Simple Wireless Computer Audio Setup


I am getting very frustrated with the seeming lack of a comprehensive strategy for setting up a simple solution for computer audio.

One of my daughters is in college, and I am looking to set her up with a simple way to play digital files from her macbook. She is in a very small studio apt w/ wireless LAN, and there is very limited room for gear. I should add that she is a music major and has always had good stereo gear available to listen to. She knows that she will have to give up a little in terms of performance. Also, we are on a budget because... well, she's in college and it's freakin' expensive!

I have lots of stuff lying around, so this is what I was thinking:
1- wireless from her macbook to an Apple Airport Express
2- Connect Halide DS DAC (a USB-> RCA cable set w/ a DAC in the middle
3- Connect the DS DAC cables to a pair of Quad 12L active speakers

Sounds simple, right? Well, you can't get there from here. The Airport Express only supports output to a printer on USB. I could stick another entry-level DAC in the middle, but by the time you add in cables it gets much more expensive.

Other options might include using the Logitech SB Touch. I use these at home and like 'em but I'm not sure that I want to go there now that they are discontinued. I looked at the Sonos, but it has the same limitation as the AE - no USB out. And I have also looked at wireless DACs, but all the ones that I have found (Cambridge, Nuforce) don't work on WiFi but on bluetooth. Why is this is a good idea?

So I am open to suggestions, if anyone has any.
bodotes

Showing 3 responses by saeyedoc

If you want a wireless DAC, the Audioengine D2 uses it's own wifi network ($600).
The SB Touch is very easy to setup and use, you could get one while they are still available. The software could be used with other hardware (ipeng app on idevice into digital dock) if the touch dies at some point.
Airport express is easy, but doesn't support hi-res.
If she already has an iphone, you could buy a Pure i20 dock and stream to it using logitech media server/ipeng.
It's really no big deal to load LMS on her laptop. The program is small and takes up minimal resources.
Another option would be to use a DLNA solution. Playback is a good, inexpensive DLNA server that runs on OSX. I stream to my Oppo-93, but any DLAN renderer would work. The interface is just too clunky for me to use on a regular basis with a high number of files. DLNA through my Oppo will play some hi-res stuff that Squeezebox won't play, such as 24/192 and multi-channel flac.