Apple Airplay 2: X / XR series processors and receivers
Apple’s Airplay 2 allows you to stream music, podcasts, and other audio to an AirPlay 2 compatible device such as your AudioControl X9 or X7 processor or XR8 / XR6 / XR4 receiver.
Please refer to this Setup Menu article on how to access and navigate the setup menu options or your AudioControl processor or receiver using the front panel buttons and display or via the web browser interface.
Follow the instructions below on how to connect your AudioControl device with Apple Airplay 2.
First, make sure your AudioControl processor or receiver, Apple desktop/laptop computers, and iOS mobile devices are all connected to your home network (same SSID). For your AudioControl processor or receiver, connect an Ethernet cable to the rear panel Ethernet port and then plug the cable into your home network router or network switch. We also recommend wired connections for your computers if possible. Your iOS mobile devices will need to be connected to your home WiFi. Read more about network connections at the end of this article.
To ensure that your AudioControl device is connected to your network you can use the front panel buttons and display to confirm that your unit has acquired an IP address from your network router. Select Menu > select Network > make note of the IP Address and MAC address of your device.
Next, for iOS mobile devices open the Control Center screen of your iPhone or iPad. On iPhone X or later or iPad with iOS 12 or later: Swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen; On iPhone 8 or earlier or iOS 11 or earlier: Swipe up from the bottom edge of any screen. You will see the Airplay audio card with the Airplay 2 icon in the upper right corner.
Tap on the Airplay 2 icon to open the following screen and select your AudioControl device from the list of available Airplay 2 compatible devices. (Apple labels this section as TV’s & Speakers).
For Apple desktop/laptop computers, select the Apple Menu icon in the upper left corner of your screen > select System Preferences > select Sound > select the Output tab > then choose your AudioControl device from the list.
Now you can start playing music from a music app on your computer, iPhone or iPad, such as Tidal, Qobuz, or Spotify, etc. On iOS devices the artist and track info will be displayed in the Airplay audio card:
On the front panel display of the AudioControl processor or receiver you will see “Airplay” along with the artist name, track name, and track time information. The input will automatically switch to the NET input when an incoming Airplay 2 audio stream is detected.
Please refer to this Apple article for more information on Airplay 2, How To Airplay Audio.
Network information: To ensure the best possible streaming experience we highly recommend that you connect your AudioControl device to your home network via a wired connection. To do this connect a Category 6 network cable from therear panel Ethernet port on your AudioControl device to your home network router, or better yet to a network switch. For best network performance, if you are connecting multiple devices to your network with a wired connection then all devices should plug into a Gigabit speed network switch and then plug only the switch into a LAN port on your router. Refer to your network hardware manuals or ask your professional AV/Network Systems Integrator for instructions on how to make these connections.
For more information about the features of your AudioControl product you can find links to the manual for your model of processor or receiver in this article, MANUALS.
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