Airport Express specs

[StanleyB]

Anyone knows what the maximum bitrate and sampling frequency the AE supports?

[NRG]

First gen used the PCM2705 so 16/48.....

[NRG]

Seems latest gen uses the AK4430 so 24/192...wether this is implemented though I don't know...

Edit: Seems it down samples everything to 16/44.1

[Beechwoods]

16/44.1 All the way standard, though there is a firmware hack that gets it to 48khz sampling frequency.

[StanleyB]

Thanks guys. I have at least discovered that my wired optical connection has a better SQ than the wireless optical connection to my DAC. The AE will be relegated to easy listening duties only.

[AlfaGTV]

Stan, can you elaborate?
I've never seen a "wireless optical connection"? :lol:
But i am seriously curious about your experience in this matter?
Edit:
Are you comparing
1. "optical out from your computer straight into your DAC" and
2. "streaming wirelessly (?) to an AE using it's optical output into your DAC"?

And based on my earlier studies in Apple Whitepapers all audio streams into an AirPort Express, no matter the source material quality, get converted into an Apple Lossless audio stream @16bits 44.1Khz for the AirPort Express. (And from what i understand, 16 bits 48KHz for the Apple TV)

Regards
/Mike

[StanleyB]

Stan, can you elaborate?
I've never seen a "wireless optical connection"?

The AE has a wireless optical connection, and so does the Onkyo UWL-1. I own both of them.

I was doing some tests in order to find out why higher bitrate files sounded inferior on the AE when the data was sent wireless to the Bushmaster. Now that I know that the maximum wireless transmission rate is 16/48 it makes a bit more sense to me.