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Using Apple’s AirTunes

Apple Inc. has a wonderful feature built-in to a few of its products that can provide a music lover with the ability to wirelessly stream music from a music library to a remote  stereo system (or systems), and all with the simplicity that Apple is known for. This feature, called AirTunes, is part of iTunes and is supported by two of their wireless products: the Airport Express and Apple TV. For simplicity’s sake, only the Airport Express will be discussed in detail in this article.

Apple’s Airport Express, which is about the size of a deck of cards, is an 802.11a/b/g/n compliant device. It doesn’t just provide the ability to be a mobile fits-in-your-pocket wireless access point (great for hotel rooms), nor is it just a wireless bridge, or a wireless print server, or a wireless network extender – it’s also a key component in setting up a wireless streaming system for audio. And all that for less than a C-note (that’s slang for a hundred-dollar bill in the US).

Setting up such a streaming, or distributed, audio system requires three components:

1. The source: this can be a computer (Mac or PC) running iTunes, or an Apple TV
2. The destination: each destination, or audio system, requires it be connected to either an Airport Express or Apple TV, and
3. Control: the ability to choose source libraries and destinations, song selection, transport functions, and other features is accomplished via Apple’s Remote application that will run on an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad (although the Remote application has not been optimized for the larger screen of the iPad, yet).

(Note: the Apple TV can be used as either a source or destination – although not simultaneously – and will be explained briefly as warranted).

Before we get into setting up such a system, there are two items that we need to get out of the way. First, I’ll assume you’re somewhat familiar with the iTunes application and, as such, have ripped at least a portion of your CD collection using iTunes. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with iTunes, it’s a free media management application from Apple that can be downloaded here and runs on both PCs and Macs.) Second, you’ll need a wireless (wi-fi) network. This isn’t absolutely necessary as the Airport Express can also be set up to create a wi-fi network (among other functions), but it helps if you already have a stable established wireless network in place. Finally, you’ll need some level of internet connectivity.

Now, on to the nitty-gritty.

The Source

Any computer, Mac or PC, that can run iTunes can act as a source. There are a few setup procedures in iTunes that are required to enable the AirTunes feature. First, open iTunes and then go to Preferences. Click on Sharing, as shown in figure 1 below, and make sure the ‘Share my library on my local network” is checked. From there you can choose to share your entire library, or just certain playlists.

Figure 1. Choose to share whole iTunes library, or select specific playlists

Next, click on Devices and check the box next to “Look for remote speakers connected with AirTunes” as shown in figure 2. This is very important, as without it iTunes will ignore all destinations. I tend to leave the subsequent sub-selections unchecked, as I enjoy the ability to control the volume feeding a particular destination. While on this screen, also check the box next to “Look for iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad Remotes” as this will enable your library to be controlled via one of those devices using the Remote application.

As mentioned earlier, the Apple TV can also act as a source. If you have one and have music stored on its internal hard drive, no other setup is required. The internally stored music can be accessed for streaming as a separate library. This option can be appealing to those who would rather not keep a computer on all the time, but is limited in how much it can store (current Apple TVs come with 160 GB hard drives which are good for 250 to 400 CDs ripped in a lossless format, assuming no other media content is stored on the drive).

Figure 2. Enable AirTunes and Remotes

Now that we’ve got our libraries ready to be streamed, on we go to setting up each destination, audio system, or “Speaker Selection,” as Apple likes to call it.

The Destination

First, a little connectivity information about the Airport Express and, to a lesser extent, the Apple TV. Both devices can be attached to a stereo system in two ways:

• Via analog out: the Airport Express has an 1/8^th inch mini stereo jack that can be connected directly to an unused input on your receiver or preamp. The Apple TV has standard left and right RCA jacks. This is a cheap and easy connection and is great for streaming music to smaller systems or even to your back yard (as I do) where casual listening is your primary goal. For an impromptu setup, nothing beats connecting either device directly to a pair of powered speakers (I do this with a pair of Audio Engine A2s to great delight). The drawback here is that you’ll be using the device’s internal D/A converter which, for some of you, may not be that appealing.
• Via toslink out: the same 1/8^th inch mini jack on the Airport Express, as described above, also acts as a mini-toslink connection. A simple mini-toslink to toslink cable will provide you with a digital toslink connection to your receiver, D/A converter (DAC), or preamp. The Apple TV provides for a standard toslink connection. This option provides better fidelity than the analog out, and can be used in more revealing systems.

