Suggestions for home audio casting/streaming, to replace AirPlay

General Discussions
1

Hi Guys,

I am looking to update my home audio streaming solution, and am after some suggestions on the best option to meet my needs.

I currently have an iTunes server, an AppleTV connected to my AV receiver in the living room, and an AirPort express connected to some basic speakers in the dining room.
This works well at the moment, as I can use the Apple Remote app on my iPhone to control my iTunes library, and AirPlay the music to both the AppleTV and AirPort express at the same time (or independently). The AppleTV having optical out and HDMI, means it can connect to my AV receiver for 5.1 audio (I believe supported over AirPlay?).

Since I also have all the same set of music added to Plex, I was trying to think of a way to replace my iTunes setup and just stream the music directly from Plex. To the living room is fine at the moment, as I can stream using one of many apps (LG TV, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, AppleTV etc etc) directly to the AV receiver. The dining room however is a problem, as Plex doesn’t stream directly to AirPlay devices.

I could use my iPhone, stream the music through the Plex app, and then AirPlay to the AppleTV and AirPort express, but I was hoping for a neater solution.
I read that Plex has Sonos support in preview, so I could put a Sonos speaker in the dining room, but not sure about the living room in that scenario. I don’t believe Sonos devices have audio out, so wouldn’t be able to connect to the AV receiver.

What would people suggest I look at, that meets these points:

  • Stream directly from Plex server to audio output devices (without reliance on iDevice in the middle)
  • Same solution for both rooms, and additional rooms in the future (all Sonos, all Apple or all Chromecast etc)
  • Ability to connect output to my AV receiver to use existing 5.1 setup
  • Ability to stream to all or a subset of outputs at once, and possibly even have independent streams going to different devices

Is the best solution just to go with the “man in the middle” kind of approach using an iPhone?

Thanks for any suggestion you may have.
Eds

2

Just found that Sonos do a “Sonos Connect” product that would do exactly what I wanted.

Will probably just go that route :slight_smile: