Apple Airport Express MB321LL/A [NEWEST VERSION]
by Apple Computer
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List Price: Our Price: $75.00 You Save: $24.99 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple Airport Express MB321LL/A [NEWEST VERSION]
Customer Review: SAVE TIME & CALL APPLE SUPPORT TO INSTALL
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely love this wonderful tool, which enables me (as I write this) to listen to Santa Monica's KCRW over my Bose Wave radio in my Tennessee kitchen. I also listen to the BBC, which comes in as well as it does in the UK. It's SO cool to be able to hear the world's finest radio programs--as well as my Itunes library--while I'm cooking! Love, love, love it!
Only negative: Please save yourself the time and frustration involved in trying to install the Express yourself and call an Apple Support person before you're reduced to tears (like me). The Apple techie who helped me said that Apple support gives high priority to people who call up with Airport Extreme and/or Airport Express issues, and I only had to wait a few minutes (with no pre-arranged appointment). I'm fairly tech-savvy, but before calling Apple, I tried following the horrible instructions included with the item, as well as every installation tip I could find online. (I also tried unsuccessfully to follow the instructions posted on Amazon by a reviewer). The result was complete--or nearly complete--disaster, as I lost my Airport Extreme and Internet connections. The Apple support person I got was terrific. He led me through the steps involved in resetting BOTH my Airport Extreme and Airport Express hardware (with a paperclip), and soon everything was restored and working perfectly.
I should mention that in order to use Airport Express to listen to anything other then your iTunes library, you have to purchase Airfoil (about $25 at [...]
. Airfoil makes the magic work, but I did have a few issues getting it to work properly. I emailed Rogue Omega's tech support staff, and got a very quick solution, which was to use Firefox rather than the default system to route the signal to my Airport Express. I couldn't be happier.
ADDENDUM (July 14, 2010): After a few days of use, we experienced extremely annoying signal dropping (Both BBC and iTunes streams would simply stop for a few seconds and then start up again). I called Apple support once again and was instructed to change the channel (evidently certain kinds of cell phones interfere with the Apple Express). Eventually I had to change the channel a second time--and haven't had any signal drops since. Be sure to ask about this if you seek help with the initial install.
Customer Review: Near total frustration in setting up...and then, wow
Summary: 3 Stars
I am using an Airport Extreme base station, though my laptop is a PC (Dell Latitude 630). I wanted to use Airport Express (AE) to extend the range of my wifi. When I first tried to set it up, using the barebones and rather confusing instructions, I kept getting the flashing amber light. (There is distinct bias in showing only screen shots of Mac computers, and not Windows screens.) A trip to the Apple Store for some guidance didn't help: it was not an "equipment issue" so I was shunted away from the Genius Bar, and the Apple "specialist" I spoke to immediately said: have you checked this website? He explained that what I wanted was to set up WDS (wireless distribution system). He also said the flashing amber light doesn't mean that it wasn't working (yes, it does) and it's all right to ignore it (well, only if everything worked!). So net net, not any help at all. And of course just before I left, I got the "advice" that I wouldn't have all this problem if I had an Apple computer to begin with.
I was stymied in setting this up by 1) the device was not detected by Airport Utility 2) once it was (by having the AE connected to my laptop by an Ethernet cable), I kept getting a -6753 error when I was ready to update the settings 3) once I was able get around that (by going through the Utility menu Base Station>Manual Settings, and not the Manual Settings button) and entered the settings, the unit was once again not detected by Airport Utility. After many tries, I finally worked through the biggest problem: it wasn't a WDS I should set the AE for; it was simply to "extend a range". That finally got the light to turn from blinking amber to steady green.
Once the AE had a green light, I wanted to see what the AirTunes was all about. (That wasn't my interest when I bought the AE.) I unplugged it, took off the Ethernet cable, walked across the room and plugged it in the wall socket there (after 20 seconds, yes, the light turned green), plugged in the cable to my stereo, went back to my computer, started up iTunes and set the speaker setting at the bottom right corner of the iTunes to the AE, and ...wow!
Customer Review: Great for streaming that music library
Summary: 4 Stars
I actually bought this device almost a year ago and ended up returning, being so frustrated with the install process. Was issue me or my equipment? Well, I'm not sure, but a lot has changed in a year. When I first tried the install, I was running a Linksys router with an XP operating system. I work in computer forensics and yet, still could not get this thing to work.
