Originally Posted by VirusKiller
The point about Airplay is that it's a network, not a proximity-related point-to-point (i.e. need to be near the box) protocol. Bluetooth is a deeply unsatisfactory fallback in this regard. I wonder if there are any "cheap" Airplay to SPDIF bridges that custom installers can use to solve the problem? Used Mac Mini?
A used Apple TV 3rd Generation has been my go-to device for getting an Airplay zone into M kit, using the optical output (now deleted from the latest versions). It works effortlessly and they're cheap as chips second-hand. There could be an argument made that the optical interface is less than ideal from an SQ perspective, but when the source is Spotify I think it's pretty academic.

Also OT: I think most millennials are pretty amazing, in my increasingly-extensive experience. Yes, a whole bunch of them seem to lack spatial awareness, but a few generations back I'm sure the kids of the day were being criticised for lacking essential woolly mammoth hunting skills as well. The world moves on. And given that the current generation are going to grapple with some fairly phenomenal challenges - climate change, environmental degradation, a rapidly changing economy and a lot of uncertainty - I think they will not only cope, but may well surprise us all with how brilliantly they do.

Office: MacMini + Roon -> MS600 -> AR LS-9 -> M60s (1993 vintage)
Home: [AppleTV -> HD621] + [Roon -> 218] -> G65 -> DSP5200HC + DSP5200s + DSP3200s
Being a JAFA in Auckland, New Zealand