From Laptop To Amp

[admin_exported]

I have an onkyo-TX-SR875 and want to be able to steam music wirelessly from my laptop to the amp. What is the best/easiest way to do this?

Also is it possible to include an external hard drive in this type of set up, so that music stored on the external hard drive can be streamed to the amp. Is it possible to access the external hard drive wirelessly from the laptop?

I'd want to stream music from a variety of sources such as iTunes, Spotify, etc.

Thanks.

 

[Big Aura]

If your laptop is bluetooth enabled - look at the Chordette Gem. Not cheap, but a quirky little product.

 

[John Duncan]

And even if it's not, look at airport express. Limits you to music from iTunes (unless you get RogueAmoeba's ace Airfoil for $25), but is an effective, cheap solution.

As for a hard drive on the network, you just need to find a "network hard drive" (I use Freecom) - plug it into the back of your wireless router and bob's your uncle. You could go one step further and get a proper NAS Drive with a music server pre-installed (ripcaster.co.uk is a good place to start looking), but it'll be more expensive than a bog-standard network drive and often, especially in the case of iTunes servers, lacks functionality compared to running your laptop as the server instead.

 

[Big Aura]

JohnDuncan:And even if it's not, look at airport express. Limits you to music from iTunes (unless you get RogueAmoeba's ace Airfoil for $25), but is an effective, cheap solution. As for a hard drive on the network, you just need to find a "network hard drive" (I use Freecom) - plug it into the back of your wireless router and bob's your uncle. You could go one step further and get a proper NAS Drive with a music server pre-installed (ripcaster.co.uk is a good place to start looking), but it'll be more expensive than a bog-standard network drive and often, especially in the case of iTunes servers, lacks functionality compared to running your laptop as the server instead.

John, will an airport express work with a PC? cheers

 

[John Duncan]

Yep, I run it from both my Vista laptop and my iMac and Macbook.

If using Windows, be careful with wireless networking configuration though, as having 'Windows Zero Configuration' searching for networks every minute has caused some issues with dropouts.

 

[idc]

JohnDuncan: As for a hard drive on the network, you just need to find a "network hard drive" (I use Freecom) - plug it into the back of your wireless router and bob's your uncle. You could go one step further and get a proper NAS Drive with a music server pre-installed (ripcaster.co.uk is a good place to start looking), but it'll be more expensive than a bog-standard network drive and often, especially in the case of iTunes servers, lacks functionality compared to running your laptop as the server instead.

A network hard drive is possibly excatly what I have been looking for. I was originally saving for a laptop with a 500gb hard drive to store all my itunes. But if I was to get say a Buffalo LinkStation , I could use an ethernet cable to plug it into the back of my Tiscali Siemens router and then I can access a hard drive big enough to take all my itunes music wirlessly on my laptop? (To then connect to the amp via a USB DAC such as the VDAC).

Alternatively is there something that could connect to my existing Western Digital Mybook hard drive (where my itunes files are) that would allow it to wirelessly connect to my laptop?

 

[John Duncan]

There are "wireless usb hubs" that you could search for, but I have no idea if they work. Personally I'd go the network drive route - ebuyer has a good selection, I have a pair of Freecom 500gig ones.

 

[idc]

Thanks JD. The Buffalo would fit nicely next to the router and it means I can say 'I have got a buffalo in my hall' which gives me great pleasure.

EDIT - a wireless hub from Belkin with mixed reviews is £52. May as well save for the Buffalo at £132.

2nd EDIT - Womble, sorry for hijacking your post, new post here;

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/251140/ShowThread.aspx#251140

 

[Anonymous]

No worries idc.

It seems like we're in the same position, and based on this approach i'm going to be taking the network hard drive solution.

Keep me updated with how you get on