Beware Airport Express audio dropouts
If you buy an Airport Express with the intention of
streaming audio to your stereo, make sure you try it
out and it works before the return date.
My system is as follows
cable modem -> linksys access point -> mixed pc/mac
I tried to use the Airport Express to extend the
linksys system to include my stereo - streaming
audio to it worked, but with a 1 second audio
dropout every minute or so.
None of the available helpdesk fixes made any
difference, so I returned it after a few days
of trying different stuff. I couldn't use
the airport express as my only wireless access
point, because the cable modem is in a different
part of the house as the stereo.
If you use the express as your only router it is rumored
to work better, esp if everything is 802.11g with no
11b mixed in.
I think that they must have cheaped out on the
audio memory buffer or something - I am changing
plans and hard wiring my computer to my stereo via
AES/EBU digital cable (using midiman toslink to
AES/EBU converter).
If you can get the Airport Express to work, it is pretty
cool - you get multiple zones at the bottom of your iTunes
window, and when you change the selection it re-routes
the audio. I may re-try with the 2nd generation of
the product.
streaming audio to your stereo, make sure you try it
out and it works before the return date.
My system is as follows
cable modem -> linksys access point -> mixed pc/mac
I tried to use the Airport Express to extend the
linksys system to include my stereo - streaming
audio to it worked, but with a 1 second audio
dropout every minute or so.
None of the available helpdesk fixes made any
difference, so I returned it after a few days
of trying different stuff. I couldn't use
the airport express as my only wireless access
point, because the cable modem is in a different
part of the house as the stereo.
If you use the express as your only router it is rumored
to work better, esp if everything is 802.11g with no
11b mixed in.
I think that they must have cheaped out on the
audio memory buffer or something - I am changing
plans and hard wiring my computer to my stereo via
AES/EBU digital cable (using midiman toslink to
AES/EBU converter).
If you can get the Airport Express to work, it is pretty
cool - you get multiple zones at the bottom of your iTunes
window, and when you change the selection it re-routes
the audio. I may re-try with the 2nd generation of
the product.
Comments
1) Slow computer. My Pismo G3 500MHz PowerBook isn't fast enough to stream consistently. It drops out every once in a while.
2) Weak signal.
When I've tried to stream wirelessly from my G4 Powerbook to a base station and then to the AE it will drop out when the PB has a marginal connection. When I move the PB to a place with a better signal or use an Ethernet connection then it streams with no dropouts. My wife's G4 iMac also streams with no dropouts and is connected by Ethernet to the network.
The configuration we use is to have a router generating IP addresses. An Apple Extreme Base Station is used to extend the network and to connect to the Airport Express device. AE is setup only to receive music, not for extending the network.
issue in my case. Actually, if you have an all mac
network you probably run pure 802.11g with no low-speed
stuff mixed in - my guess is that is the key difference.
i dont know if i missed something w/ the not using airport as the main router, so i apologize in advance if im retarted.
Originally posted by Cam'ron
i dont know if i missed something w/ the not using airport as the main router, so i apologize in advance if im retarted.
Couldn't use the Express as the main router, because
it needed to be near the stereo, and the main router
needed to be near the cable modem.
The cable modem needed to be near the VOIP box, which
was not near the stereo.
anyway, that's part advice and part rant.
Originally posted by rok
you may also want to check on firmware updates for the linksys router, but be forewarned that their latest firmware updates can potentially screw up other areas of your network. like with me, i installed their latest firmware, and it immediately whacked my linksys range extender. after about an hour working with linksys, they determined that their own range extender was incompatible with their latest firmware update for their wireless-g routers. of course, this is pretty amusing since the range extender would only be used to EXTEND THE RANGE OF A LINKSYS-G ROUTER.
anyway, that's part advice and part rant.
I upgraded the linksys to the latest firmware as well,
no effect (either good or bad).
Cam'ron - I could co-locate the modem and stereo, but
then I would have to run an ethernet wire back to where
the modem used to be in order to connect the VOIP
box. Running a digital audio cable was much easier.
The earlier point about the powerbar is something I wish
that I had tried before I returned the unit. I had
the express plugged into the middle of a powerbar, and
the surrounding tangle of wires could have been the
thing that messed me up.
Originally posted by Relic
What IP rage are you using on the Lynksys? I ask because I went through the same problem. Not sure why, but the Airport likes the 10 series range and not 192. When I changed my IP address range I got less drops.
I was using 192.168.100.104
When you have to do all these things to get it to
work (I have heard 10 or 15 things now that people
did to make it more reliable), it is time for
Apple to re-design it.
This is the level of product that Microsoft
produces, I expect more from Apple products.
nothings wrong with your linksys.
i've had the same issue & stopped using the airport
express
The dropouts are pretty bad if an axp is used in
bridge mode
This is something that apple will need to resolve
at this point its not worth using this product in
a mixed environment or for audio streaming.
The old airport base is much more robust & doesnt loose
its settings on a power outage as seems to happen
with the axp