Multiple Airport Express streams?

Is it possible to have more than one Airport Express Unit receiving different signals from different iOS devices? E.g. My iMac plays one track, my iPhone plays another and my iPad plays another?
I have a 4 input hub in my house powering 4 sets of ceiling speakers in various rooms and want to know if multiple Airport Express units mean I don't have to go down the Sonos route as all my music is on iTunes.
Thanks in advance

I do this regularly. I have 5 AX units connected to various receivers around the house. I can stream to a subset of speakers from one device and have another device stream to others. I don't see why I couldn't stream five stream to these speakers.
But the big caveat is that most of my AX units are connected via a gigabit ethernet network not a wireless connection (yes I know the AX units are not gigabit, but my network is). If you were trying to do this via wireless you might quickly run out of bandwidth. This is particularly true for IOS devices. For example, I have an ipad that can stream internet radio. If you think about it the ipod in this case has to first get the wireless signal and then send it back out to the AX, immediately doubling the amount of spectrum used compared to streaming from a device that has the music stored on it. That's probably why my internet radio app won't let me select multiple speakers the way I can with itunes or airfoil.

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Connecting to multiple Airport Express base stations at the same time?

I want to be able to use wireless internet and stream music to my stereo at the same time, but I only have a single internet connection behind my stereo and it's connected to the Pay TV. My options seem to be getting a new line installed behind the stereo so I can insert this into the same Airport Express base station I use for my music, or buying a second Airport Express base station and connecting it to one of the other internet connections in the room, then connecting to both Airport Express base stations at the same time.
Is this possible? Are there other alternatives?
Many thanks

Nate, Welcome to the discussion area!
Once you have a network, you can connect multiple AirPort Express (AX) to that network (wirelessly or via Ethernet). When your computer joins that network it can access all the AX.
You could take your current internet connection and run it into an inexpensive router with multiple Ethernet ports (not the AX). If this is a wireless router then your AXs could be located elsewhere and connect as wireless clients to that network. Once you computer joined that network it could stream music to the AXs.

Multiple Airport Express issues revisted

I've been trying to set up multiple airport expresses. I want to wirelessly connect to two stereos and stream to both at the same time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
So far I tried the directions below. But after following them, when I was in itunes, it would not acknowledge either AX. When I was making the suggested settings in the Airport tab, as listed below, it asked me for the name of the network. I wasn't sure what to put there though.
I can set up each on its own network, but then itunes can only find one stereo at a time.
Thanks for you help.
For each AirPort Express Base Station (AX):
Perform a "factory default" reset
- (ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108044)
To set up AirTunes on the AirPort Express Base Station (AX), using the AirPort Admin Utility, connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to the Ethernet port of the AX, and then, try these settings:
AirPort tab
- Base Station Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
- Wireless Mode: Join an Existing Wireless Network (Wireless Client)
Music tab
- Enable AirTunes on this base station (checked)
- Enable AirTunes over the Ethernet port (optional)
- iTunes Speaker Name: <whatever you wish>
- iTunes Speaker Password (optional)
In iTunes:
iTunes > Preferences... > Advanced > General
- Look for remote speakers connected with AirTunes (checked)
- Select "Multiple Speakers" from the speaker selection at the bottom of the iTunes window.

You need to have one of the AirPort Express (AX) join the wireless network created by the other one. See KB 302153, AirPort Express: How to join an existing wireless network in client mode.

Connection problems when I use multiple Airport Expresses

I have one Mac that I use to stream music to multiple Airport Express's. Its seems that when I connect to 3 expresses things work fine. If I connect to 4 the sound cuts out on all speakers.
Is 3 the limit or am I doing something wrong?

Yes you can but....
With the apex in the ceiling you may get a signal loss from your main wireless system. To be able to do what you want in a whole home sound system they all need to be on the main wireless system. You also have to plug them in to a wall outlet which may be an issue with your fire regulations with them inside the walls/ceiling. With airplay you have some limitation also. If she has an ios device and likes say pandora she can only do it to one set of speakers/APex. Only itunes from a computer can do multiple/house party sound. I have 2 APex in my house and love them all. If your main wifi is out of range for some of the new APex's you can run 1 cat5/6 (APex is 10/100) and make a new network and bridge the rest to it. As long as your new wire is connected to your main network you will stay on the same network.
So now you get sound and a roaming wifi through out the house. (that's what I did but not in the ceiling.)
Sonus are good but $$$. by then rewire!

Multiple Airport Express without Airport Extreme

Is it possible to have multiple Airport Expresses on a network without the router being an Airport Extreme? I have a Buffalo router and can't get more than on Airport Express to be recognized. Is this possible?

The Express must be configured to "join a wireless network" to be able to stream iTunes to your stereo. It sounds like you have one device working OK, is that correct?
If you can't get AirPort Utility to "see" your other Express, temporarily connect an ethernet cable from your computer to the Express and then open AirPort Utility to see if that helps. You will configure it to "join" your wireless network.
When you have it configured, you can disconnect the ethernet cable and move the Express to the location that you want.

Connecting to multiple Airport Express base stations for internet and TV?

