Jack Isidore

Thanks, the price sure is right. BTW, love the avatar, we have "On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets" posted in the office at work.

I see, so it's mechanical > not good for my purposes. Although I have opened up the iMac to replace the hard drive, I don't think I want to go messing around to that extent. I know there is no shortage of expensive USB DACs, but I'll look around for a cheap one. Thanks!

I tried Sound source, but unfortunately, it only gives me the same options as the preference pane (only headphones when headphones are plugged in). Bummer...

Ah, this looks promising. I'll give it a shot later, thanks!

I had found that possible solution on another forum, although when I have the amp plugged in, the only option is the headphones, on the drop down. I tried under the preference pane for sound output, as well as the audio midi setup utility. I just read somewhere something about normalled jacks, that short out when nothing is plugged in. Maybe that is what these do. In that case, instead of an open circuit, a closed circuit may do what I want. I can't find that old headphone plug, if I can find it, I'll give it a quick shot. Intuitively, it seems like this wouldn't be the case though. I mean, why wouldn't they have it mute it when it isn't shorted, since when there is nothing plugged in, it is an open circuit. Instead, they have the jack short itself when there is nothing plugged in?

I have long wanted to make a little switch box for my imac (first aluminum generation, imac7,1), which would have a line in going from the imac headphone out, and two output jacks, one going to my amp, and the other open for headphones. My motivation is not having to reach around a cramped setup to unplug and plug all the time when I want to switch speakers. The problem is, the imac mutes the imac speakers if you have anything plugged into the headphone out jack. So, I would still have to unplug my switch, if I wanted to switch from headphones or amp to imac speakers. I think I tried plugging in an old wire from broken headphones (open circuit) and it still recognized as something plugged in. Does anyone have an idea how the imac determines if something is plugged in, and how I might be able to fool it with a circuit of some sort? Even better if you can point me to a thread that covers this, I couldn't find one.

That's what I thought as well, but other people report they do not have this delay, so I'm left confused. I wonder if the iTV and new Airplay systems will have the same deal. Maybe since it's a newer item and they are finally marketing Airtunes/Airplay, they will have a setup in a retail store to check out. I think my best bet for this setup is to go with an external sound controller. Thanks for all the input.

I took it to the Apple store and they couldn't find any settings that might be wrong. He took another one that had factory settings and recreated the delay with a different laptop as well as mine. So, the only thing I can think is that either using analog versus digital could add to the delay and that the older 802.11g versions didn't have this issue, and mine is a newer 802.11n. Both of those seem unlikely, but I can't imagine what else it could be since I've tested it directly connected. He said since I have two months left in my warranty, I can always get it replaced, it just may not do anything for me. He also said he used to use airtunes and he doesn't remember having a delay like this either... Unless replacing it or testing out an older version doesn't solve it (using digital output isn't an option for this amp) then I'll likely end up getting an external DAC to deliver line level out to the amp.

As soon as I mentioned airfoil that gave me the idea to try it out, so I installed the demo version of the most recent version and it didn't help the delay any. I called Apple since this still has a month or two in warranty and they also said it isn't normal. Of course they mentioned that they can't support the router, but he had a good point. If I have the AE create it's own network instead of joining mine, then that shows it isn't a problem with my router or setup. I tried that, with the AE a few feet from the imac and the delay is still there. I'm taking it into an Apple store today, hopefully to have it replaced with a functioning unit. I sort of feel like an idiot (just a little) for assuming this entire time that this is just how it was supposed to be. So, once the delay is gone (or low enough I don't mind it), do you think just buying a second AE is a better idea than buying a comparably priced external sound controller?

Well that's a relief, in regards to the option in the preference pane. That tells me that for this setup, I can get an external sound controller (hopefully for comparable price to a second AE) and won't have to have an AE constantly on. If I can't fix the AE issue, or I decide against a second one for other reasons (constant, albeit small power draw) then I'll look around here for good alternative. I'm really confused about the delay, I thought it was normal this entire time. I could have sworn I read about it before I bought it. Of course there is *some* delay, otherwise airfoil wouldn't have to force a video delay to compensate. Unfortunately, I am probably out of my warranty and have no technical support, and based on my previous dealings with tech support in regards to the AE, they would simply have me try a few troubleshooting steps that don't fix the problem and then tell me since it's a third party router, I am on my own. Maybe if it isn't out of warranty, I can take it to a store and have them show it working for me with their setup. I did try a hard reset because I couldn't remember the password anymore.

Of course. It is an analog signal, as the amp doesn't have a digital input. I generally have iTunes set to keep the volume at max and I control the volume on the amp directly, rarely I'll use the volume control to lower loud music if I'm too lazy to lower it on the amp. It's a pet peeve of mine, having to balance itunes volume, system volume and amplifier volume as I would have to in a direct analog connection. The new amp I am looking to buy is actually the Nova, but that digital input doesn't do me much good since it's the NAD that is going next to the imac. I thought of the possibility of it being a wireless issue, especially since I have had less than adequate results trying to stream high bit-rate video. I turned the router to n-only (it was on mixed) which didn't work. Then I tried a direct ethernet connection with wireless disabled on the AE, still the same delay. (It might have been slightly less, but still multiple seconds delay) By disabling the computer sounds, do you mean simply turning those sound notifications off, or you are saying there is a way to pick and choose which audio goes to the outboard sound controller and which go to the built in speakers?

Hi all, I was talking to someone on another forum about this issue and they referred me to this forum. I actually read extensively about the Airport Express on here a year or two before I bought mine, so I think you might be able to help me out here. I am buying a new amp/speaker combination, and so my existing one (NAD C325BEE and PSB B25 bookshelf speakers) can be put alongside my imac. Currently I have the amp hooked up to an Airport Express which is connected wirelessly to my non-Apple b/g/n router. When using airtunes, there is a delay of 2-4 seconds when manually changing songs or resuming play from pause. Is that normal? Someone said theirs hooked up to their amp via digital signal there is no discernable delay. The delay has me thinking I'd prefer to find a USB of optical external DAC for my imac to send a line level signal to my amp which will be right next to it. Also, I'm assuming there are no USB solutions that let you send it ONLY itunes audio like airtunes. That'd be a huge plus for me so IM/e-mail or other noises don't go to my stereo, but I don't realistically think I'll find that.