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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
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,768 posts
 
One simple solution is to get a DAC with optical input rather than the Halide which has only USB.

The Airport Express has optical output so the setup would be MacBook > Airport Express > DAC with optical input > Speakers.

There are lots of DACs with optical input in the price range of the Halide, one good one is the Musical Fidelity V-DAC but there are lots of others. Get a Sonicwave glass optical cable and a Toslink-mini Toslink adapter from Amazon for $30 if you want to top everything off.
saeyedoc
103 posts
 
If you want a wireless DAC, the Audioengine D2 uses it's own wifi network ($600).
The SB Touch is very easy to setup and use, you could get one while they are still available. The software could be used with other hardware (ipeng app on idevice into digital dock) if the touch dies at some point.
Airport express is easy, but doesn't support hi-res.
If she already has an iphone, you could buy a Pure i20 dock and stream to it using logitech media server/ipeng.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
There are wireless USB adapters and hubs available from Belkin and others. Some of these will work with asynch USB and others will not. I know that the WiRanger works because I have used it, but not made anymore. You can try ebay. These will degrade sound quality, but maybe thats not an issue.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
bodotes OP
30 posts
 
Sfar, thanks for your response. yes, I could add a different DAC. Since the only flat surface on the same side of the room is a dresser, which has to hold a TV and a printer, I was hoping to make a somewhat invisible solution. But I can velcro attach a V-DAC as well as an AE, so thanks again.

Saeyedoc, thanks, but the AudioengineD2 is probably not a good fit. The only place to sit in the room is on a loveseat on the opposite wall from the speakers. The D2 is a 2-piece unit, so she would have to hold the send unit in your lap. I don't understand the necessity of a separate wireless network when there is perfectly good WiFi in the same room? Hires would be nice, but frankly all of her files are Redbook ALE format. I keep thinking about the SB Touch, but she doesn't want to load the Squeezebox/Logitech Media server on her laptop.
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