Squeze Box Question

Wayne, thanks for those points.

I have a second system that I well may try a Squeezebox on at some point for comparison to Roku.

This is exactly why I want to go this route: Have all my music in one place, not worry about the type of computer or the sound card, and be able to have music anywhere I want in the house! Thanks for everyone's responses. PS, have not decided to go Mac or PC yet, but I can get a PC with screaming processing speed for a fraction of what an equivalent Mac would cost. I believe I'd have to go MacPro and spend about 4K to process AVCHD files. Not really in the budget! I know PCs are far from elegant, and I love Mac products. I'd rather spend my money on the stereo!!

Swanny,

Toshiba Satellite Vista laptop with Windows Media Player as the server program and 300 Gb disk or larger and 3 Gb memory like mine costs about $800 and works well. My family uses it for other things while it is serving up music over the wireless connection to the ROku. Very cost effective!

I'm sure a Mac could work as well or even better perhaps but they are pricier.

One note of caution: A music server has the potential to really impact an already obsessive personality (i.e.: audiophiles). You WILL obsessively spend, or want to spend, time on setting up your system.

MapMan(or anybody who wants to pitch in), I don't know what you mean by what computers may sound good ? If I am using a PC, to a good USB DAC like Benchmark or similar,the hard drive based music files, thru a program like ITunes or similar should sound, well great no ?
I understand the extra features from something like the squeezebox, but I also wonder about another compotent in the chain and the wireless part, if that will/could have any negative impact on sound ?

I also see there are more then one version of the squeezebox, and just now see it is a logitech product ? I thought it was slim devices ?

Thanks again, Wayne