Best way to Airplay - iMac? NAS? iPhone? iPad? Windows? Mac mini?

[NHL]

Best way to Airplay - iMac? NAS? iPhone? iPad? Windows? Mac mini?

(Have the B&W A7, but need a server.)

 

[bigboss]

That's a weird question! People usually have one of these iDevices / NAS & ask the question about the best AirPlay speaker to suit their requirements. Yours is exactly the opposite! NAS isn't a straightforward option for you. Any of the others will work.

 

[NHL]

Thanks Boss! I wan't to stream red book CD's and internet Radio.

 

[Helmut80]

Do you already own a Mac or iOS device?

 

[bigboss]

Do you already own a Mac or iOS device?

I hope so, otherwise B&W A7 is a bad choice. :roll:

 

[chebby]

That's a weird question! People usually have one of these iDevices / NAS & ask the question about the best AirPlay speaker to suit their requirements. Yours is exactly the opposite! NAS isn't a straightforward option for you. Any of the others will work.

The A7 has digital optical, ethernet, USB and AirPlay. Can't any of that facilitate use of a NAS?

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

Helmut's question really deserves an answer before we take this further. If you own nothing, I'd start with a iPad / iTouch and use that (second hand even) as in my view, a NAS for music is really only necssary if you have masses of music.

 

[bigboss]

That's a weird question! People usually have one of these iDevices / NAS & ask the question about the best AirPlay speaker to suit their requirements. Yours is exactly the opposite! NAS isn't a straightforward option for you. Any of the others will work.

The A7 has digital optical, ethernet, USB and AirPlay. Can't any of that facilitate use of a NAS?

As I said, it's not a straightforward option. You can't connect wirelessly to the NAS, & how will you browse music? Of course it is possible, but that won't utilise the real purpose of a B&W A7.

 

[NHL]

Have to work a little also

We have iPhone4 (16 GB), iPad 2 (16 GB) and Windows 7 laptop (poor battery time). Now would be the time to upgrade (something)!

 

[NHL]

Was thinking of an iMac, running constantly, as server.

Synology NAS seems like nice, but my CD collection would fit in smaller space.

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

Your old computer (if you upgraded that per your previous post) could also act as a server. I expect not the most eco-friendly approach. If your statement "my CD collection would fit in a smaller space" means you don't have a large music collection, why not keep it on your current iDevices and save the (c.£300) you would pay for a NAS. Unless the NAS serves a secondary benefit - such as back-up or the like? A lot depends on what you want to spend, and what you want it to do. If you wanted a dedicated source - what about an iPod touch?

 

[NHL]

IPod 32 GB would give approximation 60 red book cds? The bulk collection have to stay on the PC in that case.

 

[SnowyJohn]

FYI, mac mini's are commonly favoured as music servers for their low energy usage.

 

[NHL]

Visited an Apple Store on the way home. iPad Mini was very lightweight, and with a decent screen,

Might be OK, to use as streamer.