Small Wireless AirPlay Speakers For iPad : iPhone : Mac
iHome Compact Airplay WiFi Speaker
Black - Red - Silver Color Options
Apple AirPlay compatibility is being incorporated directly into select Wi-Fi wireless speaker systems. The benefit of streaming Apple audio over 802.xx wireless is the increased bandwidth, greater coverage distance and higher fidelity available. As many Mac users have discovered, streaming stereo Bluetooth audio has a maximum coverage range of 30 feet - and in real world experience it's usually far, far less. And it should also be noted that A2DP stereo Bluetooth audio is highly compressed. As such Bluetooth offers less than true audiophile quality for discerning ears. So Apple's AirPlay more than makes up for some of Bluetooth's limitations.
JBL Sound-Fly Small WiFi Speaker
AC-Socket Around-The-House Placement
Because AirPlay is implicitly a WiFi technology - it's use is basically limited to home and office environments. Also note that 802.xx wireless is a power hog compared to Bluetooth. As such many AirPlay speakers are AC powered and rather bulky. Many have large enclosures with sizeable woofers so they're delivering true hi-fi audio with serious bass thump! That said, there are more compact and smaller portable AirPlay loudspeakers that can be taken from room to room and run on battery power. Many support both wireless AirPlay AND Bluetooth for more versatility.