Airfoil on iPhone to hifi?

[bay24]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section but I am never sure where to put hifi/ iPod/wifi qestions. I have just come accross an app for aifoil for my iPhone. would this let me play spotify and iTunes through my iPhone attached to a dock on my hifi if I buy airfoil for my pc? Just thought this could be a very cheap way of getting pc content to my hifi. I plan to get an airpot express in the near future as I can route it through my CA 740C DAC but thought this could be a good start.

 

[professorhat]

Yup, have just installed it on my iPod Touch and am now streaming Spotify from my Mac to the Touch using Airfoil and this is then outputting via my Pure Radio (which the Touch is plugged into via a dock). So you could certainly use it with the iPhone within a dock to stream music to your hifi.

 

[bay24]

Ha! That's great, thanks for the info! Think I will be getting airfoil this evening!

 

[John Duncan]

Hm, I thought it sounded a bit ropey...

 

[professorhat]

Unfortunately I only tested it through the Pure radio so not sure about the sound quality through a hifi. Okay enough for a stop gap solution though, JD?

 

[bay24]

Just downloaded airfoil and was up and running in 15mins, I was quite surprised as I am a bit rubbish with computers.
Sound quality is not amazing but good enough for now (actally I am now listening to alice in chains unplugged and sounds quite good!). I thought it would be a good way to get an idea if I would use it enough to go for an airport.
Thining about sound quality with the airport my DAC and spotify premium would I have trouble streaming at 320kb with my free talk talk broardband? I am presuming it is not super fast but I have no idea how good it is. It does not seem to be a problem through my iphone at the momment and has been fine with the last fm app when I use it but that is a lower bit rate.

any help would be great.

 

[John Duncan]

Just FYI, don't take sound quality from the airfoil speakers app for iPhone as an indicator of how an airport will sound, they're poles apart in my experience (the airport being better, natch).

As for your broadband - provided it's a minimum of 1meg, it should be absolutely fine - there's a bit of buffering goes on on your hard drive so you're not streaming in absolute real time.

 

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to stream from an ipod touch (or iphone?) over wifi to the airort express?

 

[John Duncan]

No, sadly. Or at least not yet, you never know what those Cupertino chaps will come up with next.

 

[bay24]

JohnDuncan:Just FYI, don't take sound quality from the airfoil speakers app for iPhone as an indicator of how an airport will sound, they're poles apart in my experience (the airport being better, natch).

As for your broadband - provided it's a minimum of 1meg, it should be absolutely fine - there's a bit of buffering goes on on your hard drive so you're not streaming in absolute real time.

Great I think it is 2 meg so should be fine, thanks JD. I think the airport will be the next thing on my list, will it be comparable to CD quality if it is sent through my 740C? it says that the airport has an optical output but from the pics all I see is USB is this the case?

 

[Audioholic]

It has a 3.5mm mini-toslink connector, so if you want to use the digital out (thereby bypassing the Airport express' internal dac for a better quality one elsewhere) you need to use a toslink to mini toslink optical cable (or use an optical cable with a toslink to mini adapter).

 

[bay24]

Audioholic:It has a 3.5mm mini-toslink connector, so if you want to use the digital out (thereby bypassing the Airport express' internal dac for a better quality one elsewhere) you need to use a toslink to mini toslink optical cable (or use an optical cable with a toslink to mini adapter).

Thats not something I have seen before, thats great thanks!

 

[professorhat]

This is the converter you're after - converts a standard optical lead to plug into the Airport Express.

 

[bay24]

professorhat:
This is the converter you're after - converts a standard optical lead to plug into the Airport Express.

Thats nice and cheap thanks!
if I am going to stick a converter on the end is it a waste of time getting a good optical cable like the Chord optichord?

 

[professorhat]

Not a waste in my opinion. I would go into detail why but it will only start a mass debate which I'm not really in the mood for and is probably the last thing you want anyway!

 

[John Duncan]

No go on prof - why?

 

[professorhat]