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I have iTunes running on one computer and several Airport Expresses around the house, which I control with the iTunes Remote app on my iPhone. I'm thinking about replacing an aging Media Center computer with a Mac Mini, and it would be great if I could have that computer impersonate an Airport so that I could direct music to its speakers.

Is there a way to do that? Otherwise I would have to have an Airport sitting next to it and have some way of switching the speakers from the Mini to the Airport.

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As mentioned, you cannot stream music from iTunes to a computer without additional software.

A combination of AirFoil and AirFoil Speakers, will allow you to do what you want though. You can send any audio (including from iTunes) to iPhones, iPods Touch, Macs, XP boxes, airport expresses and AppleTVs. The speakers app is free, but airfoil itself is $25. I have a whole hodgepodge of computers, airports and speakers, and AirFoil combined with the iTunes remote for iPhone is a great solution for whole house music on a budget.

http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

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  • I knew about Airfoil and Airfoil Speakers, but never really had a use for it. Then a month ago I was making a wiring diagram to help me hook up two computers and their speakers, such that either computer could control one or both speakers with minimal cable swapping. About the time I decided I needed to build my own switching box, I remembered Airfoil, gave it a try, and its been a perfect fit ever since.
    – Curtis Tasker
    Jul 17, 2009 at 0:58
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Alternatively, if you're hooking up the Mini to a TV, you could use Front Row and an Apple Remote to browse and then stream music (videos, so on) from your other iTunes library to the Mini.

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While the Remote Audio Output Protocol used by the AirPort express has been reversed engineered, the encryption key has not been extracted from the AirPort Express, therefore there are not any 3rd party products that can receive AirTunes. The sending key has been extracted, so there is 3rd party software that can send audio to the AirPort Express.

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