Multiroom on the cheap

[iMark]

The other day we were doing all sorts of stuff around the house in different rooms and thought it would be nice we could listen to the same source in different rooms. I then remembered that I have Airfoil on my Mac which makes it possible to stream any sound from that Mac to different Airplay receivers. (For streaming to just one external receiver you no longer need Airfoil.)

We already have an Airport Express in the living room near the stereo to receive music from my Mac Mini in the study. But with Airfoil speakers software you can turn other devices (Macs, PC's, iPads/iPhones, Android devices, Linux computers) into Airplay receivers. With Airfoil I could then send Spotify to another Mac with Soundsticks and an iPad connected to a speaker dock. If you have more devices around the house and a decent WiFi network, Airfoil could be really interesting and it's a lot cheaper than Sonos.

https://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

 

[drummerman]

Sure if you have mostly Apple stuff, that would work.

For everyone else I would suggest Chromecasts. Reportedly less prone to dropouts, cheaper and even less obtrusive.

I also thought that the AE is limited to 16bit 44khz whereas the CCA (and some others) do 24bit 96khz if that matters to you.

 

[TrevC]

I use one of those little FM transmitters you use in a car connected via a volume control from the tape out. Good as any other FM station.

 

[Southsea]

With respect to the OP (and I understand the desire to have a more permanent solution) TrevC you are a genius. I've been mulling over budget multi room options for a while until I get a more polished / expensive option sorted, and had completely forgotten about my old car FM transmitter. Will dig it out and have a play this weekend!

 

[drummerman]

We'll be using the old cup on the wall soon

 

[iMark]

Our main objective was to listen to Spotify in different locations around the house. As far as I know, Airfoil is the only software that will let you do this because you can turn just about any computer, phone or tablet into a receiver. And you can connect that receiver to the audio system of your choice.

In our case we were able to use an orignal iPad as a receiver. We have a dock extender cable for it so it can connect to our old Logitech mm50 dock. This will work in the shed outside so I can go from the shed to the house and the music will play all around the house.

The original iPad (bought in 2010) is left behind in the apps department but it still has its uses as a remote control for the iTunes library and now has an extra function as an audio receiver.

Incidently, Airfoil is not just for Macs. You can use it on Windows PCs too. Airfoil can stream the sound from any app on your Mac or PC so it's not limited to iTunes either.