As a side note, Apple sells a cable connector kit that includes a mini-to-RCA left/right audio cable, a mini-to-optical digital Toslink audio cable, and an AirPort Express power extension cord (the former two of which are manufactured by Monster!). This kit retails for $39 and provides all manner of audio connectivity from an Airport Express to your audio system. Now that we have that out of the way, lets configure an Airport Express.

The Airport Express is configured using Apple’s free Airport Utility, available for both Mac and PC. With the Airport Express powered on, start the Airport Utility application and select the Airport Express that is to be configured. Initially, it will show up with a factory-supplied name (typically its MAC address in hex format). Now click on Airport and then the Base Station tab. As shown in figure 3, give it a descriptive name and a password.

Figure 3. Configure the Airport Express

Next, click on the Wireless tab. Assuming you already have a wireless network, select “Join a wireless network” as shown in figure 4, and provide the network name and password information.

Figure 4. Enter the wireless network to be joined

Lastly, click on Music, as shown in figure 5, and check the box next to “Enable AirTunes.” Click on Update, and the Airport Utility will configure your Airport Express accordingly. Once the Airport Express reboots, it’s ready to receive an audio stream.

Figure 5. Make sure that you enable AirTunes

As mentioned earlier in the article, an Apple TV can also be used as a destination. No setup is required as long as it’s powered and connected to your network.

Now that we’ve configured both the source library (iTunes) and destination (Airport Express), on to controlling our audio stream.

Control

One way to control what gets sent where is via the computer you have iTunes running on. In the lower right-hand side of the iTunes window, you’ll see a little button labeled “Computer.” This is the default destination for your stream i.e. the speakers attached to the computer. Clicking on this button will pop up a selection menu showing you all available destinations, as shown in figure 6 below.

Figure 6. From within iTunes, you can select the destination for your music

Selecting any of the other destinations will redirect the stream to the selected destination. Clicking on “Multiple Speakers” will allow you to send the stream to multiple destinations (if you have them). Voila! You’re now streaming your library to a remote system.

Of course, it doesn’t end here. There’s a much sleeker, sexier, and easier way to control your streaming: using an iPod touch, an iPhone, or an iPad.

If you have any of these devices (we’ll refer to them generically as an “i-device” from now on), simply go to the App Store and download Apple’s free utility called Remote. Once downloaded, you’ll need to pair it with your iTunes library. Pairing is a simple enough procedure, just make sure iTunes is running on your computer and that both your computer and i-device are connected to your wireless network.

Start Remote on your i-device and touch the Settings button. Then touch the Add Library button, and a 4-digit code will be displayed, as shown in figure 7. In iTunes, click on your i-device under Devices in the left-hand column and enter the code displayed on your i-device. If you have other computers and/or libraries that you’d like to access, repeat this procedure. Once you’ve paired your i-device with a library (or libraries), simply choose it on the Settings screen and you’ll have access to your entire library!

Figure 7. Initialize the remote connection to your iTunes library

To pair your i-device with an Apple TV library, follow the same procedure on your i-device, and then choose Remotes from the General Menu in Settings on your Apple TV.

Now that you’ve selected a library (your source), you can choose a destination (or destinations) from the same settings screen, as shown in figure 8. Simply select which speakers to turn On or Off. Touch the Done button and you’re good to go.

Figure 8. From the iPhone (or iPod Touch or iPad), you can select the destination for your music to play to

You can also change your speaker selection while playing a tune by touching the Speakers button, as shown in figures 9 and 10.

Figure 9. The iPhone or iPad or iPod touch allows full remote control while playing music

Figure 10. Multiple destinations can be selected

That was pretty painless. Right? For an initial investment of a $200 iPod touch and a $99 Airport Express, you now have a wireless distributed audio system. Each additional Airport Express will give you an added zone. Throw in an Apple TV. Have a party.

A real-world example of such a setup, my own, is composed of a computer that has my entire library stored on external drives. This computer feeds my primary system via USB, and then wirelessly streams to four other zones in my house through three Airport Express base stations and one Apple TV. All is controlled via the Remote application installed on my iPhone. I have instant access to all of my music in any of these rooms.

Finally, just a quick note regarding a limitation of the Airport Express (and Apple TV): it’s limited to playback of 16-bit / 44.1 kHz (or less) files. This isn’t that much of an issue, as feeding it a higher resolution file will not make it choke up and stutter. iTunes will simply down-sample the file prior to sending it off to the Airport Express in order to stream a seamless playlist, album, or (my favorite) your entire library in random order.