What to do...

[admin_exported]

I've been using my airport express to stream sound from itunes and spotify to my amp, but have had lots of problems with dropouts etc. I finally seemed to fix the regular dropouts using something that i downloaded called windows zero shutdown, which turns off WZC once it has connected to the network, but now the sound seems to drop out completely after about 5 minutes and i have to reconnect the whole network. I've recently upgraded to spotify premium and if i can't fix the airport express problem i think i'm going to switch to wiring my laptop to my hifi.

What would be the best way to connect my laptop to my hifi? Is it still possible to put my laptop to use by connecting my laptop via into the AE, using the AE DAC instead of the laptop?

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

I currently use Spotify premium and connect from my laptop via usb cable to my Beresford DAC and then into my amplifier. It works perfectly and produces an excellent sound.

 

[the record spot]

Connecting to the AE defeats the objective of the thing for me. It's impractical for one thing due to the locality of the AE and stereo viz where we sit with the laptop and thre nowhere to put the laptop near the hifi. Major downside then to wireless music.

 

[The_Lhc]

the record spot:Connecting to the AE defeats the objective of the thing for me. It's impractical for one thing due to the locality of the AE and stereo viz where we sit with the laptop and thre nowhere to put the laptop near the hifi. Major downside then to wireless music.

No, this is the downside to wireless *networking*. The OP is almost certainly suffering interference from external networks and needs to do some investigation to find out which wireless channels are available for him to use.

 

[Anonymous]

Brittondave - I'm probably going to do the same - buy a beresford DAC and then wire it up between my laptop and amp. Which beresford do i need for USB connection, because i noticed that the tc-7410 doesn't have a USB connection, does this mean it can't be used with laptops?

Also, i may not buy the DAC for a while, but if i buy the USB wire now, is it technically possible to use it through the airport express for the moment, thereby producing better sound quality then say wiring my laptop to the amp through the speaker port at the front of the laptop with a 3.5mm jack?

the_ihc - i think i am suffering from interference but to be frank i've been trying to get the AE to work trouble free for about a year, and i think im gonna give up. 🙁

 

[Anonymous]

Brittondave - I'm probably going to do the same - buy a beresford DAC
and then wire it up between my laptop and amp. Which beresford do i
need for USB connection, because i noticed that the tc-7410 doesn't have
a USB connection, does this mean it can't be used with laptops?

Also,
i may not buy the DAC for a while, but if i buy the USB wire now, is it
technically possible to use it through the airport express for the
moment, thereby producing better sound quality then say wiring my laptop
to the amp through the speaker port at the front of the laptop with a
3.5mm jack?

the_ihc - i think i am suffering from
interference but to be frank i've been trying to get the AE to work
trouble free for about a year, and i think im gonna give up. 🙁

 

[The_Lhc]

bob123:the_ihc - i think i am suffering from interference but to be frank i've been trying to get the AE to work trouble free for about a year, and i think im gonna give up. 🙁

Have you determined the network channels that the wireless networks near your are using? Without doing that and then switching your own network to a different channel you aren't going to get any kind of resolution. If you can do that you could potentially fix it in about 5 minutes.

 

[brendonw]

You could download and install NetStumbler to help you........

This will do a survey of the available wireless networks in the vicinity and tell you which channel they are using.

Most routers are left at default - usually 1 or 6 but it depends on manfacturer and model.

http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/

 

[Anonymous]

I have the Beresford caiman which has usb, optical, and two coaxial digital inputs...........oh yes and it's awesome.

D

 

[Anonymous]

or you could go for something like this

HRT Music Streamer II

http://whathifi.com/Review/HRT-Music-Streamer-II/