Really, this again?

Fully appreciate you may not have much AP experience, but the answers are going to be as follows

- some will have no / very few issues connectivity wise.

- some will have issues - usual difficult to diagnose WIFI issues, is it the devices fault or a general network issue? Only the technically more savvy can dig down to get some insight in these cases.

- some will prefer NL (for the reasons stated myriad times), some will be fine with AP - generally people who want multi room music seem to find NL a bit more in sync. 

Generally many here will suggest hard wiring your receiving end / speakers to the network at a minimum to ensure stability at that end. Airplay 2 is also much much more stable and better performing that the original Airplay, I think primarily because the buffer built between the sender / receiver is longer / bigger. 

You're not going to get an overwhelming consensus / clear answer to your question, simply because there isn't one.

You just have to try it out, see how well it works in your domestic environment and for your use cases / preferences.

And given you have some very very high end speakers, AP2 receivers are a cheap way to find out, be that an Airport Express (updated to AP2) or something else, be it a Core or otherwise.

Obviously it is your prerogative to ask the same question from many different angles, but there isn't a one sized fits all answer.

For the record, all my B&O endpoints are hard wired in, and while I much prefer NL, there are a few things I have to Airplay, and I have no drop out issues at all really (thats mainly audio podcasts, so not quality sensitive).

seethroughyou wrote:

Now that more and more B&O products are moving to Airplay2, after the death of B&O Netlink, are people finding Airplay2 capability on B&O products reliable and stable?

 

 

There has been past mention of poor wifi and connectivity and disconnection issues in the past.

 

 

Thank you.

No worries, though my point is that there is no single answer.

As I've said before, you're setup and requirements are perhaps not a best fit for simpler use cases like Airplay 2 using an iOS device. 

For those who dont mind simply streaming from a phone / tablet one of the mainstream services to a speaker (A9, BS1 etc etc), they'll be perfectly happy, local wifi issues aside.

But with your setup and requirements, while you can work that way, its not clean - you'll need a DLNA controller on your iOS device, and also stream Primephonic (if I remember) to your AP receiver.  Some DLNA users are perfectly happy with more polished UI's like Plex, and there are others, though I fid them a bit amateur and detract from the experience.

Primephonic will not be integrated into any of the more polished front ends, be it Roon, the UI that Auralic use etc etc - as such sticking to Primephonic means Airplaying it from their own app (I assume you can do this?), and then using something different (Plex etc) for your DLNA music.

If it were me, I'd ditch Primephonic and go down the route of a single app - be it Roon (yes you'll need a Roon receiver attached to your 50s/90s) or get an Auralic streamer / receiver attached to the speakers.  Not only are the apps more polished, they integrate streamed / owned content, and they'll sound better. I'm guessing the additional theoretical quality that Primephonic offer will be washed away via Airplay, which has its limits bandwidth wise.

Of course, I cant remember what you multi room requirements are, so that may colour which route you go down. And I have some sympathy, its in some ways a bit more complex than it used to be, for some use cases. But depending on your broader setup, you can get a high quality streamer, connect to your main speakers, and use NL to add other speakers / rooms to the listening experience. B&O will continue to support NL for quite a while yet, is my best guess - its doesnt require that much for them to do so.

seethroughyou wrote:

I’m confident an Airport Express will be solid on AP2. Need it for DLNA, volume control and AP2 for non-Deezer streaming. I have no problems with AP2 at home on Apple devices. All are wired and so will the Core.

 

 

Sorry to ask this question from a different angle, but B&O being notorious for it’s software issues and hardware problems, it’s not unreasonable to to double and triple check. The web is littered with scathing reviews of B&O products disconnecting or misbehaving. What concerns me is that I buy the Core only to find out that B&O have skimped on the receiver and transmitting hardware in the Core...! Then be told be B&O they are looking at it and dealer reluctant to take the return and refund.

Sandyb wrote:

but the answers are going to be as follows

- some will have no / very few issues connectivity wise.

- some will have issues - usual difficult to diagnose WIFI issues, is it the devices fault or a general network issue? Only the technically more savvy can dig down to get some insight in these cases.

- some will prefer NL (for the reasons stated myriad times), some will be fine with AP - generally people who want multi room music seem to find NL a bit more in sync. 

Generally many here will suggest hard wiring your receiving end / speakers to the network at a minimum to ensure stability at that end. Airplay 2 is also much much more stable and better performing that the original Airplay, I think primarily because the buffer built between the sender / receiver is longer / bigger. 

You're not going to get an overwhelming consensus / clear answer to your question, simply because there isn't one.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap. Thanks Sandyb, wouldn't have said it better!

Works perfectly for me. I use it everyday from my iPhone or iPad to my Eclipse in living room and Beocenter (hooked up with Airport express) in kitchen and HomePod in bedroom. In my opinion if you use apple products, it’s a no brainer. With the added simplicity of Siri - "Hey Siri, play this in the living room" or "play this everywhere’ I find really great. 

Though of course, Siri commands like you mentioned only really work well with Apple Music.

The OP wants to use DLNA music and a classical streaming service called Primephonic - to his 50s or 90s, cant remember which.

As I said, plenty for whom their use case is a mainstream service plus a couple of AP2 capable endpoints will have no issues with AP2.

Solidsnake wrote:

Works perfectly for me. I use it everyday from my iPhone or iPad to my Eclipse in living room and Beocenter (hooked up with Airport express) in kitchen and HomePod in bedroom. In my opinion if you use apple products, it’s a no brainer. With the added simplicity of Siri - "Hey Siri, play this in the living room" or "play this everywhere’ I find really great. 

I am using AirPly 2 with a combination of B&O products (A9, Beosound 1, Beosound Stage, Beosound Core) along with Apple products (2x Apple TV 4K both of which are connected to BeoLab speakers) and a couple of HomePods. I have literally zero issues. I also have Google WiFi Mesh set up for good WiFi coverage throughout my home since addition to AirPlay, I have smart thermostats and extensive use of smart lighting as well. Over 27 devices connected to the internet at any time in my home :)

Any problems I have in my ecosystem is almost always related to the network. In the last 6 months, B&O products have worked flawlessly for me.