I want to be able to use wireless internet and stream music to my stereo at the same time, but I only have a single ethernet connection behind my stereo and it's connected to the Pay TV. My options seem to be an ethernet splitter (maybe - any ideas?), getting a new ethernet connection installed behind the stereo so I can insert this into the same Airport Express base station I use for my music, or buying a second Airport Express base station and connecting it to one of the other internet connections in the room, then connecting to both Airport Express base stations at the same time.
Is this possible? Are there other alternatives?
Many thanks

Nate, Welcome to the discussion area!
Once you have a network, you can connect multiple AirPort Express (AX) to that network (wirelessly or via Ethernet). When your computer joins that network it can access all the AX.
You could take your current internet connection and run it into an inexpensive router with multiple Ethernet ports (not the AX). If this is a wireless router then your AXs could be located elsewhere and connect as wireless clients to that network. Once you computer joined that network it could stream music to the AXs.

IPhone to multiple Airport Express/ATVs

before the latest iOS upgrade to my iPhone I could stream to multiple Airport Expresses from my iPhone at one time. Now I can't select more than one at a time. Can anyone help?

My question is will the Airport Express units ethernet ports have a live signal that wired Macs can plug into to join the network like a router?
Yes.

Apple AirPort Express - Streaming Music on iTunes - Frequent Music Drop out

*Apple AirPort Express - Streaming Music on iTunes - Frequent Music Drop outs*
I have just purchased an Apple AirPort Express for the sole use of streaming music from my laptop to my home cinema system.
My system has bundles of power (Core 2 Duo, 3gb RAM, 320gb hard disk, Intel-N WiFi) and is running Windows Vista Premium. I am using the latest version of iTunes (version 8) and have it setup to play through remote speakers. I have my AirPort Express connected to my home cinema system.
When I play music on iTunes through ONLY my computer speakers I have no problem with drop outs.
However, when I play music through either (1) my AirPort Express or (2) multiple speakers (i.e. the AirPort Express and my computer speakers together) I experience frequent and unbelievably annoying drop outs in the music stream.
I have determined this has nothing to do with interference with the wireless signal and believe this is something to do with iTunes - the reason being the drop outs occur in BOTH the computer speakers AND the AirPort Express speakers (when I select multiple speakers) but does not occur when I select ONLY the computer speakers.
Please could you provide some advice on this as I am unable to use the AirPort!
Many thanks
Elliot

You don't say which Airport Express you are using and what its settings are.
There are two Airport Express models. The original model works on 802.11b/g on 2.4 GHz. The later model can do 802.11n on 2.4 GHz or 5.0 GHz. My experience is that interference when using the 2.4 GHz band creates drop-outs when sending audio from iTunes to an Airport Express. I now have an 802.11n network on 5.0 GHz and no longer have drop-outs. I also have a 2.4 GHz 802.11g network for my iPhone and other devices that can't do 802.11n. They are connected to each other by ethernet.
Interference on 2.4 GHz occurs because a lot of people nearby have wireless networks too. You may not notice the interference when doing other network activity that is not time dependant but it shows when streaming music. Using a utility like iStumbler or AirRadar I can see I am the only one using the 5.0 GHz band in range of my computer.

HT1515 multiple airport express output to amp

can i use multiple airport express's as ap's and have only the one near my amp output my streaming music through the amp from anywhere on that network even if it is connecting to one of the other airport express ap's?

can i use multiple airport express's as ap's
If by "ap's" you mean Wireless Access Points, then the answer is yes.
and have only the one near my amp output my streaming music through the amp from anywhere on that network
Yes.
even if it is connecting to one of the other airport express ap's?
It would matter how they are interconnected. If you are referring to a "roaming" or "extended" network, then again the answer is yes.

Does airport express stream directly to wireless speakers or does it need to be connected through an audio cable to an amplifier before the speakers

Does airport express stream directly to wireless speakers or does it need to be connected through an audio cable to an amplifier before the speakers?

I got an additional question bout this topic:
is it possible to use both at the same time? in my case cable-connected speakers in the living-room and an Airplay-speaker in the bathroom and/or kitchen?
so I select the Airport Express as Airplay-Output on my iPad and from there it's shared via cable AND wireless? this would solve the problem of being able to only select ONE Airplay-Output on my iPad at the same time...

Multiple airport express's

Can i have multiple airport expresses acting as range extenders on the same network?

Yes, if you remember that they all must connect to the "main" base station.
Apple's extend a wireless network feature works like the hub and spokes of a wheel. Your AirPort Extreme would be the "hub" and each AirPort Express would reside at the end of a separate "spoke".
Each AirPort Express only communicates to the hub....not to another Airport Express at the end of another spoke.....so it is important that the AirPort Express devices be located about the same distance from the hub....and....that they are closer to the hub than they are to another AirPort Express.

Airport Exreme - Airport Express droupout with multiple Airport Express sta

I have multiple airport express's, an iMAc, a Airport extreme router, all software/firmware to current release. If I play on the iMac and one set of remote speakers, no problems, once I add two airport express stations with iTunes, I get the dropouts. Any ideas. I have already got rid of wds, changd channels, tc. to no avail.

