I’d really like to attach a bluetooth receiver to my stereo and be able to flip through music on an iPhone without getting up to change music (yeah, I know, first world problem).
My intent is to buy a cheap old iPhone from EBay as it will only be used for storing music. My question is, will the playback be of a decent quality and what sample rate when saving to iTunes would be best.
The rest of the steroe is Cambridge Audio amp with Tannoy speakers, so not high end but not Amstrad either.

Google Apple Airport Express.

Job done.

I was looking at something like that Crispy but have also seen the Harman Kardon version as below;

http://www.harmankardon.co.uk/harman-kardon-product-detail_uk/bta-10-eu.html

Has anyone used one of these?

Looks good that. *checks paypal balance*

I use a little box of tricks I got from Currys for about £26, made by Iomega I think. I stream from my ipad to an ok stereo and it sounds good enough for me.

You do know you can do this through an x-box if you happen to have one? PS3 too presumably

http://www.harmankardon.co.uk/harman-kardon-product-detail_uk/bta-10-eu.html

Maybe I can attach one of those to my totally crap B&O airplay device 🙁

One of these? http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stage1tec/igbloo-no-more-tinny-tunes-no-more-dodgy-docks

I backed it today.

I can recommend the McIntosh McAire for this application. In fact I’d go as far to say that you’ll not find a better solution. (for sound/cost)

@Gunz, airport express is the most flexible as it can be used for creating wireless printer, extending wifi range, creating a second wifi network etc but it’s not the cheapest solution as you can see above. I’m 50 with sadly worsening hearing as is normal and I find the standard iTunes format fine quality wise, it makes a much bigger difference the quality of the stereo/speakers being used – I can still differentiate that bit !

@MrNutt for just the streaming part the McAire is overkill, IMO it’s overkill full stop but I am not a HiFi junkie.

it does have another (two) inputs (usb and rya), listen to one, it makes the B&O sound flat

MrNutt, the McAire is very pretty, but for 90% of people it’s owning a Bentley to do the job a Ford a Focus would be far more suitable for.
Or a Skoda.
Bitrate? RIP everything at 320Kb, variable bitrate. Honestly, only the most golden-eared individual would tell you they could hear a difference between that and Lossless, and they might easily be fibbing. I can’t, and I have music files in FLACK, Lossless, 320Kb and 256Kb; listening via either Shure SE215 in-ear phones, or UE TripleFi 10 StudioPro IEM’s I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you what the bitrate of any piece of music I have in iTunes is.
I can tell you that some Buddy Holly songs from the original master tapes, ripped at 320 from a cd sound far superior to songs by Fairground Attraction, also ripped at 320 from cd. Why? Because, while both albums were recorded very simply, using mostly acoustic instruments, the FA album was very poorly mastered, and sounds dull and lifeless, compared to the Holly songs, which leap out of the speakers.
Moral? Mastering is everything, believe it.

I think its an ugly thing tbh, but the sound that comes out of it is far better than separate set ups I’ve heard (and owned) costing twice it’s price. Agreed as to the quality of the workmanship of the music, or other sources being paramount, the McAire is like a magnifying glass

What’s the difference between that kickstarter project and say the Harmann Kardon or a QED uPlay Plus, or even Arcam rBlink?

Morning luddite bump

They are all Bluetooth so, quality of internals aside, basically exactly the same. Had a quick look at the Igbloo and almost fell about laughing, I’m sure it will do well as form factor and function looks good but all that talk about high quality audio for a device that will pretty much be used by people using low bit rate music rips from iPhones and Android devices is a huge contradiction.

Igbloo uses the APT-X and AAC codecs for incredible improvements in audio transport quality across the Bluetooth link, meaning the audio is cleaner, crisper and far higher quality than standard Bluetooth streamed music.

We’re using the world-renowned Wolfson DACs (Digital To Analogue Conversion) used in some of the world’s highest quality audio devices, which means the music is reproduced beautifully. This kind of technology is what sets audio devices apart.

Our line-level amplification is the result of months of iteration after iteration to create the cleanest sound we could with the fullest dynamic range.

And if your device has a digital optical in, then extremely unusually for a device like this, igbloo is fitted with digital optical out, giving you a 100% pure digital signal through to your sound system.

“100% pure digital”… What a great marketing quote and bypasses both the ‘Wolfson DACs’ and wonderful ‘line-level amplification’ you’ve just harped on about… Hahaha

The igBloo just looks like a prettier version of the BluDAC but the BluDAC is available to buy today, albeit £60

Regarding the internals, is there an easy way to determine which is better. The Arcam rBlink gets amazing reviews but it’s £160. I was thinking of spending £50-80 for a good all-rounder unit but there is a lot of choice.

Interestingly most reviews say the wireless just isn’t as good as a wired connection but they do give you that freedom to walk about or to change music whilst sat on your arse eating ginger nuts

This one gets good reviews for cheaper

I’m looking for a similar setup to the OP for the kitchen but looking at buying some active speakers to keep the space minimal as I use the BBC radio iPad app and spotify for most music these days. You can get active speakers with Bluetooth built in such as these or go for a non-Bluetooth active speaker hooked up to one of the above. Any suggestions for some good, smallish active speakers?