2023’S Leading AirPlay Sound Systems Ranked: Expert Analysis & Buying Guide

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Top 3 AirPlay Audio Receivers Windows/Mac Review

Written by Kaylee Wood | Last update: April 28, 2020

Need an AirPlay audio receiver to make your entire home AirPlay compatible but don’t know which AirPlay audio receiver is better? Earlier on, Apple’s AirPlay only works from iTunes/iOS 10 to Apple TV/AirPort, but today you have a wide variety of such AirPlay receivers to choose from, which seamlessly connect your Windows/Mac, or iPhone 7 iOS 10 iPad when you want to enable AirPlay streaming to enjoy the fun. Just take a look!

Here we help you find out the best AirPlay audio receiver with least money. Now that different speakers vary in their respecive compatible environment (car/Windows/Mac), frame-rate, streaming protocol, etc. It might be difficult to choose one receiver among many out there without a clear guide, especially when the specs for AirPlay speakers are often puzzling. There’s just no need to worry, we gonna find out the best AirPlay audio receivers Windows/Mac thru in-person experience!

1. Sabrent AirPlay Audio Receiver
2. Harman Kardon Aura Recertified AirPlay Audio Receiver (Black)
3. JBL L8 - 2-Way AirPlay Audio Receiver That Matters

Click here to see Top 3 PC AirPlay receiver software review >>

Part 1: Sabrent AirPlay Audio Receiver

Price: $29.99

Specs: Car & Home Use
Support AirPlay audio & DLNA stream audio
802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, streaming up to 150 Mbps
Work with Android and iOS devices iPhone 7 iOS 10

Pros: Sabrent speaker is an economic AirPlay audio speaker if you wish to take AirPlay streaming experience to both car and living room. This device can be connected to a home or car sound system via its 3.5mm AUX port , and to AirPlay audio/stream music via DLNA. The receiver’s 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi bolsters its data receiving standard to 150 Mbps, and it can process audio with frame-rates up to 48 KHz. The sabrent AirPlay audio speaker gets its power via a built-in USB connector and 128-bit encryption and WPA/WPA2 security, which guarantees your data safe. Another way round is to enable speaker by connecting it to a sender’s own Wi-Fi, hence no need for an existing network. In terms of compatibility, it works fine either you have an Android or iOS device.

Part 2: Harman Kardon Aura Recertified AirPlay Audio Receiver (Black)

Price: $149.99

Specs: 6 mid-to-high-range 1.5” transducers, one 4.5”subwoofer. Harman Kardon AirPlay audio receiver is shipped with stereo-widening DSP audio technology to fulfill the whole room with acoustic sound, engineered for room-filling. When AirPlay is enabled, it’s as easy as ABC to connect and iPhone, iPad or Mac for audio streaming. If you also possess a Windows computer or Android phone, this speaker configures DLNA streaming to suit.

Pros: Harman Kardon Aura is a perfect combination of sleek and modern performance, Hi-Fi capacity as well as the convenience brought by AirPlay audio streaming and Bluetooth connecting technology. It has an iconic and elegant outward that’s just hard to forget about, one highlight of this speaker is that from any angle of a room, it equally delivers powerful and detailed soundstage. Setting up AirPlay on Aura is easy after you connects it to Wi-Fi network, and all you need to do after that is to remotely-control the AirPlay audio receiver with a Harman Kardon APP you can download thru the Apple APP Store.

How to Turn Mac/Windows into An AirPlay Audio Receiver Free?

Step 1: Download and launch this AirPlay receiver on Windows (or Mac). Note to connect your iPhone and computer to the same Wi-Fi network.

Step 2: In 5KPlayer main interface, click AirPlay to enable wireless audio streaming.

Click here

Step 3: Swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone (or iPad) screen, then tap AirPlay, which takes you to a list of AirPlay audio receivers to connect to, then choose the name of your computer.

Step 4: Go Videos/Music app iPhone/iPad/iPod, choose the very clip you want to watch, and hit play, by then the video or music saved on iPhone will start to stream to computer, and the music be blasted to the computer speaker. In that case, your computer is now an AirPlay audio speaker for iPhone, iPad.

Step 3: Swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone (or iPad) screen, then tap AirPlay, which takes you to a list of AirPlay audio receivers to connect to, then choose the name of your computer.

Step 4: Go Videos/Music app iPhone/iPad/iPod, choose the very clip you want to watch, and hit play, by then the video or music saved on iPhone will start to stream to computer, and the music be blasted to the computer speaker. In that case, your computer is now an AirPlay audio speaker for iPhone, iPad.

Part 3: JBL L8 - 2-Way AirPlay Audio Receiver That Matters

Price: $499.95

Specs: Wireless AirPlay, DLNA and Bluetooth support
Send out full-range JBL sound at 120-watts
Require a JBL Music Flow mobile APP to control remotely
Uplift audio quality of compressed music files with Clari-Fi DSP
Support wireless charging

Pros: L8 AirPlay audio receiver is revolutionary, it’s probably the best ever speaker that cuts off all wires, cables or strings, just as is described “Leave those tangled wires in the attic where they belong”. It’s somewhat difficult to relate JBL L8 to its performance by looking at its cliche design, yet it’s just such a blend of the legendary JBL Century L100 and the cutting-edge AirPlay audio streaming technology, and integrates them well. Indeed, cost for this AirPlay audio receiver isn’t really friendly, but most users wouldn’t think so by the time they unbox the wooden-enclosed speaker, and installed the free JBL music flow APP to remotely decide the music playback from an Android or iOS device. JBL AirPlay audio receiver has the transducers and acoustic design that can deliver amazing sound from a compact speaker. It’s also one-point better than the rest of the speaker with its automatic format conversion capability, working with any music formay that you throw at it.

Have you made up your mind as of which AirPlay audio speaker is the cup of tea? Congratulations if you can end up search here, for the above-recommended AirPlay audio speakers prove to be both enduring and behaving, and you can always pick up the one within budget, but if you decide to visit some AirPlay forums or second-hand market to see if there’re some bargains out there, take you time to find out one.

Turn Computer/Mac into An AirPlay Audio Receiver Here and Now

You might not be able to shell out the money on Amazon right now, but 5KPlayer , the free and handy AirPlay-enabling software can turn your computer into an AirPlay audio receiver right now! As long as there’s Wi-Fi in your place, you can enable AirPlay on iPhone and connect the iDevice with the computer for music and audio streaming in the next minute. Chances are that you also have some DVD collections or are just fond of watching YouTube videos, that being said, you can stay with the 5KPlayer to exercise AirPlay DVD or AirPlay YouTube for plenty of fun.

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