Hi All

I'm new to this forum. Be grateful for any advcie. I've £150 to spend. I'm looking for a streaming device for my living room. What would people recommend?

Thanks

Ed

Depends what you're after Ed - do you want something to stream from your computer or your hi-fi?

Hi Dave

It was from my computer to my hi fi (I think.) In short ,I would like to play Napster through my Hi Fi)

Ed

Needs to be playsforsure compatible. Like this;

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/uk/Products/Consumer+Products/Digital+Media+Adapters/Digital+Media+Player/SoundBridge+HomeMusic.htm

The only downside is that it is WEP rather than WPA encryption.

I've got a Soundbridge M1000 that worked fine once I sorted out an issue with the Firewall (I was running two, unnecessarily). Is WEP inferior to WPA then - how so?

WEP isn't as secure. It's been cracked some while ago. Depends if you have malicious geek neighbours as to whether that's important to you!

The other alternative is a Squeezebox and Real Rhapsody (rather than Napster, if it's available in your country - it's not yet in the UK). Under £200 at Amazon now. I believe that operates WPA though anyone reading this should check.

The thing that's hindered me in doing all of this is that N devices are likely to be emerging in the coming year and from an audio perspective, these are likely to be superior since they will be less prone to dropouts. I believe that for this reason, a Squeezebox or Pinnacle revision can't be far away - Until then, I'm sticking with my (WPA enabled) Airport Express.

I don't know if the Netgear units do Playsforsure. They look nice.

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=48SL&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=netgear+media&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0

also, a lot better;

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4FWL&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=netgear+media&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0

It also has the advantage that you can plug your ipod in to it and it would read it as a stoage device digitally rather than as an analogue source. They're upgradeable to WPA if you upgrade the firmware after you get it. I can't see a Playsforsure logo but that's not to say that they don't. They're still not N compliant though and I don't think we'll see a device that is until at least the Apple TV.

Incidentally, these subscription services are awful for classical music. It would be an attractive alternative to DAB radio if one of them could get that right.