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Apologies- newbie question re. airplay/ sonos etc

post #1 of 12
6/18/12 at 2:01am
Thread Starter 
Folks

Please bear with me- I dont really know what I am talking about or what I should be considering.

I am buying and renovating a flat. I dont have a hi-fi or any sort of music player right now.

I want to be able to play music in the living room, and also on the roof terrace. I want to install speakers in both of these areas to do this. I dont need to play different music in different rooms.

I have imac/ pad/ phone where all my music is.

I am thinking of buying a mac mini and putting all music on there and connecting it to the tv so I can also watch films.

What is the best set up for me? If I install little speakers in the roof, what do I connect these to that will receive the signal from the mac mini? I presume I need Airplay to stream the signal from the mini to whatever connects the music to the speakers.

I dont want to spend thousands- I just want music in a few rooms with as little as equipment as possible.

Thanks in advance

Ed.
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post #2 of 12
6/18/12 at 9:51am
Sounds like an amplifier + speaker selector + ipod dock should suffice, if what you describe really is all you're after.

If you want something a bit more high-tech, you might want to get an AppleTV instead of the Mac Mini. It's really cheap and will give you airplay. Hook the audio out to an amplifier that is connected to your speaker selector (which in turn connects to all your speakers).
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post #3 of 12
6/18/12 at 11:42am
Since you have to get an amp/receiver, just get one that supports airplay (like a lower end denon) and has a zone 2 option. AppleTV will give you more functionality but is redundant for music. The macMini is a good media to the TV option but it is more expensive. Good receiver option is a Denon 1912, 2112 (or the new xx13 options).

Another option is a multizone amplifier (or two small amps) and feed them with a airport express.

Anyway you go, seems like airplay is a good option for you since you have the mac and idevices...
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post #4 of 12
6/18/12 at 1:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pauleyc View Post

Since you have to get an amp/receiver, just get one that supports airplay (like a lower end denon) and has a zone 2 option. AppleTV will give you more functionality but is redundant for music. The macMini is a good media to the TV option but it is more expensive. Good receiver option is a Denon 1912, 2112 (or the new xx13 options).
Another option is a multizone amplifier (or two small amps) and feed them with a airport express.
Anyway you go, seems like airplay is a good option for you since you have the mac and idevices...

How is an AppleTV redundant for music? It costs about the same as an Airport Express but is also an HD Mediaplayer...
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post #5 of 12
6/19/12 at 12:11am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all your comments.

My imac is actually reaching capacity, so think will get the mini to store music on as well as movies. What is the difference between the apple tv and a time capsule?

I think I am going to get an audiengine 5 speaker system which has a dock for the airport, so I only need to position the speakers, plug in the mains, airport and go. For the roof terrace I am going to buy amp with a dock for the airport and put this near where the speaker cables will run.

Or I could if I bought a proper amp (preferably with a airport dock) that could run 4 speakers put in in the living room, and run cable all the way to the roof terrace......can anyone suggest one?
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post #6 of 12
6/19/12 at 8:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by edmarriott View Post

What is the difference between the apple tv and a time capsule?

Huh? smile.gif

A time capsule is a networked harddrive backup, no?

The Apple TV is a media player with no harddrive in it, airplay (both audio and video) capabilities so that you can stream both music and video to it (and hence your TV/speakers). Think of it as an airport express on steroids with video playback capabilities built in.

Also, for what it's worth, if you're running out of disk space, consider a NAS instead of a "Mac mini for the TV that also acts as my NAS".
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post #7 of 12
6/19/12 at 8:20am
Thread Starter 
Ok, I didnt realise apple tv could stream content from the internet- thanks. But if I get apple tv, I still need somewhere to keep my music and stream it from. What is a 'NAS'?
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post #8 of 12
6/19/12 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Ok. I now know what a NAS is! smile.gif

That's what I was thinking of when I said a time capsule- just a networked hard drive. What does the time capsule do apart from being a networked hard drive that you back up to? Is it just an apple branded NAS?
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post #9 of 12
6/19/12 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stefan.hallen View Post

How is an AppleTV redundant for music? It costs about the same as an Airport Express but is also an HD Mediaplayer...

Its redundant for music if you have an AVR w/ Airplay was my point ... for music only, they are the same.

I actually have an appleTV and a airport express for different purposes. Most AVRs won't do digital sources (including the HDMI ATV) to zone 2 .. hence the analog Airport Xpress.
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post #10 of 12
6/19/12 at 12:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by edmarriott View Post

Ok. I now know what a NAS is! smile.gif
That's what I was thinking of when I said a time capsule- just a networked hard drive. What does the time capsule do apart from being a networked hard drive that you back up to? Is it just an apple branded NAS?

Apples TC is a NAS but its designed to work with Time Machine to do remote backups (and its expensive). You can use a drive connected to an Airport Express or Airport Extreme to host it on the network. Just remember with a NAS solution, you are still required to keep your iTunes application open on your mini to 'serve up' the content. There are media servers (eg., HP MediaSmart) that can make your iTunes content available w/o a PC/mini.
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post #11 of 12
6/19/12 at 4:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pauleyc View Post

Apples TC is a NAS but its designed to work with Time Machine to do remote backups (and its expensive). You can use a drive connected to an Airport Express or Airport Extreme to host it on the network. Just remember with a NAS solution, you are still required to keep your iTunes application open on your mini to 'serve up' the content. There are media servers (eg., HP MediaSmart) that can make your iTunes content available w/o a PC/mini.

If I remember correctly, an Apple TV would solve the iTunes library issue as well, and you can control it via iTunes remote on your iOS device. I'm not an apple guy myself, but as far as I know, this is doable.
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post #12 of 12
6/20/12 at 5:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stefan.hallen View Post

If I remember correctly, an Apple TV would solve the iTunes library issue as well, and you can control it via iTunes remote on your iOS device. I'm not an apple guy myself, but as far as I know, this is doable.

AppleTV must see iTunes on the network, so think of appletv as an "extender" of sorts.
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