2. pc-audio
  3. 1347560861

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
bodotes OP
30 posts
 
Unfortunately, the Wadia 151 does not have a headphone jack.

She does have a set of good cans that she uses when she practices on her piano (Kawai MP10). But like me, she is not terribly fond of listening to music through headphones.

While I find that many headphones are very accurate and musical, I do not get the same sense of imaging or space that speakers provide. I find that hearing the music all in my head to be fatiguing after more than a few minutes.
jorsan
178 posts
 
Understood, same thing happens to me but if she has a restricted space, is going to be very difficult to get hifi sound from a pair of small monitors. Hope you can find a good solution for her, is difficult to find young people who enjoys hifi we have to support them for sure. I have three sons and none of them apreciate what really good sound is.
bodotes OP
30 posts
 
Jorsan,

She knows good sound... that's the problem! My wife says that I have created a monster. Being a classical voice major, she is very much into good sound and has a very good ear. Fortunately, the small setup described above really does sound quite good. I am very impressed by the Golden Ear Aon 2 speakers and the Wadia 151. I feel that weakest link in the chain is the Apple AE, but she is happy with it's Redbook quality so who am I to complain?
jorsan
178 posts
 
wish I could create a "monster" like yours.
bodotes OP
30 posts
 
Jorsan,

As I recall, it started with a bottle of cheap french wine and a candle on a cold evening...
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