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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 10, 2020 19:21:00 GMT -5
Most probably know I’m an Apple guy and have a plethora of their products, but don’t have one of these. I’ve kept an AirPort Express around for years as an easy way for my wife and I to stream from our iPhones and iPads directly into our Zone amp to send music outside without having the main system on. It’s also nice that it can output analog or digital depending on what kind of input you have. The problem with the 1st Gen I have is that it can't be part of a multi-speaker AirPlay 2 stream, that is, if I select the AirPort Express, I cant send the music to other AirPlay speakers at the same time — like my HomePods. I’ve read that the 2nd Gen Express doesn’t have this limitation and is fully AirPlay 2 compliant. Can anyone confirm this? I don’t necessarily trust the review I read. You’d also need a fairly recent firmware update (2018) to have this capability. I should probably mention that these devices are discontinued. So I’m asking about one that looks like a short white Apple TV, like this (Gen 2)  Not this (Gen 1)  |
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Post by creimes on Jul 10, 2020 20:19:43 GMT -5
I had a AE Gen 2 in my garage up to about two months ago until I put one of our Actiontec AP's in it's place but I may put the AE back into action, or even better buy an outdoor AP and slap it on the side of the house and let it do all the WiFi for in and out of the house, the issue is if my iPad changes connection from my Gateway in the house to the outdoor AP it loses connection to the XMC-1 and I have had the volume go to max on the outdoor speakers which isn't great, seems like one WiFi connection is best for me. I could test out the method you need to confirm works but I don't have any other Airplay devices though.
I just use the zone 2 output on the XMC-1 to two channels of my 7000X to power my Emotiva outdoor speakers.
Chad
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 10, 2020 20:57:18 GMT -5
I actually turn off the Express’ WiFi and have a wired connection from our primary WiFi router, so I pretty much use it as an AirPlay DAC. I can send the main system through Zone 2 to the Zone amp as well, but this is a nice ‘lightweight’ option.
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Post by stads77 on Jul 11, 2020 7:50:34 GMT -5
I have mine set up with Airplay2 and it works just fine.
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 11, 2020 10:09:09 GMT -5
I have mine set up with Airplay2 and it works just fine. Ok great, so your AirPort G2 gets the circle where you can check multiple speakers like my HomePods and Great Room below, and not like the ‘blank’ next to the AirPort? That’s what I want to change.  |
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Post by ottaone on Jul 11, 2020 13:19:25 GMT -5
After almost giving up on my AEs, I just did a factory reset on my two units and it looks like these are working again. I also updated them to the latest OS. I just tested one unit by running Amazon Music on my iPhone XR then aiplay to the AE. It worked. Attachments:
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 11, 2020 13:32:42 GMT -5
After almost giving up on my AEs, I just did a factory reset on my two units and it looks like these are working again. I also updated them to the latest OS. I just tested one unit by running Amazon Music on my iPhone XR then aiplay to the AE. It worked. So is yours a Gen 2? Mine work, and do have the latest software, just no multi-speaker capability. |
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Post by ottaone on Jul 11, 2020 16:31:23 GMT -5
Misunderstood the question. Now I’m playing on two Gen 2 AEs. Screenshot below. Attachments:
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Post by audiobill on Jul 11, 2020 18:05:36 GMT -5
There were two generations of the wall wart AE and the one like yours.
The “ latest “ firmware update allows Airplay 2, even on the wallwart.
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 11, 2020 19:36:42 GMT -5
There were two generations of the wall wart AE and the one like yours. The “ latest “ firmware update allows Airplay 2, even on the wallwart. Hmmmm, I’ll check again. |
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Post by audiobill on Jul 11, 2020 19:37:44 GMT -5
Google on Computer audiophile
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 11, 2020 22:22:36 GMT -5
I have checked for new software and it says I’m on the latest, it reports 7.8.1. I remember a couple years ago getting an unexpected update which allowed it to participate in an AirPlay 2 network, it just won’t participate with other speakers. I also just reset it to defaults and set it back up on my network, no difference. I don’t mind buying a Gen 2 (used at this point), I just want to know it will do what I want.
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