[kitsunesoba]

In my experience AirPlay equipped receivers are also a pretty decent bet for long term support. My receiver is a 7 year old midrange Marantz model and its AirPlay has always worked great. It still gets software updates occasionally too which is nice. If I upgrade it’ll be due to changing HDMI standards (it can’t handle high framerate 4K video), not protocol support.

As I understand Airport Express models from the 2000s still work with AirPlay from modern Apple devices too, though I don’t own any and can’t vouch for them personally.

[azinman2]

AirPlay 1 doesn't have the nice multi-room audio support that AirPlay 2 does. It only has a much hackier version that works from iTunes, but not from your iPhone's media controller.

But if you only ever want to play to 1 device, then you're set.

[Bellyache5]

The 3rd generation AirPort Express (A1392; the flat/non-wall wart 2012 version) supports AirPlay 2. All generations of the AirPort Express also have a mini-TOSLINK output allowing for a pure digital audio stream from the source to the receiver/amplifier.

[JohnBooty]

While probably not an ideal solution for the parent poster, who understandably wants to make things work with their existing Sonos gear, the A1392 is an outstanding value at this point because there are absolute truckloads of them on eBay for ~$20.

Assuming you're okay with AirPlay (which, admittedly, rules a lot of HN folks out) this is a $20-per-room device that gives you full lossless multiroom streaming including your choice of analog or optical out. Really great.

[marcusjt]

I have two Chromecast Audio devices which similarly provide both analogue and optical digital outputs, but they seem to be much more expensive second hand than the Airplay alternative.

[JohnBooty]

I'm not sure if Chromecast Audios support lossless, if that matters.

[Marsymars]

Shame there’s nothing similar for video airplay. I needed to add airplay to an old/cheap dumb tv just for apple fitness in my partner’s workout room, and the only cost-sensible thing was an ad-infested roku device.

[JohnBooty]

    Shame there’s nothing similar for video airplay.

Isn't there? You can pick up 3rd/4th gen AppleTVs on eBay for $20 all day long.

[Marsymars]

I had a 3rd gen Apple TV, but it had grown nearly unusably buggy. Still-supported apps would randomly crash or fail to stream, AirPlay would randomly fail entirely or fail to play video, streams/AirPlay would randomly stop, various operations would randomly take minutes to complete or time out.

Basically the issues as detailed here, though I had it more recently than the 7.6 software update: https://tidbits.com/2020/09/28/third-generation-apple-tvs-su...

[azinman2]

Not only would that require me to buy an AirPort Express per speaker, many Sonos speakers don’t have an audio in jack. Thus my desire to bridge this purely in software.

[Marsymars]

It’s a bit janky for what you want do to, but if you have any Sonos S1 device with an input, you should be able to group that device with whatever other speakers you want playing the audio input. (And if that input device is a speaker that you don’t want playing, you can turn the volume all the way down.)

[reaperducer]

As I understand Airport Express models from the 2000s still work with AirPlay from modern Apple devices too

Can confirm. I stream from my iPhone to a 2012 Airport Express hooked up to the aux in of a Sony HD radio.

[germinalphrase]

If the receiver is turned off, do you ever have to try multiple times (2-3) to wake and begin playing music via Airplay? I'm sure my slimline Marantz is just misconfigured.

[kitsunesoba]

I haven't had that trouble, but I have found that mine (NR1606 model) is more fussy about things like that when it's on WiFi. It definitely "prefers" to be on hardwired ethernet.

[germinalphrase]

Might have to start pulling cable.

[grepfru_it]

FYI my ~9y/o marantz is also hardwired, but I cannot get airplay to work unless I explicitly go to Net/USB and even then it's the same 2-3 attempt (switching inputs) to get the device to appear on the airplay list. After that it's flawless, but the UX pretty much means I'm the only one airplaying to that device. I have since upgraded 3 years ago to a newer slimline model and that has no problem being found regardless of the input used and regardless of wifi/ethernet.

My friend with a ~5 year old denon also has no problem. So possible this is a discontinued firmware issue. YMMV

[tra3]

Yup. Happens a lot with my Denon. It also likes to disconnect a lot, while my TV (right above it) is streaming YouTube at the same time with no problem.

[germinalphrase]

My issue is less that it drops connection (seems pretty solid once I have music playing), but that the initial connection can take several tries.

My guess is that when the receiver is awoken by Airplay, it is then attempting to connect to the “Last Used” input (or something) which disconnects Airplay.

[tra3]

Hard to say what's going. My denon is my first "real" receiver, it's been underwhelming.