I have the same set up and had the same issue and a guy at apple support gave me a tip to try and it worked!. First remove all the expresses from the power outlets keeping your airport extreme running. I also recommend using a different channel say 11. and use ap grapher
http://www.chimoosoft.com/products/apgrapher/
to see if your network looks like it's running well after you resetup your everything or before you bother doing this. I found my audio gear was really messing with my airports bandwidth and when I moved it to a new spot ap grapher showed I was getting a nice steady 54mbit/sec.
So again unplug the expresses and keep the extreme up and running.
You must first do a reset on the airport express by pushing in the little white button on the bottom with a paper clip for a few seconds, but you should check out how to reset the airport express via apple's web site because there are 2 types of resets one with it plugged in and one with it not. Not sure which is right reset method so check that yourself.
Once you have reset it you want to set the first express to extend your preexisting airport extreme network using the airport setup utility. If you have two expresses you may only need to do this to the last one in the chain but it can't hurt to reset them all form scratch.
Once the first express is up and running you then unplug the airport extreme from it's power outlet. Then you go to set up the 2nd express after you reset it and here lies the trick. You extend the 2nd express off the first express without the extreme involved. Then you plug in the extreme back into the power and bingo you have tricked the express #2 to extend from the first express and they wind up with new ip numbers like 10.0.1 and 10.0.2. Instead of them competing for signal using the same ip address they now have their own individual ip address, it turns it into an extension chain. If that makes sense I don't know what the tech terms are for this but it did cure my issues of dropouts I thought it was odd that they had the same addresses so it makes sense that they should have their own.
Micro wave ovens cause drop outs and so do some wireless phones but you can always check on your signal using AP grapher. I found that when I walk around with my MacBookPro in my house that the expresses really don;t have much of a range so if they are really far apart that could also be an issue. I'm sure the N versions are much better and I am thinking about upgrading.
Hope this helps cause it sure took a long time to type:)

AirTunes and multiple Airport Express modules

I was curious if there are plans to support connecting to multiple Airport Express modules? I have two modules in my home and would love to be able to send music to two different places at the same time.
If there is a plan to introduce this option I'd love to know and if I already can I'd love to know how.
Thanks

I would love to know this as well.
I have just purchased an older home and re-wiring the
house is somewhat out of the question.
I purchased two AirPort Express modules's, but then
found out you can only play to one at a time. I
would love to be able to play one play list in the
basement and another in the living room upstairs
without having to run two iTunes.
Or at least play the same playlist to both at the
same time?
I too would like to know this. I have an older home and would like the option of playing the same music throughout the house or in just one location.
Even being able to hear what is playing from the
iTunes player would be decent as well.
Any thoughts?
Stephane
G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Can multiple Airport Expresses be connected via ethernet to an Airport Extreme to extend a single WiFi Network?

I am a big fan of both the Airport Extreme and Airport Express. In my work environment, I need to create a good quality single wireless network around 2 large aircraft hangars and some offices at the perimeters. We have a good quality wired Cat5e ethernet network extended between the buildings and offices now. Is this possible and does it seem like a good practical solution? I think that 4 or 5 Airport expresses would easily provide good wireless coverage in the needed areas.

Can multiple AirPort Expresses be connected via ethernet to an AirPort Extreme to extend a single WiFi Network?
Yes, this will work just fine as long as any individual Ethernet cable run will not exceed much over 330 feet or about 100 meters.

Using Multiple Airport Express units to play Music to Multiple Sound System

Goal
- play music on my iMac and in one other sound system(I'am aware of the one
system limit )
- I have multiple Airport Express units(3) for different sound systems and wish
to select the room using iTunes.
Reality
if I reset all the airport express units in the house(3) I can initially see the units. On going through the setup I'am able to configure each unit to be part of my wireless network and get the airport express to power cycle. However after this process only the last AE unit is visable via itunes. If I use the airport utility it can find no units when scanning. If I power cycle one of the non visible units it becomes visable but I cannot play music to the unit and trashes the connectivity to the one working AE unit.
What am I doing wrong ?

Sorry - I led you astray unnecessary in my last posted message. The reference I provided was for setting up a remote base station. That is not applicable to your situation, so please ignore.
In your case, you want to use the Airport Utility to configure each Airport Express so that it "join" (and not "extends") your existing wireless network.
What I suggest you do is:
1. get each Airport Express into a known default state by doing a factory default reset per these instructions. Hold down the reset button for 10-15 seconds, until you see four green flashes in rapid succession
2. put all Airport Express devices, and the wireless Mac you are using to configure the Airport Expresses, into the same room as the wireless router you are using
3. configure one Airport Express at a time, and as I said above use the Airport Utility to configure each Airport Express to "join" the existing wireless network - ie select your Airport Express device as shown in the Airport Utility, click the "Continue" button (not the Manual setup button), and follow the instructions. The name of the wireless network you are joining is the same as the name of the wireless network your existing wireless router is creating. Make sure you also specify the same security protocol (WEP/WPA) and wireless network password as your Mac requires to connect to your existing wireless network.

Multiple Airport Express streams?

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