As an observer, I’ve long been fascinated by the sounds of the world. My first album was The Sounds of Nature, which I realize never made it into my digital collection when I imported my CDs onto my computer 20 years ago.

Since 1994, I have grown my music library with now over 8,000 songs that, played continuously, would last almost a month. I don’t subscribe to any streaming music services, instead appreciating all the songs I own.

Listening to music is an opportunity to appreciate others’ creativity and, often, to join songwriters in singing. To fully appreciate music, I find myself attracted to high quality speakers that also don’t break the bank.

I’ve backed a couple innovative audio products in the last decade that didn’t make it to production. However, there are some alternative options, past, present, and future, that can make listening more accessible.

Past: AirPort Express

Apple’s AirPort Express, sold from 2004 to 2018, is a powerful accessory capable of joining and/or creating a wireless network, making a USB printer available on the network, and delivering audio to a speaker. I currently use one to help provide entertainment in the kitchen.

AirPort Express was the first product from Apple to support AirPlay (originally called AirTunes), enabling users to send audio from iTunes to a remote speaker. Relying on Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth means that AirPlay can deliver high quality sound with less quality degradation due to distance and interference.

Apple introduced AirPlay 2 in 2017 with a number of improvements including streaming to multiple speakers which can also be in stereo. The last AirPort Express received AirPlay 2 support the following year and support has also been added to a number of other hardware and software products, including smart TVs.

Present: HomePod (mini)

I bought an Apple HomePod when it was initially released a few years ago. I was excited to be part of Apple’s foray into smart speakers and wouldn’t have expected any less when it came to the sound quality. Plus, HomePod’s integration of Apple’s AirPlay 2 means it supports flexible control and stereo sound among multiple speakers.

Sadly, mine died last year, I suspect due to a power surge. I went nearly a year without a replacement and suffered from not having an easy way to play music in the front part of my house. I also benefited from being able to ask Siri to play my music in the living room, kitchen, or both.

I recently purchased a HomePod mini and am happy to have a return to music accessibility throughout the house. HomePod does more than play music but that’s its primary purpose in my life.

Future: Belkin Soundform Connect

According to 9to5Mac, Belkin is working on a new product called Soundform Connect that might be announced soon. This will be the first product to market that could effectively replace AirPort Express for connecting speakers to a home Wi-Fi network with AirPlay 2 support.

Not much is yet known about Soundform Connect as it was only just discovered in FCC filings last week. Also, I’m not in a rush to buy one (price estimated around $100) because I have the AirPort Express—and a couple extras in my stockpile.

However, AirPort Express has become a rarity in the market, often pretty expensive compared to its $79 retail price. I hope Soundform Connect will become a good recommendation for customers seeking to put their high quality home speakers to good use with their modern music experiences.

[Update: Belkin’s Soundform Connect became available in May 2021 and is priced at $100. As pictured, it provides analog and digital optical audio ports to connect to speakers and a USB-C port for power.]

While AirPlay might work best with Apple’s iTunes/Music apps on Mac, there are a number of other applications that also provide AirPlay support. For example, Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil can send audio from specific applications to specific speakers.

Additionally, any Apple device can broadcast all of its sound to an AirPlay speaker simply by choosing that speaker as its output:

  • On a Mac, choose the speaker from the Sound menu
  • On iPhone/iPad, go to Control Center and tap the top right corner of the audio tile to make your selection

Are you inspired to listen to music differently?