Hi. We will be getting my daughter an iPod Touch for her 7th birthday or christmas, same day, and was wondering if there are any reasonably priced Airplay enabled speakers? Obviously an inexpensive iHome would be fine for bed side, but mainly wanting it for kitchen or spare bedroom...
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Airplay Enabled Speakers?
- Thread starter craigsharp
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Hi Craig,
You're best bet would be the iW1 from iHome. It's $299 which is quite reasonable compared to other systems plus it's portable so you can easily move it between your daughters bedroom and the kitchen.
iHome was supposed to have more in stock by September 26th but it looks like they are still sold out.
You can also check out what AirPlay speakers are available and what is on its way.
You're best bet would be the iW1 from iHome. It's $299 which is quite reasonable compared to other systems plus it's portable so you can easily move it between your daughters bedroom and the kitchen.
iHome was supposed to have more in stock by September 26th but it looks like they are still sold out.
You can also check out what AirPlay speakers are available and what is on its way.
You could also just pick up an Airport Express and use that as well. That way, you pay 100 for the Express and you can then pick whatever speakers you want be it expensive or inexpensive.
You could go as far as getting the $100 Apple TV instead as it supports AirPlay. At least with this, you'd get Netflix, YouTube, your iTunes library and rentals from iTunes.
You could go as far as getting the $100 Apple TV instead as it supports AirPlay. At least with this, you'd get Netflix, YouTube, your iTunes library and rentals from iTunes.
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I gave up on AirPlay-enabled speakers myself; there's so little available, and most docks with it are overpriced for the sound quality.
For her room, I'd consider skipping AirPlay altogether and just go with a regular speaker dock--Altec Lansing and JBL make decent ones (I have one from each; the Altec Lansing is very good, and that's our main kitchen unit). Both do also make AirPlay capable models (Altec's will be out this fall), but the pricing versus features versus sound quality was such that it just wasn't worth it to me when I went hunting for a new setup a few weeks ago.
It was pretty disappointing; the functionality has been available for a year and I was expecting more models to be available. But instead, as HazyCloud suggested, I went the Airport Express route. A bookshelf stereo unit--that I've had for ten years!--paired with it just fine with a $13 cable, and the sound is incredibly rich compared to any actual "dock" I've tried. For anywhere you're going to use it on a regular basis, if you appreciate sound quality at all, this kind of setup is what I'd definitely recommend over trying to get an AirPlay specific model.
For her room, I'd consider skipping AirPlay altogether and just go with a regular speaker dock--Altec Lansing and JBL make decent ones (I have one from each; the Altec Lansing is very good, and that's our main kitchen unit). Both do also make AirPlay capable models (Altec's will be out this fall), but the pricing versus features versus sound quality was such that it just wasn't worth it to me when I went hunting for a new setup a few weeks ago.
It was pretty disappointing; the functionality has been available for a year and I was expecting more models to be available. But instead, as HazyCloud suggested, I went the Airport Express route. A bookshelf stereo unit--that I've had for ten years!--paired with it just fine with a $13 cable, and the sound is incredibly rich compared to any actual "dock" I've tried. For anywhere you're going to use it on a regular basis, if you appreciate sound quality at all, this kind of setup is what I'd definitely recommend over trying to get an AirPlay specific model.