Apple Airport Express defunct... Alternatives?

[Nick Armstrong]

For coming up to 5 years, I've been very happily using the Apple Airport Express to send music from Macbook, iPad etc to my hifi amplifier and listen through the main speakers. It transformed listening to downloads and streamed radio.

I have this model:





Crucial to the arrangement is the audio jack (bottom right in photo 2) - it enables connection with my pre-internet era Naim amplifier.

In the past 48 hours, all my devices have ceased recognising the Airport Express; all kinds of re-set of the latter have failed to resolve the problem.

In tackling this, I learnt that Apple have discontinued the whole Airport side of its business So if I were tempted to buy a replacement (I gather they can fail; maybe mine has), the few remaining new ones I can see cost several hundred pounds (rather than the £70 the item cost originally) - and anyway, is it worth it if the OS and iOS updates lately don't support/connect with the now-obsolete kit....

Any other Airport Express users encountered the same problem?

And are there any alternatives on the market that will permit the straightforward function mentioned above - especially important being the audio jack port to connect with my amplifier...

All advice/suggestions welcomed

[Beef Oven!]

For coming up to 5 years, I've been very happily using the Apple Airport Express to send music from Macbook, iPad etc to my hifi amplifier and listen through the main speakers. It transformed listening to downloads and streamed radio.

I have this model:





Crucial to the arrangement is the audio jack (bottom right in photo 2) - it enables connection with my pre-internet era Naim amplifier.

In the past 48 hours, all my devices have ceased recognising the Airport Express; all kinds of re-set of the latter have failed to resolve the problem.

In tackling this, I learnt that Apple have discontinued the whole Airport side of its business So if I were tempted to buy a replacement (I gather they can fail; maybe mine has), the few remaining new ones I can see cost several hundred pounds (rather than the £70 the item cost originally) - and anyway, is it worth it if the OS and iOS updates lately don't support/connect with the now-obsolete kit....

Any other Airport Express users encountered the same problem?

And are there any alternatives on the market that will permit the straightforward function mentioned above - especially important being the audio jack port to connect with my amplifier...

All advice/suggestions welcomed

Caliban, sorry to hear this. As you know, I use airport express and like you my system is Naim. 10 months ago, I moved my system to another house and I didn't get round to re-installing it, nor the airport express. But it was all working fine when I last used it.

I realise I'm not being much help to you

I think it's rather poor if this excellent system is obsolete - surely there's a workaround?

[Nick Armstrong]

But it was all working fine when I last used it.

Yes mine was working fine last weekend!

It was only when no device 'saw' it this week that things started to unravel.... Some expert said that the units fail from time to time, fair enough I suppose as it's been on solidly for 5 years and used a lot - and then I found that the whole tech had been abandoned by Apple

I hope very much there is a workaround/alternative.......

[Beef Oven!]

Yes mine was working fine last weekend!

It was only when no device 'saw' it this week that things started to unravel.... Some expert said that the units fail from time to time, fair enough I suppose as it's been on solidly for 5 years and used a lot - and then I found that the whole tech had been abandoned by Apple

I hope very much there is a workaround/alternative.......

I'll see if I can set mine up. I'm running the latest OS, so I may have the same problem.

[richardfinegold]

We had a discussion about Apple not supporting AE a few years ago, when they made that decision. It’s a baffling decision, given that their revenue stream is so dependent upon the iPhone, and the rise of streaming. I would have thought diversification would have been a priority, and having a technology that promotes their next best potential for revenue i.e.., a great router that enhances streaming, would be part of a diversification of revenue strategy.
If you can’t get your AE fixed, and you don’t want to spend a lot to embrace new technology, I would get a Media Player/Streamer with analog outputs so that it can input into your Naim, and then by a Netgear or Linksys router. The Bluesound Node 2 goes for $600 here new and has a built in DAC that sounds much better than what AE offers

[Anastasius]

How about a used on on eBay....there's a lot available.