iPhone to a vintage receiver...help!

Like most aspects of the audio pursuit, personal preference varies. And of course what you are willing/able to spend. At one time I favored AirPlay over casting. But I have migrated back to the CCA and cast Tidal and Pandora Premium; I stopped my Apple Music subscription. Occasionally I listen to Amazon Unlimited. Who knows, my pendulum may swing back to the Apple camp some day! I still have the equipment and sometimes listen via AirPlay (not Amazon tho) as you can control the volume from the app.
 
Like most aspects of the audio pursuit, personal preference varies. And of course what you are willing/able to spend. At one time I favored AirPlay over casting. But I have migrated back to the CCA and cast Tidal and Pandora Premium; I stopped my Apple Music subscription. Occasionally I listen to Amazon Unlimited. Who knows, my pendulum may swing back to the Apple camp some day! I still have the equipment and sometimes listen via AirPlay (not Amazon tho) as you can control the volume from the app.
For me, the biggest issue with Casting, besides the lack of services that it supports (which is my biggest issues with it), is the fact that it isn't built into any of my music playing components. I have three receivers and a Yamaha WXC-50 that have Airplay built right into them. What this means is that instead of needing a remote to turn on my receiver and switch to the correct input, I simply have the iPhone send audio to the receiver and it will turn it on and switch over to the Airplay input. It is just more convenient on a lot of levels. I could switch to CA when I am streaming from my NAS or use Google Music around the house (I am subscribed to Youtube Red), but it really just comes down to habit and with Airplay built into my daily processes, I never really think to use the CA or my other Casting devices. Also, with Google Play, I lose Siri (which only works with Apple Music) which is a feature I use nearly every time I listen to music from the iPhone.

However, I agree that it has a lot to do with the phone (or tablet) brand you use, how you listen, your wifi signal, and the services/apps you plan on using or plan on never using. There isn't just one good answer. It is smart to get all the information you can, though.

Personally, I am only using two Airport Express units nowadays since I have so many other things that support Airplay around the house. For some of my lesser setups, I have switched to Bluetooth (Amazon Echo Dot) since it has many of the same advantages of Airplay (works with any service I want) and connecting it to my phone is as easy as saying "Alexa, connect to phone". Just really convenient, not to mention that the Dot has Tune In, Pandora, and Amazon Music available without needing to connect it to my phone. Also, the Dot can be used to control Plex and J River in my other systems.

The Dot has also added multi-room audio, so it is getting better all the time. Its main downfall is the lack of a digital output and Bluetooth compression.
 
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For what it's worth I have had much better experiences with Airplay enabled receivers than with Airplay via Airport express. I never was able to get the Airport express to reliably stream without dropouts.
I have two Airport express and one works fantastically where the other continues to drop. Both were craigslist purchases and the one that keeps dropping out might have been going bad. I really like

No more than other digitally controlled potentiometers. Run it at 100% to take its effect out of the circuit.
I know this is a tangent from the original post, but I have been curious about where to set the multiple volume settings on the digital stuff that I use often. If I am playing music from my apple computer (over airplay) where do I set the volume? I like the ability to control volume from the keyboard and not walk across the room to turn the volume on my receiver, but is it better to have the volume at 100% on the computer and use the knob on my receiver to make adjustments? I realize that isn't exactly the scenario the '100% to take its effect out of the circuit' came from, but i'm curious none the less.
 
IIf I am playing music from my apple computer (over airplay) where do I set the volume? I like the ability to control volume from the keyboard and not walk across the room to turn the volume on my receiver, but is it better to have the volume at 100% on the computer and use the knob on my receiver to make adjustments? I realize that isn't exactly the scenario the '100% to take its effect out of the circuit' came from, but i'm curious none the less.
The idea is to maximize your S/N ratio by optimizing the level of various attenuators in your system.

My office system is like yours with a computer source and amplifier having a gain control. There's no one "best* setting, but I run the amp's gain control at about 12:00 and use the computer for setting overall level for the same convenience factor stated.
 
I am not aware of any routers that the Airport Express won't work with. I have tested several. You lose the "extend wifi" feature, but that should be it. I wouldn't spend $100 on an Airport Express. They can be found for around $35.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0015YJOK2/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

That being said, if you only want to use supported services, the Chromecast Audio will work. I use apps like Overcast and Apple Music which don't work with Casting, so I don't get much use from my products that support Casting. Also, Apple may be discontinuing support for the Airport Express, so if you don't have a specific need, you may be better off with a Casting device.
I just wanted to mention that I was on my Mac Mini at lunch (needed to start an app) and a firmware update for the Airport Extreme and Airport Express were available, so it looks like Apple is still supporting these devices. I still wonder how long that will go on with Airplay 2 coming around the corner, but it was nice to see that they have not been abandoned.
 
Rather than starting a new thread I thought I'd ask here about how to add wifi to my old receiver system. Do I just need to get an old Airport Express and connect it to my network. I have a Time Capsule, which I've read it is pretty much a modem with a hard drive for backing up my Mac PowerBook, but no provision for music like a normal airport express, which has a 3.5 line out. If I buy an old Airport Express, hook it to my stereo by running from 3.5 mm to RCAs then into an empty line level input, I should be good to go, correct? I have an Esinkin bluetooth device, which works well, accept for not having the range and probably not the best sound, when compared to going wifi. Eventually I'll get an external DAC as well.
 
Rather than starting a new thread I thought I'd ask here about how to add wifi to my old receiver system. Do I just need to get an old Airport Express and connect it to my network. I have a Time Capsule, which I've read it is pretty much a modem with a hard drive for backing up my Mac PowerBook, but no provision for music like a normal airport express, which has a 3.5 line out. If I buy an old Airport Express, hook it to my stereo by running from 3.5 mm to RCAs then into an empty line level input, I should be good to go, correct? I have an Esinkin bluetooth device, which works well, accept for not having the range and probably not the best sound, when compared to going wifi. Eventually I'll get an external DAC as well.
If you get an Airport Express, try to get the one of the last generation. It got updated to Airplay 2, which helps with buffering, among other things. The older versions did not get updated.
 
Whatever you do, minimize the level of your playback/streaming/DAC device before turning on anything. Some receivers and amps employ a topography which pre-amplifies all input signals, and some of those are pretty intolerant of overloads. As an example, I've just landed a KR-6400 on the bench with a dead right channel. Everything, even the decoded receiver audio signals, goes through the preamp. No doubt, someone stuffed an iPod or iPhone into this and overloaded the poor little OP amp in the input section:

KR-6400PreampIC.jpg


Fortunately, I was able to install a newer DIP package from stock in the place of the canned IC with some massaging, but it could have been worse.
 
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