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bencurtis · Jul 25, 2007, 01:34 PM

I have a pair of Harmon Kardon SoundSticks (the original ones, with USB connection)... and two Macs... is there any way to share the speakers over the network so I can have them plugged into Mac 1, but also be able to output audio from Mac 2 over them...?
Thanks,
Ben

peeb · Jul 25, 2007, 01:40 PM

Depends what you mean - you could play music that was on the machine not connected by sharing iTunes libraries. That's not the same as controlling the speakers from the other machine though.

bencurtis · Jul 25, 2007, 04:01 PM

Thanks Peeb, but it's not just iTunes sharing I'm looking for... I do want to play iTunes on Mac 1 through the Soundsticks connected to Mac 1, but also play movies on Mac 2, with the audio coming out of the Soundsticks on Mac 1. I suspect this is difficult/impossible... but for example I can stream audio to an Airport Express from both computers across a network, so why shouldn't I be able to share audio from Mac to Mac?

peeb · Jul 26, 2007, 04:54 PM

I think you're right - there is certainly no easy way to do this. If it were just iTunes, airport express would do it, but for movies that's not going to cut it. You might try audio hijack, but I don't think it does what you want.
What are you trying to achieve?

rjt1000 · Jul 26, 2007, 06:33 PM

I think Rogue Amoeba's Nicecast can do what you want, and you can try it out for free. If you try it, I'd be interested to know how it works.

bencurtis · Jul 27, 2007, 03:35 AM

Peeb, I'm just trying to avoid having to buy another pair of speakers... I have a PowerMac G4 and Mac Mini in the same room... The Mini runs 24/7 as a server, so I'd like it to run iTunes and deal with the music side of things, and have the Soundsticks. The desktop with Cinema Display doesn't run all the time, but when I watch a movie on it I'll need something for the audio, and it seems silly to have to buy a 2nd set of speakers just for that. If it was a printer you'd just share the printer, seems like it would be good if you could "share" speakers the same way...
I'll have a look at NiceCast, but not sure it's really going to do what I'm looking for....

peeb · Jul 27, 2007, 03:59 AM

Hmm.. Makes sense. Seems like it should be easier than it is.

richwig83 · Jul 27, 2007, 04:22 AM

Would an apple airport and airfoil not work??

bencurtis · Jul 27, 2007, 07:04 AM

I have an Airport express in my kitchen, which works nicely, but I don't want to buy another one to just sit next to a mac... Basically I'm figuring if the Mac can transmit audio over the network via Airfoil to speakers on an Airport Express... why can't it do the same to speakers connected to another Mac?

richwig83 · Jul 27, 2007, 07:27 AM

Just realised that airport wont work with USB speakers!!!

You could run a 3.5mm jack to jack from line out to line in but thats not a particularly great work around!

What about USB switch? a bit faffy but should work

bencurtis · Jul 27, 2007, 08:00 AM

Yeah Airport Express won't support USB speakers over the USB port - only printers etc... shame
A USB switch could be the answer.... I hadn't thought of that... I'll have a look at some..
The USB Soundsticks are somewhat clever, but frankly I think a 3.5mm plug is a lot more flexible (like on the Soundsticks 2)
Rgds,
Ben

rjt1000 · Jul 27, 2007, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by bencurtis

The USB Soundsticks are somewhat clever, but frankly I think a 3.5mm plug is a lot more flexible (like on the Soundsticks 2)

I have the Soundsticks 2 and they do sound amazing with my 30 gig iPod.

FYI, if you check eBay completed auctions, (surprisingly) both the USB Soundsticks and the Soundsticks 2 sell for about the same price (+/- $85). So if you dont mind the hassle of selling/ buying on eBay, you could probably sell yours for nearly the same price that the Soundsticks 2 would cost you (of course both of your Macs would need audio out jacks).