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Can a apple airport express be part of a audiophile system?

Hi, I am curious as to who uses the airport express in their system and how the experience compares to a cd player or high end music server. What I like about the airport express is the price and ease of use with itunes. I am worried however about the audio quality since I have read about people experiencing delays, dropouts, and the newest model having unacceptable jitter. I have also looked at the Sony Hap S1 and Aurelic Aries Mini as high end options but the price and usability scares me off. Thoughts?
128x128brimel1974
mahler123
633 posts
 
I tried AE but now I use Bluesound for the whole home audio thing.  Bluesound wipes the floor sonically with AE--it's not even a fair fight-and while it is far from perfect, I prefer the Bluesound app
to i tunes for managing the collection.  I also enjoy being able to play my music without having to have Apple sell me something every time I want to relax
bcgator's avatar
bcgator
354 posts
 
Of course it can...give me an Apple Express connected to a great pair of speakers in a well-treated room over a $5000 DAC connected to a mediocre set of speakers in a carelessly set up room everyday and 23 times on Sunday.
chrshanl37
622 posts
 
+++1 bcgator

arafiq's avatar
arafiq
164 posts
 
mahler123, I'm currently using Apple TV which is probably even worse than AE due to sampling issues. I'm looking very closely at the Bluesound Node 2, so would really appreciate it if you can expand on exactly how the "Bluesound wipes the floor sonically with AE...". What specific sonic improvement(s) did you notice in your system?

Lastly, I've not had the issue of Apple trying to sell me something whenever I use my Apple TV as a streamer. Just curious about how that's different than an AE.
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