Music server

Anybody has experience with Sono CONNECT (player) pairing with TiVX S1 HD (server)?

The VortexBox 1Tb NAS (server) also looks promising since it has a built-in CD ripper that makes life easier. In Amazon, somebody use this to replace his Mark Levinson 31.5 transport. I mean, is it really that good? (the reviewer did not mention what media player he used)

I still prefer the player having digital out (at least SPDIF, preferrably AES/EBU) so audiophile quality outboard D/A could do the job.

I second the Vortexbox Appliance. Cheap, fairly easy to use, and intended for novice users. I have owned the 1TB model since the summer. Playback has been flawless. A software upgrade did not go well, and I will soon be reinstalling the software, and restoring my music files from my backup USB drive. Wish me luck. But even with all of this, the Vortexbox in conjunction with a SBT has made my transition to a server-based music library fairly easy, and the sound is outstanding. Great info on the VortexBox forums: www.vortexbox.org

W4S will be demonstrating this Server at The Home Entertainment Show in Vegas in a couple weeks.

I am looking forward to seeing what it can do.

FYI - I was able to do a "clean install" of the latest VortexBox software, and successfully restored my files from my USB backup drive. All is now right with the world.

I've had a Vortexbox Appliance (VBA) for a week and it's pretty sweet. The VBA will rip, tag and download the album art for each CD. It's optimized to work with Logitech Media Server (LMS), so its ideal to use with Squeezebox players. I have two Squeezeboxes and the LMS automatically detects the VBA in my network. I control all with a Samsung Galaxy 5.0 media player loaded with Squeeze Commander. It's just about the perfect set up and sounds excellent - indistinguishable from CD's.

The VBA is mostly plug and play, but it ships with very sparse instructions. I have had to lean on the VBA forum for a few things, but overall its pretty intuitive. Highly recommended.