Cut to my most recent, yet successful try. This time around, I have an Apple Airport Extreme and I'm running Windows 7. My whole goal with the Express was to be able to stream my music library from my upstairs computer to my downstairs receiver (which in turn powers outdoor speakers). The 2nd time around was very successful. After physically plugging the Express into the Apple Extreme, I opened up the Airport Utility software (which had already been installed on the computer). If you already have an Apple router, I don't see why you would need to install the same software again. After opening the Airport Utility software, it took a minute, but the software recognized the Express. It went onto ask if I wanted to "join" my network or "extend". Initially, I mistakenly chose to "join". Although it streamed the music with no issue, later when I tried to install a Netgear switch, it would not work. Only after changing the Express to "extend" my network, was I able to add the Netgear switch (which in turn allowed me to run a LAN cable to my TV, receiver, DVD player, etc).
I can't tell you how excited I am that the Express allows you to stream your content from one computer to another location...it impresses my family friends every time I show them. By adding the Express downstairs, I in turn truly extended my network and I get full WiFi bars on my iPhone while in my backyard (something I didn't before). I don't use the wireless printer feature, but I plan to make that addition soon.
The only "con" I have is the heat from the device. This appears to be the same issue with the Extreme...for some reason, Apple products run a bit hot and I have no idea why. I imagine that kind of heat takes a toll after a while.
Customer Review: A Wonderful Little Cube
Summary: 5 Stars
The Apple Airport Express is, as you might expect from an Apple product, straightforward and rather simple. I'll just jump to how this affected me, and how it will PROBABLY affect you (if you are in need of something like this). I moved into a dorm where I couldn't use a lot of the technology I'd bought (ex. Apple remote on iPod Touch) because my University doesn't support wireless Internet inside the residence halls. So here's the good things about this product:
[+] You can use wifi devices in areas that do not have wifi connection (Ethernet, etc) because the Airport Express creates a network for you.
[+] You can print wirelessly, which is cooler than it sounds. Great for clearing up desk space, which leads me into:
[+] AirTunes. You can play iTunes music wirelessly, eliminating the need for your speakers being plugged into your computer's headphone jack.
[+] Both PC & Mac compatible
[+] Up to 10 people (including yourself) can hop onto your network - which you can password protect - and print using your printer. My roommate and I struck up a deal - he bought paper and he printed over my connection.
And of course, to be fair, I'll point out some minor drawbacks I encountered:
[-] Sound only comes through the AirPort Express through AirTunes. If you'd like other sounds (YouTube, any other media player, etc.) to come out of the wireless speaker setup, you can't. This should be changed.
[-] Other people connected to the network can play music through AirTunes, which can be surprisingly obnoxious (or just surprising). I believe there may be a setting to turn off AirTunes but I'm not sure.
Overall, it's a nifty little box for a decent price tag. Of course, if you pay $80 or so more, you can get an AirPort Extreme. Or if you need backup storage with Time Machine, Apple's Time Capsule has all the features of the Airport Express in it (minues AirTunes & wireless printing). If you're looking for something light, pretty cheap, and a great, easy way to make wireless out of wired, Apple's Airport Express is your best choice.
Customer Review: Airtunes is Awesome and Playback is Gapless
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this just for the Airtunes feature to stream music from the computer in one room to my stereo in the living room. It works great and was easy to set up. In case anyone is wondering, playback is gapless (no pause in between tracks) so no worries when firing up a multi-track mix.
For Vista (and presumably any other version of windows) you have to connect the AE via Ethernet cable to your router when first setting up, which the directions fail to tell you. After wasting some time trying to figure it out, I followed the first 5 steps of S. Monroe's instructions (currently rated most helpful review) and then followed the setup wizard from there on out (thanks S. Monroe!). Everything worked fine after that.
Also, note that it doesn't come with any cables whatsoever. If your receiver has an optical input, I recommend a toslink to mini toslink adapter such as this one: 6ft Toslink to Mini Toslink Cable. That will give you much better sound quality than the standard mini to RCA connection and it's pretty cheap.
One issue that I haven't figured out how to resolve is that you can't play music through your computer speakers and stream it to the AE at the same time. Well, you can, but because the AE is wireless there is a slight delay between the stereo playback (wirelessly through the AE) and the computer speaker playback (direct wiring to your sound card) and it's really un-listenable due to the echo effect. If I figure out a way around this, I will update my review (I'm hoping you can add a delay to the wired signal in millisecond increments via the AE software and I just haven't found that option yet).
Bottom line: the AE works great for streaming music and set-up is a breeze for PCs if you follow S. Monroe's instructions instead of the instructions that came with the product.
Cheers