Hello Frank - I've been having similar problems. Sometimes it will work if I switch the output device to the default and then back to AiR. Sometimes it will work if I quit and re-start AIR. Very hit and miss, and very frustrating. And I agree with you about these forced upgrades, for what it's worth.
(This is on a Mac, running OS X 10.11.6, by the way.)
(This is on a Mac, running OS X 10.11.6, by the way.)
Roon (Mac Mini), Wilson Benesch Full Circle, Expert 1000 Pro CI, Kaiser Chiara
Warwickshire, UK