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[wer]

I have an upcoming task that involves MC and I could use some advice.  By way of preamble, I've done research and have some experience already myself in this area, so I need specific advice from people that have actual experience solving an issue like this, as opposed to helpful speculation.  I have to accomplish this task during a 1-week trip to visit relatives in a rural area, so I will not have time to make multiple attempts with multiple sets of products, waiting for delivery... So I need to get it right the first time.

The need is to connect a set of powered speakers on the other side of a house to JRriver.  There will be a separate soundcard in the PC to act as a dedicated zone in MC for these speakers.  The distance is about 65-70 feet, but through several walls.  The strong preference would be to do this wirelessly.  It is impossible to run a cable between these two points through the habitable area, but as an absolute last resort I could get into the crawlspace under the house and try to run it by drilling through the floors, but the crawlspace is very small so I would like to avoid this.  There IS wifi through the house, with modest but working signal strength where the speakers are.

On the PC end, either a device that plugs directly into USB or will accept a stereo RCA input would be required.  A device that automatically reestablishes a link after a power outage is required.  CD-quality stereo audio is desired, but I am willing to accept some quality degradation to get the job done.  $200 is the maximum budget, but $100 is preferred.

I looked, but was unable to find any products that would do this over an existing WiFi network, short of installing a PC at the speaker location to act as a receiver.  Installing a 2nd PC is not an option, unless it were a small cheap headless no-heat zero-maintenance Raspberry Pi.  (Perhaps an IdPi?? A bit more that I'd hoped to spend, but technically within budget.)

I have already tried using the SoundBlaster Wireless Audio Transmitter/Receiver (Also known as Soundblaster for Itunes), a discontinued product but you can see it here:
https://www.cnet.com/products/creative-labs-sound-blaster-for-itunes-wireless-audio-transmitter-and-receiver-bundle/

This is a 900MHz product, with a USB transmitter that looks to the PC like a sound card, and a receiver device with RCA outs.  It is a good reliable product, and I have had excellent results with it in the past solving this sort of problem, and I use one in my own home.  However, the range is too short in this house by about 20 feet, perhaps due to the number of walls.  It's otherwise ideal, as it provides in one package the transmitter/soundcard and the receiver.  But it this installation it is proven not to work due to range.

Regular Bluetooth does not work at this range.  I've tried.  (The speakers have Bluetooth 4, and RCA inputs).

I was very interested in the TP-Wireless TP-WT03, which can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FKPL73M/
This is a 2.4GHz long range product, which promises 1000 meter range.  However, it seems to be no longer available for purchase anywhere.  (It has a sister product, the WT-02, but that is short-range.) For this product, I would need to supply a USB sound card, but the transmitter would accept an RCA input.  This would be a bit pricey, but fine.

With that unavailable, I seem to be forced to choose between lots of products with dubious range capabilities.  There is a group of "Long Range Bluetooth" products, but I have no experience with them.
Examples from BTMAGIC, 1Mii, and Golvery can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JZH47B3/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LFQHB59
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GZLSFGP
These products claim a range of up to 262 feet indoors.  They have RCA inputs/outputs, and I would need to supply the USB sound card.  I could use these, IF they will work at the range through the walls.  Some say that class 1 bluetooth transmitters should be capable of doing this, but since it is BT and I have no experience with these long-range devices, I am skeptical.

There is also a long-range BT audio adapter, the Avantree DG60
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W5DDZQN
This would be great if it will work at the needed distance with either a separate long-range BT receiver or the BT built into the speakers.  I suspect a separate receiver with dual antennae will be required, as it seems that the BT transmitter built into the speakers is incapable of the distance required for the BT handshake, based on my trials.

Finally, there are 2.4GHz wireless A/V transmitter/receiver systems, like the Measy AU680
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MVTKPDS
These claim sufficient range, but I have not tried them.  The video is unnecessary.

Lastly, if forced, I could try something like an RCA Audio Balun extender, to convert the RCA to Cat5 to run it beneath the house.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HPJ0LR0
I have never used such a product, and have heard some negative comments about the quality of audio that comes out the far end and static that might be picked up when using UTP.


