I turn old mini pcs into airplay 2 receivers with https://github.com/mikebrady/shairport-sync , using wired Ethernet multi room playback worked like a charm.

Debian is rock solid platform, I never have to tinker once they are setup. Depending on the speakers and what location I use USB dacs and speaker amps(these have gotten SO good in the last 5 years, topping, smsl etc). All of the pieces are interchangeable , flexible, and reusable.