Apple Airport Express Replacement

If you are currently relying on AirPlay / AirPort Express base stations for streaming to your "non-AirPlay" speakers, there are no known (AFAIK) "replacements" for the Express which is a combination wireless router and AirPlay "client."

If you wish to continue to want to use these speakers, you basically only have two options (currently):

1. Purchase additional Express base stations as spares until they are no longer available, or
2. Use another AirPlay client, like an audio receiver that is AirPlay-enabled. In turn, your speakers would need to be connected to that receiver. FWIW, I used to have an all home audio system that used multiple speakers throughout the house. These feed back to a Denon amplifier with a companion AVR. At that time, the AVR was not AirPlay-enabled, so I connected an audio cable from an Express to the AVR's digital-optical input. I would then stream to the Express and play music throughout the house. Today, you can find numerous AVRs that are AirPlay-enabled.

Your current Express can continue to serve the purpose.. perhaps for many years to come if relatively new. Buy some new ones now so you have a stock of them.. support will continue for several years even when sales cease.

There is nothing else on the market that fits the Express role.

There are costly substitutes and more of these will doubtless become available.

Whether another manufacturer will step into Apple's shoes and provide a relatively cheap unit is open to question. Some of the system would be under license I expect.

You will need to buy speakers that have inbuilt airplay.

Or you need to swap to different system.. like Sonos.

Or receivers with inbuilt airplay that can send signal to multiple speakers.

Apple maybe is hoping you will buy many many home pods.

HomePod - Apple (AU)

There is one cheap airplay device wifi to analogue out.. on Amazon.

See this thread.

Are there any routers from other manufacturers that support Airplay like the Airport Express?

It is sold under lots of different names but at least has some decent reviews.

Have a search around.. I can find wifi and bluetooth systems.. that would be possible to integrate with the Mac using alternative to airplay perhaps.. airfoil, air parrot etc.

Mini Audiocast Music Box Wifi Wireless Airplay DLNA Streaming Receiver Player | eBay

I suspect these will in no way substitute for express. That is why I said you will need to rethink it anyway.

Also finding actual reviews of some of the cheap Chinese knock offs is going to be hard.. you might need to buy one .. and give it a whirl.

Also remember the Apple TV gen2 or gen3 are still around. They do not have analogue out but do have optical.

The later Gen4 audio is via HDMI which is not much use to you. Of course for analogue out.. you need that built in DAC.

I'm in the same boat as well, have 8 zones of audio throughout my home using a combination of ATV and Airport Express for distribution through a central 8 zone amp. I guess for now, I'll continue using my mac, but not be able to use Airplay 2. Bummer!!

I have the same situation and discovered a product called Audiocast available on Amazon so do a search for audiocast wifi receiver and perhaps this will resolve your situation also.

I'm ordering one to see how it works. Hopefully this provides a solution for you.

Choosing a Wi-Fi router to use with Apple devices

And, what do you think an AEX is?

And I posted Apple's current statement on the matter.