Hi Guys,

I'm a new member and was wondering if somebody could explain to me in simple step by step way to connect an Apple Airport express to a Beosound 9000. I get confused when reading other posts because I am unfamiliar with names of wires and connections.  I have a windows machine with I-tunes and a wireless Lan card in the computer. 

Thanks

This will help. iPods and AirPort Expresses all have what's called a 'minijack' connection, what you see on the end of earphone cables etc. The plug you see on the other end of the cable is what's called a '5-pin DIN' due to the number of pins you see inside the plug itself. This plugs into the connection on your BeoSound 9000 near where the power and all other connections go in. There are only three plugs which look vaguely appropriate, two called PowerLink (where speakers are sometimes connected), and the other which will take the signal from your AirPort Express, labelled AUX. Connect into this, and as long as the AirPort express is up and running (assuming you know how this works), all you have to do is press 'A.AUX' under the flap on your BeoSound 9000, and you should be up and running!

I can get one of these cables and hook the Airport Express up to the stereo, no problem.  The next quesiton is how will the computer transmitt the music from its wireless LAN to the Airport Express?

Thanks

I have a BeoSound 4 with an Airport Express connected. It works great. iTunes shows 

gripit:

I can get one of these cables and hook the Airport Express up to the stereo, no problem.  The next quesiton is how will the computer transmitt the music from its wireless LAN to the Airport Express?

Thanks

The Airport will connect to your WLAN.

In the setup of the AE you will have to set that the AE shall serve as a music transmitter. On your computer you will have to run iTunes.

When the AE has been configured and logged into your WLAN, you will see it as a button in the iTunes interface (as you can see in the post above).

If you click the button, iTunes will stream the music to the AE and to your Beosound.

/Claes 

 

 

My Beo5 show A.Aux under the apple logo.

 

I have a similar cofiguration, from the Airport Express to a Beosound Ouverture. It works fine, except for the sound quality. The Airport's digital/analog (D/A) converter obviously doesn't live up to B&O quality.

Fortunately, Airport Express realizes its weakness and offers digital output as well, through the same contact. You buy a separate D/A converter and connect it between the Airport Express and the Beosound.

For me a separate D/A converter is on my wish list. I investigated it some time ago and found that they have not reached the mainstream consumer marked yet. Consequently they are rather expensive so I dropped, no, postponed, the idea.

Does anyone have some recommendations for D/A converters?

Sigmund

 

What's your budget?

The LAVRY DAC10, Benchmark DAC1 USB and Grace 902b are all very good DACs, but you'll find headphone amp's and other DACs at half the price of these. The three go for about 800-1000 USD. 

My MBP used to play Airtunes via Airport Express to Beosystem.
However, after a software-update, the "external speakers" are no longer visible in iTunes.
The Airport Express itself produces a humming noise on the Beosystem
when the jack-plug is connected to the Airport Express.

Any ideas what might cause this ?

 

 

soundproof:

What's your budget?

The LAVRY DAC10, Benchmark DAC1 USB and Grace 902b are all very good DACs, but you'll find headphone amp's and other DACs at half the price of these. The three go for about 800-1000 USD. 

Thanks for the recommendations.

Another idea, could it be possible to use BeoSystem 3 as a pure DAC? I'm dreaming about the new BeoVision 7-40 with BS3 incorporated and just imagined the possibility to save the money for a separate DAC as a nice side effect.

Sigmund 

Ignace:

My MBP used to play Airtunes via Airport Express to Beosystem.
However, after a software-update, the "external speakers" are no longer visible in iTunes.
The Airport Express itself produces a humming noise on the Beosystem
when the jack-plug is connected to the Airport Express.

Any ideas what might cause this ?

No idea, only that something is wrong. The D/A converter in my Airport Express leaves much to be desired, but at least there is no humming noise.

Sigmund 

Ignace:

My MBP used to play Airtunes via Airport Express to Beosystem.
However, after a software-update, the "external speakers" are no longer visible in iTunes.
The Airport Express itself produces a humming noise on the Beosystem
when the jack-plug is connected to the Airport Express.

Any ideas what might cause this ?

 

Check your Preferences in iTunes, that you have set it to use Airtunes and that it discovers remote speakers.

Also check Applications>Utilities>Audio MIDI Setup -- that you have chosen the right output device and format.
 

 

 

Anyone with an airport express needs to check out salling clicker, it turns your phone into an itunes remote with the ability to browse your full libary it is amazing!

