IMAC and two room system

[avnut]

Ok. I've completly ditched my Hi-Fi and put my entire music collection onto itunes on the imac now the next stage is to stream said music to two different rooms via airplay was looking for suitable kit my budget is around £1000.it has to be easily set up and controlled with my ipad2 and reasonably portable so was thinking of two zeppelin airs but new stuff available all the time so any ideas would be greatfully received. Thanks...

 

[amcluesent]

Two sets of Apple Airport Express and Audio Engine A5 active speakers?

 

[Andy Clough]

Or you could go the Sonos route with a pair of Play:5s and a ZoneBridge. Easy to control via the iPad app.

 

[bigboss]

Or Raumfeld:

http://www.teufelaudio.co.uk/raumfeld-audio-streaming.html?PHPSESSID=2a19bd730467a8b44eba7fcecbe05f9a

 

[avnut]

Sorry,forgot to mention would also like an ipod dock.Thats why I thought of the zeppelins.

 

[bigboss]

Sonos does an iPod dock:

http://www.sonos.com/shop/products/dock

 

[avnut]

Just been on the sonos site but im a bit confused.The bridge has to be wired to the router I get but does the source ( my imac) also have to be wired or can this be wireless?

 

[Ashley]

I believe the iMac can be wireless. I've not got any Sonos stuff but have looked at it extensively, and my understanding is that it takes the music stored on your iMac over your traditional wireless network and feeds it through the Bridge to the Sonos network, which is completely separate so as to reduce potential interference. The Bridge is just required to setup the initial Sonos network. It is not needed though if you plan on using one of their Play units near enough to the router to be wired, as this will create the Sonos network as well. I believe that's right, but i'm sure some one will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[avnut]

This is my question as my router cannot be wired to the imac(without considerable grovelling) and so hence the need for wireless.

 

[Ashley]

No, your iMac should not have to be wired to the router, but a Sonos product must be, be it a Bridge, Play:3, Play:5 etc.

 

[The_Lhc]

This is my question as my router cannot be wired to the imac(without considerable grovelling) and so hence the need for wireless.

Wireless storage (ie your iMac) is NOT actually a supported solution by Sonos, they like the storage to be wired. That isn't to say it wouldn't work but if you have streaming problems and your storage is wireless Sonos will likely point the finger at that and there isn't anything they can do to help with that problem.

For your budget though you'd be able to add a small NAS to put the music on, that would be wired and would give you the benefit on not needing the iMac switched on when you're listening to music (which, trust me, WILL get annoying after a while).

The Play:5 is £349, if you're lucky you might get the bridge thrown in for nothing (that deal seems to come and go), the dock is £99, so that's £800, which is plenty for a suitable NAS. If you go with the Play:5s you can add another one later and create a stereo pair in one of the rooms, which gives a big improvement in the sound.

I'd question why you think you need a dock though, unless it's for visitors?

 

[bigboss]

Sonos routinely comes up with 10-20% discounts, so the actual cost could be cheaper.

 

[MajorFubar]

This is my question as my router cannot be wired to the imac(without considerable grovelling) and so hence the need for wireless.

Use Homeplugs. They're the ideal compromise between a fully-wired house (which most of us don't have the luxury of) and wireless (which can be flaky in big houses or where the airwaves are already busy).