[hartwerger]

This may be a dumb question.  I've read that the Airport Express base stations will only pass a 16/44.1 signal and will not pass the higher resolution formats such as 24/96.  If this is true, is it also the case for the newer AEs that utilize the 802.11n technology?  Just wondering whether there have been any other improvements besides the speed and range of the 802.11n, such as lower jitter or passing higher resolution formats, and whether there would be any advantage to purchasing a newer AE for a wirelss music setup as opposed to just using my old AE.  Thanks.

[Crimson]

I've heard that the new AEx's optical out still only supports 16/44.1, but I've yet to verify the fact.

[Crimson]

Ok, now that I've tried to dig a little deeper, I've basically found nothing. That said, I just streamed a 24/96 file to both a first generation AEx and an AppleTV and both played the tune with no issues. What does this mean? Is the file being down-sampled or not? If so, where is the conversion occurring?

I may have to call Apple and talk to a Tier 9 tech.

[mattyturner]

Do you have a dac that reads out the input info?
I presume Core Audio is down sampling your 24/96 file before it gets transmitted to the AE.

There would still be a theoretical advantage with a newer AE if your router is 802.11n also as it could support higher data bandwidth plus has better transmission. (less chance of music dropping out, especially in wifi unfriendly conditions).

If your router isn't 802.11n capable then it wouldn't make any difference as the AE would operate on 802.11g anyway.

[Crimson]

Do you have a dac that reads out the input info?
I presume Core Audio is down sampling your 24/96 file before it gets transmitted to the AE.

There would still be a theoretical advantage with a newer AE if your router is 802.11n also as it could support higher data bandwidth plus has better transmission. (less chance of music dropping out, especially in wifi unfriendly conditions).

If your router isn't 802.11n capable then it wouldn't make any difference as the AE would operate on 802.11g anyway.

Unfortunately, the dac does not have the facility to indicate the bit/sample rate that it's fed (and it's 24/96-capable). I have CoreAudio purposely set to 24/96 in AudioMidi, but there are no adjustable parameters specific to audio streamed from an Airport card (I'm streaming from a Macbook). BTW, I'm running a b/g/n network with the AppleTV running -n and the AEx -g.