ExGMan

I need some help in getting audio distributed throughout my 2500 square-foot house. I have a Dell desktop, Dell laptop and NetGear router (802.11g) all working in a network in the house. I'd like to be able to put Internet radio in various places (using the NetGear WiFi). I have looked at various hardware pieces: SONOS, Sangean et al, and it seems they're very expensive, or not very capable in terms of audio, or both. I figure that some members of the e60.net crew have already done this and might be able to offer suggestions. Perhaps this kind of technology is not fully developed yet.

FWIW, RCN supplies me a bandwidth (I think that's what it's called) of 20 megabits per second...but perhaps I have the numbers wrong. I do know that a test on SpeakEasy's speed tester immediately pegs the needle. Also, FWIW, I can take my laptop anywhere in the house, and connect to 128kbps streaming internet radio via iTunes. The little Dell speakers are not great, but it's a start.

Thanks to anyone who can offer some advice.

thefleet

Why dont you buy wireless speakers? I have used them and they work pretty good depending if you spend good green.

In that way, you distribute sound to different areas simultaneaously.

ImolaRedM

I use the Airport Express and it works well with optical audio out. The limitations is that you have to use iTunes but I know on the Mac you can pickup a utility to stream other audio as well. Might check to see if there is a similar option on the WinPC.

heavy_g

Try Tversity. I use it to stream media at home and on the internet.

http://www.tversity.com/home

simba

I just bought one of these -> http://www.roku.com/products_soundbridgeradio.php

They are excellent and it does the job well. Streams your music from PC or NAS using various media server types, can play internet radio over WiFi(no need to PC to be running) and also plays various music formats via SD/MMC card. The internet radio has over 10,000 stations in UK and one really nice thing about this is you can connect and control the unit via your PC/laptop. You can also build up song queues and it comes with alarm/clock functions. SW updates automatically. Check out the FAQ's, also at roku.com. I guess together with some wireless speakers your set up would be complete.

My gripes:
1. no mute button on unit or remote
2. no tone/EQ control
3. no record to SD function
4. not entirely portable - mains only

boltoa

I bought a . Not sure whether you can get it in the States - Pinnacle rebadge Roku stuff in Europe, but not sure this is available from Roku direct. Anyway, it's very good value - I paid less than ?50 for mine ($100). Pair it with some powered speakers, and you're sorted. Can do Internet radio, or stream music from PC/Mac. It can stream music from a NAS box, but it's apparently fairly complicated to set up. However, there is loads of support available round the web (for the Firefly music server that it can use). I've got mine paired up with a Creative 2.1 speaker set (another $60 or so), and it sounds pretty decent. Not really comparable with my proper listening room kit (Onkyo, Rel, B&W), but that's another story .

mskjason

Slimserver and Squeezeboxes. www.slimdevices.com Very similar to Sonos, etc... but at a bit more reasonable price point.

ExGMan

Thanks to everyone who replied with various solutions. I'm looking into all of them now. Looks like it will be some sort of unit with powered speakers at this point. Thanks again! JG

swajames

I have the Sonos setup at home and I highly recommend it. Audio quality, ease of use, ease of integration (it runs of a NAS attached to my home network) and the wireless controllers seal the deal. It's absolutely awesome.

If you attach a simple NAS device to your Netgear router, you will be able to distribute audio to your listening points without the need for your computer(s) to be on (assuming you get the right kind of hardware such as the Sonos). You can easily sync content on your NAS with your music library on iTunes so your library is constant over all devices. Sonos say the first player needs to be hardwired to your router but that's not necessary. In my case, I use an Apple Airport Express to drive an ethernet link to my primary Sonos player and the rest is effectively automatic and I can distribute audio over my house. Sonos lets you play different music on each device or if you prefer you can have as many of your devices as you like sync up to play the same source, thus giving you whole house audio. When you do this, the players are totally in sync, there is never any lag at at all or any issue with devices being out of time. It's just incredibly effective. One controller is all you need, if you have more then even better. Coolest thing is when we have friends over and we're outside. One of my Sonos boxes is connected to my outside speakers and you can sit outside with just the wireless controller and have access to all your library. My friends like to sit and browse and take turns to pick the next album or track. It's not cheap per se, but for what you get it's an awesome value.

UUronL

I have been salivating over the new WHDI spec. Full HDMI wirelessly - uses the 5GHz spectrum. Sharp announced support for it in its upcoming high-end LCD line.

Won't be too long until we get this integrated in our receivers, components, displays, etc...

Then we can pass 7.1 audio wirelessly... not to mention full 1080p video.