Stream All Audio to Speakers

According to Wikipedia:

The AirTunes part of the AirPlay protocol stack uses UDP for streaming audio and is based on the RTSP network control protocol.[12] The streams are encrypted with AES, requiring the receiver to have access to the appropriate private key to decrypt the streams.[13] The AirPort Express' streaming media capabilities use Apple's Remote Audio Output Protocol (RAOP), a proprietary variant of RTSP/RTP. Using WDS-bridging,[14] the AirPort Express can allow AirPlay functionality (as well as Internet access, file and print sharing, etc.) across a larger distance in a mixed environment of wired and up to 10 wireless clients.

See the page here.

Notice the part where it says that UDP is used for streaming audio. UDP does no error correction. When using TCP (most of the time), when I send a packet from A to B, I send it, I get confirmation, then I send the next packet. When I get confirmation, part of that confirmation is an error check code. If it doesn't match with the error check code that I generated when I first sent the packet, I know the data has been malformed in some way before reaching B, and therefore I send it again.

If I have to send that packet a bunch of times before it is successfully read on the other side, that would "sound like" something unexpected. Lag is a bit different -- lag happens when there's a delay of some sort, or the line is saturated and it actually takes (some arbitrary amount of) time for the signal to get there. That could happen under either model.

The difference is, with UDP, if packets get lost or corrupt, it doesn't matter. iTunes will send whatever data is required to represent the song now. And now, and now. If you miss it or it gets malformed, oh well. It will keep sending only what is pertinent now.

Long story short: you should be fine. Any glitches will probably be short and sweet. And, out of sync? Probably not discernible to any human.

So far I haven't found a good all-digital solution. I typically use an audio splitter at the computer, and a whole house FM transmitter plus speakers so I hear the sound locally and through FM radios I place wherever I want the sound.

Since everything is transmitted real time, there's no sync delay as you move from room to room, and the transmitter I have is strong enough to receive using a boombox out in the yard while I'm working outside, without risking any expensive equipment in case it gets kicked around the yard or rained on a little bit.

I use a modified Belkin Tunecast transmitter. I disassembled it, and added a length of wire to the antenna connection to stretch the distance it transmits a little. There are some legal ramifications to this depending on the country you live in. If you want a more professional solution, there are a few places that sell whole-house FM transmitters fairly inexpensively.

You could also connect the transmitter to the airplay receiver, entertainment center, iPad, Android phone, windows PCs, or any other audio device, and the receivers are cheap - you can get an FM radio from the dollar store for a dollar, and amplified speakers for a dollar, so expanding the system is cheap. It's very flexible.

The biggest drawback is quality. It's not bad, but you can't expect even CD quality from it, nevermind high quality audio. It's ok for music and voice, but audiophiles will be offended. Airplay is CD quality, and the difference would be noticeable.