Anyone got Airport Express connected to an external hard drive?

[K2]

I'm designing my home audio setup and have a question which I hope one of you knowledgeable folks here may be able to assist with.

 

I've decided to use iTunes as the interface to my music library. Currently this is a mix of various MP3 rates accumulated over a decade, and I have decided to re-rip from CD to AIFF. Wanting to keep the MP3 library for portable use (various iPods), I would like to maintain the AIFF library separately for home use only. Since it doesn't need to be portable, and I don't want the hassle of switching between libraries, have decided to use a second Apple ID for ease of managing preferences, etc. The intent is to use a laptop or iPod/iPad (using Remote) to front the AIFF library. Due to the larger storage requirement of AIFF, I intend to store this in a separate hard drive not clog up my laptop.

 

After all that, my question is this: can I connect an external hard drive into the ethernet port of an airport express, also using the audio out on AE to connect into the DAC in the audio setup? I already have a Time Capsule and assume I could connect the external drive there and stream to the AE, but wireless streaming seems to sometimes pause unexpectedly, hence my thought of directly connecting to the AE. Information on connecting a hard drive to the ethernet port on the AE is sketchy so I was wondering if anyone here has tried it and with what results.

 

Any help appreciated. Also guidance on a better way if this seems like a totally silly idea.

 

[souptin]

However, I'm a little confused. At first I thought you were asking about connecting a hard drive to the usb port on the express, which afaik doesn't work, the usb is for a printer only.

 

But I see you talk about using the ethernet port to connect the drive?

 

Perhaps this is possible using a suitable nas device, I don't know. Again I'm not sure how much this will help with streaming, since the data will still travel wirelessly to your computer via the express and then back again to send the audio signal out via the line out. Which may very well be worse now that I think about it.

 

One other solution you might consider is using an ethernet cable to hard wire your express to your router / time capsule. This should solve the streaming drop outs.

 

I'd also recommend trying different locations for the express. Even a relatively small change such as having it upright can make a difference in reception.

 

[K2]

Thanks Souptin for clarification. I think I transferred my confusion to you

 

Since I am used to iTunes with local data, I assumed - I realize now, incorrectly - that working with an external drive would allow data to pass thru AE into DAC using iTunes as the front end. Of course, in this simplistic view I forgot that iTunes is actually processing the music file for playing - duh! So you are quite correct, this would be quite an inefficient setup.

 

Based on this quick re-think, I will now consider attaching an external drive to the TC and streaming via the AE. If the signal dropouts continue, I may consider a dedicated mac mini instead.

 

Thank you again for some clear thinking and also prompt response. This has been very helpful.