I'd be very grateful to hear from anyone with practical experience with these or equivalent devices, or something else I haven't mentioned that you're completely confident will get the job done.  I am unable to replicate the distance and conditions in my own home, so testing before I go is not beneficial.  Thus, I need advice on something someone is sure will work.

Thanks very much,

Will
 

[syndromeofadown]

In short, use RCA and run them through the crawlspace.

It looks like you went down the rabbit hole of amazon's extremely affordable Chinese audio products.

For the bluetooth route:

A device that automatically reestablishes a link after a power outage is required.

This bluetooth receiver would do the trick at the receiving end.
https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Bluetooth-Audio-Adapter-Streaming/dp/B00IQBSW28
I know your speakers have bluetooth, but this likely will receive better and can be placed higher or more strategically. I don't have much experience with bluetooth transmitters but would recommend going with one of the gizmos that accepts analog then transmits it via blutooth. Though it's stupid to do digital to analog multiple times, you will have the benefit of the bluetooth not hijacking all of the PC's audio.

For the wifi route:
You can use an airplay receiver to connect to the speakers. I think they all have power buttons so it's unlikely to start up after a power outage.
Put a wifi repeater in the middle:
https://www.amazon.com/GL-iNet-GL-AR750S-Ext-pre-Installed-Cloudflare-Included/dp/B07GBXMBQF/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=gli+router&qid=1572235651&s=electronics&sr=1-1
Then buy and install Tuneblade on the JRiver PC, I think its 8 dollars. You can make a Tuneblade zone in MC that will output to the airplay receiver. I have no recomendation for an Airplay receiver but can add more details about setting this up if needed.

as an absolute last resort I could get into the crawlspace under the house and try to run it by drilling through the floors

This is the true solution. A short visit in the crawlspace to save endless tech support for cheap audio devices.
Get this wire:
https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-102868-50-Feet-Premium-22AWG/dp/B002JTYLNC/ref=sr_1_5?qid=1572121546&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin%3A3453352011&s=aht&sr=1-5&th=1
Get two of these plates:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IPZBXCG/ref=psdc_11042041_t1_B07V2ZWWJ9
Go for a little crawl. It's the cheapest and stablest solution. I have installed a similar setup and it worked flawlessly for years (until the house was torn down). I have also used RG6 cables for similar runs without issue. At one house I did a similar installation but ran three 20 foot lengths of 3.5mm headphone cables connected together (not my idea). Though it did output music it had a buzz that overpowered the audio, I guess from being unshielded. RCA and RG6 should be less susceptible to this. My only experience with audio through cat5 when when I was ripping it out to replace it with RCA. It was done very half-assed, maybe it's fine to use if done properly. Is 75 feet of RCA too far? Depends of what you read, I have read 30m is fine for audio. I think I have run it around 60 feet without issue. XLR is probably the best option for long distances but only works if you have balanced inputs at both ends. You could go RCA to XLR then back to RCA but that would be pointless since it would all be unbalanced.

I need specific advice from people that have actual experience solving an issue like this, as opposed to helpful speculation

Here's some helpful speculation, or a backup plan for if your cable of choice produces noise.
Get an 80 foot USB cable:
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Cable-Store-Extension-Repeater/dp/B006JTQ3WU
You need a powered USB hub to supply power to it then you can put a bluetooth dongle in the area of your speakers connected to the PC. It would have to be run through the crawlspace obviously.

[goatherder]

It seems like an unnecessarily complicated setup that "has to work first time" that you're trying to do. If you want to route audio from MC to the speakers I'd imagine the 'run a cable' solution is the most logical, especially if you already have the powered speakers.

There are all sorts of ways you could crack this nut, but it'd involve cobbling together a solution that you'd - again - likely have trouble ensuring it's bulletproofness. I've used longer-range transmitters that'd work in this kind of setup that's intended for broadcast quality audio, but they're not a couple of hundred bucks.

MC doesn't touch my 'casual listening' setups and external speakers. I just let Sonos / Homepod handle that stuff and point Sonos directly to the same NAS that MC is looking at and the Homepods to Apple Music. If something goes wrong all I have to do is to turn off the offending device and turn it back on, and everything else I can manage from my phones, etc.

[Scobie]

How's the wiring...power over ethernet?

[JimH]

Where is Rattie Rat when we need her?