generation) due strictly to the convenience. I've been considering replacing the Music Hall dac15.2 in my home office system with something a bit more upmarket (Schiit, Rega, PS Audio, etc.). I wouldn't expect the Remedy to be an alternative to the DAC upgrade, but to shore up the inadequacies of the Airport Express.

 

I'm also wondering whether pairing the Remedy w/ an AppleTV would produce better results with higher resolution than Redbook content since they are both fully 96 KHz capable.

 

I tried the Remedy with a 48kHz stream from a digital radio. The Remedy increased the sample rate to 96kHz and the signal dropped out every two minutes to the DAC, without the Remedy there was rarely any drop outs. The user adjustments are power on or off. This would be a FAIL, and the Remedy is not recommended.

[quiller]

As the person who started this thread, I thought I should report back on the listening test I did based on the suggestions made on the thread.

 

Current set up:

iMac running iTunes (source)

Airport Extreme (wifi router)

Airport Express (streamer)

Genesis Digital Lens (RAM-based SPDIF buffer)

Red Wine Audio Audeze Edition DAC/headphone amp

Audeze LCD-2 headphones

 

...

 

Great thread and post, @flohmann!

 

Since last summer, after two years of tweaking, I settled on:

 

PC running iTunes (source: soon to be iMac or Mini)

Airport Extreme (wifi router)

Airport Express (streamer: older version, older firmware--solved dropping issues)

Wyred 4 Sound Remedy Reclocker

Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2 (as preamp for 2-channel)

JOB 250 (2-channel amp)

Monitor Audio Silver RX6 (mains)

 

For the moment, I could NOT be any happier.

 

My evolution took me through a 13-year-old Marantz receiver, Audio-GD DAC, Parasound 2100 preamp and Channel Island Audio PLC-1 MKII passive preamplifier before settling on this 2-channel setup. I have equipment space considerations and the need of HT bypass for a small town home living room. Nothing is ever ideal, but I am completely entranced with my music library like never before.

 

JP

[mayhem13]

For those interested, i have all three versions of the AE in operation at home. As Paul mentioned earlier, the first generation feeds my Benchmark DAC. Personally, i can't justify a reason to improve upon this pairing. It's as good as ive ever heard with redbook content wire streamed from my dedicated iTunes server. I've AB'd it against the server feeding USB and i prefer the Airport/Benchmark pairing.

 

Now for a real stone in the mill. The 3rd gen is feeding analog to an old Perreaux Pre Pro combo and out to a pair of ATC monitors. The system is in a different room than the 1st gen/Bnechmark but i gotta say, the analog out of the third gen is exceptional IMO.

[Rexp]

Interesting, maybe I don't need a DAC, just an AE? I'm currently using an ATV into my AVR and recently found if I upsample to 16/48 on my laptop it sounds fundamentally better than 16/44. Guess I'll have to buy an AE and compare. Anyone else done this comparison? Cheers

For those interested, i have all three versions of the AE in operation at home. As Paul mentioned earlier, the first generation feeds my Benchmark DAC. Personally, i can't justify a reason to improve upon this pairing. It's as good as ive ever heard with redbook content wire streamed from my dedicated iTunes server. I've AB'd it against the server feeding USB and i prefer the Airport/Benchmark pairing.

 

Now for a real stone in the mill. The 3rd gen is feeding analog to an old Perreaux Pre Pro combo and out to a pair of ATC monitors. The system is in a different room than the 1st gen/Bnechmark but i gotta say, the analog out of the third gen is exceptional IMO.

[Boris75]

[superfluous post - I only realised after posting that La Rosita had already been mentioned in this thread]

[Superdad]

Now for a real stone in the mill. The 3rd gen is feeding analog to an old Perreaux Pre Pro combo and out to a pair of ATC monitors. The system is in a different room than the 1st gen/Bnechmark but i gotta say, the analog out of the third gen is exceptional IMO.

 

Yes, it uses the recent and pretty darn good TI PCM5102 which has a line driver (output stage) built into the chip--and the engineers at TI worked pretty hard to make that a good sounding chip. I recently bought a 3rd-gen AE for my garage/workshop. It feeds a vintage American-made Marantz 18 and a pair of Kef Uni-Q speakers. Airplay has never sounded so good--my garage rocks!

I may get another one to rip apart and put a DC power jack on so I can install it in my car.

[marksas3]

Interesting, maybe I don't need a DAC, just an AE? I'm currently using an ATV into my AVR and recently found if I upsample to 16/48 on my laptop it sounds fundamentally better than 16/44. Guess I'll have to buy an AE and compare. Anyone else done this comparison? Cheers

 

Interesting, i use the ATV as well into my AVR and never thought about changing the sample rate to match the ATV. Hmm, will have to try this when i get home...

[MacWorks]

Hello

 

This is a great thread. I am an Apple Consultant and enjoy listening to FLAC audio. I have always wondered about the quality of the audio using AirPlay through iTunes. Currently my FLAC files are stored on a Synology NAS and those files can be accessed via iTunes and streamed using the AE.

 

I lack the expertise and perhaps the budget to deploy some of the suggestions in this thread. I have been entertaining the idea of using the Myro:Air and hoping that might improve the DAC quality vs simply using the analog out on the Airport Express.

 

Based on the various input in this thread, can someone clarify if the audio would sound significantly better?

 

I have also been trying Decibel instead of iTunes to see if that makes any noticeable difference ( which I think it does ).

 

Thanks in advance for anyone enlightening me, novice that I am.

[Superdad]

Yes, it uses the recent and pretty darn good TI PCM5102 which has a line driver (output stage) built into the chip--and the engineers at TI worked pretty hard to make that a good sounding chip. I recently bought a 3rd-gen AE for my garage/workshop. It feeds a vintage American-made Marantz 18 and a pair of Kef Uni-Q speakers. Airplay has never sounded so good--my garage rocks!

I may get another one to rip apart and put a DC power jack on so I can install it in my car.

 

Sorry, I have to correct my own post. The current Airport Express uses the AK4430ET | Product | AKM - Asahi Kasei Microdevices DAC chip, not the TI PCM5102. I got it right in a post last year. The chips are quite similar, and both have their own output line driver stage built it.

AE power supply is 3.3V though, so if I go to do a car install I'll have to make a small regulator board.

[miguelito]

Hello

 

This is a great thread. I am an Apple Consultant and enjoy listening to FLAC audio. I have always wondered about the quality of the audio using AirPlay through iTunes. Currently my FLAC files are stored on a Synology NAS and those files can be accessed via iTunes and streamed using the AE.

How do you stream FLAC with iTunes to AE?

[planner]

I'm using AirPort Express with Empirical Audio Synchro-mesh. Sounds wonderful. But I'm experiencing dropouts and I wonder why? AirPlay via my Denon AVR is nice and smooth playback...

[quiller]

I'm using AirPort Express with Empirical Audio Synchro-mesh. Sounds wonderful. But I'm experiencing dropouts and I wonder why? AirPlay via my Denon AVR is nice and smooth playback...

 

Planner,

 

I'm rolled back the version of the firmware on an older AE: 7.5.2

 

It fixed the dropouts.

 

I read this remedy on another site a year or two ago.

 

JP

[Remon]

I found an excellent external audiophile DAC!!

Check this out: Apple AirPort Express Audio Quality

Dont let them fool you ;-)