I have it on my N95 and it connects using my networked imac in my office upstairs and I can browse and play all of itunes.

leepie:

Anyone with an airport express needs to check out salling clicker, it turns your phone into an itunes remote with the ability to browse your full libary it is amazing!

I have it on my N95 and it connects using my networked imac in my office upstairs and I can browse and play all of itunes.

Yes, I've been using Salling Clicker for several years actually! Until the iPod Touch came along and I could put Remote Buddy on it ... the Clicker is a very good bit of software, though. Many of the same benefits as with the Touch.

I get (sporadic) drops in my laptop "seeing" my airport express - sometimes rebooting the express helps, sometimes not. However, if you check apple discussions you are not alone - these problem seems common post software update - hopefully a future update will rectify

soundproof:

What's your budget?

The LAVRY DAC10, Benchmark DAC1 USB and Grace 902b are all very good DACs, but you'll find headphone amp's and other DACs at half the price of these. The three go for about 800-1000 USD. 

I just got a separate DAC and the improvement is amazing. While the Mac used to be suitable for background music only, it's now the best. Don't let the Airport Express' internal DAC ruin the sound; go and get a separate DAC!

 (The DAC I bought is a stello DA100 from April Music, at 695 USD + 85 USD shipping from South Korea. Don't know how it compares to others.)

Good choice - that's a DAC that has been very well received.

I find that a DAC between my Macs and sound systems is necessary, compared to just running the analog line out from either the Mac or an Apple Express. The difference in sound quality is so obvious - more detail, less noise and an absence of "brittleness" results, the music simply sounds richer.

I have a DAC feeding my Beolab 5000 amp, from an Airport Express. And it's wonderful to be able to use a 41 years old unit together with this modern source, and getting the best of both worlds.

Here's a view inside the DAC that Sigmund's bought - it becomes clear why Apple can't fit all of that inside a computer (or an Airport Express).

 

B&O may be a little dismayed to find that more people are using A.AUX on their system to the exclusion of other choices except video.  I also use a DAC with Apple TV for music and now internet radio on Apple TV.  Internet radio never sounded so good.

linder:

B&O may be a little dismayed to find that more people are using A.AUX on their system to the exclusion of other choices except video.  I also use a DAC with Apple TV for music and now internet radio on Apple TV.  Internet radio never sounded so good.

Actually, I think they're laughing all the way to the bank... at least on a small scale...  I just bought a new DIN to RCA AUX input cable from B&O, and it was 50 USD!!!  I should have shopped around, but, was focusing at the items with more digits in their cost... seems like the last one I bought a couple years back was ~20, and, at the time, I thought THAT was highway robbery.  I don't think this is a coincidence... 

Stan

That was robbery. They are not cheap as there are very few brands using these kind of connectors.

 

Next time please do look on ebay, there are quite a few dealer type sellers that offer them a bit cheaper.

 

JK 

Do these more expensive DACS take 24-bit inputs? My understanding is AE only puts out 16-bit signals but the digital output on the iMac computer itself can put out 24.

Correct, but there's no point in this IMO as CDs are 16 bit.

The AE is limited to the Redbook standard of 16bit/44.1kHz. The stand-alone DACs usually handle up to 24-bit/192kHz, with some handling even greater wordlenghts and sample-rates.

Yet if you read this article, you'll find that a formal study of high-resolution vs. Redbook seems to have delivered a surprising result. Seems that CD-resolution is more than enough ...

http://mixonline.com/recording/mixing/audio_emperors_new_sampling/index.html
 

soundproof:

The AE is limited to the Redbook standard of 16bit/44.1kHz.
 

Interesting. Do you have a reference for these specs? I have been searching, but Apple hides them well. Anyway, now I don't have to waste my time to experiment with more bits and higher sample rates.

 Thanks for the article. Although the experiment hardly reveals the whole truth, it is lovely provocative.

 

Hi, maybe you can resolve my issue with my brand new 802.11n Airport Express :

When I listen to my iTunes Library, there is no problem at all, the sound is correct.

When I listen to internet radios via the macbook speakers, there is no problem...

But When I listen to internet radios via the Airport Express, I got a lot of sound "cuts". My internet connection is very good, and as radios works in iTunes that's not the problem. The wifi rate is also ok as there is no slow down when I download something while listening to music, and I set the airport to create a N only network, but the problems is the same with n + b/g compatibility. When I set the airport to connect to my wifi network (instead of creating a network), the problem is exactly the same.

Maybe it's the macbook encoding or a software issue? (but that's a core 2 duo black macbook with all the software up to date...)