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drmatt | January 28, 2009 02:06 AM | in Consumer Electronics

How can I get my Mac/iTunes to play in a different room (approximately 20 feet away)?

I'm looking for good solutions to move my music into a different room. I would prefer an inexpensive solution.

One possibility could be to pull wires through the walls/attic to the speakers in the other room, but I would think I need another amp at the speaker end.

The Mac has an optical output... could I use that?

Unfortunately, there is no power outlet in the area that I want to put the speakers.

Any ideas?

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BEST ANSWER chosen by asker | sutherland | January 28, 2009 02:36 AM

Have you thought of putting the amp with your computer (I assume there's an outlet there at least), and then just running the speaker wires from the amp through the ceiling? That way you'd have easy access to the volume when you're already at the computer choosing a playlist anyways.

I would mention AirTunes on the AirPort express, but if there's no outlet it's no good.

Asker's rating:

All answers were good, this one was better. Links would be appreciated next time.

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drmatt | January 28, 2009 03:49 AM

Do I need to set up the amp at the computer end? I thought you have to have the amp at the speaker end of the chain.

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sutherland | January 28, 2009 03:56 AM

Since you said you don't have an outlet where you want the speakers, you could set up the amp by your computer. Just think of a home theater surround sound system, there's one amp and wires running to the speakers in different parts of the room. At my house we even have an amp in our basement powering several speakers across our backyard!

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akuta | January 28, 2009 02:34 AM

Hmm... Interesting issue. You COULD run the optical audio and run it through the wall; however, that would be a LOT of work, right? :)

The fact that there is no power outlet in the room you are wanting to have the audio (uncommon, but not unheard of) makes it especially difficult. One option is to use wireless speakers (of course). There are speakers that are "powerless" as in they do not require an outlet but use batteries. You can find out more on these speakers through the first source link.

Another alternative (and probably the more permanent one) would be for you to actually run a circuit from the breaker box to the room you are using and wire it for power. In the end, it ads value to the room outside of just the sound equipment it will be powering. If you know what you're doing you can pretty much get it done in a day or two's work along side a licensed electrician friend (if you have one) or have someone run the power to the room. That's an alternative option of course. No power means no power... The only alternative to wired power is battery power.

An alternative to the first set of speakers I suggested (may be difficult to find online) is the Audio Unlimited wireless speakers. You can find out more about THOSE speakers by following the appropriate source link (third)

source(s):
http://www.wireless-speakers.org/learn/advent-wireless-speakers.html
http://www.amazon.com/Advent-AW820-Wireless-Stereo-Speaker/dp/B00006CJJV

http://www.amazon.com/Unlimited-Wireless-Speakers-Remote-SPK-VELO-001/dp/B0...

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marinamartin | January 28, 2009 02:35 AM

Get an Airport Express. You can plug it into your speakers and then choose to play to those speakers from iTunes.

How are you powering the speakers? You can put the speakers down and thread the cord over to the nearest outlet.

source(s):
http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/features/airtunes.html

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