Photograph: Paul BergFor most of us, listening to digital music is something we do when we're sitting in front of our computers, or when we're out cruising around with our portable audio players. In the living room, we're still more likely to be playing compact discs. But a new crop of digital audio devices allows you to listen to digital audio through your stereo system.
Compressed digital audio still has a long way to go before some people will relinquish their CDs. But it's truly convenient. You can spend as little as $100 to bring thousands of MP3, WMA, or AAC audio files from your PC into your living room. Spend a little more, and you can play the files over a wired or wireless network. Or you can spend thousands of dollars on a full-blown digital audio server (the fact that it has a hard disk is a sign that digital audio may be edging toward respectability among audiophiles).
Several of the devices that I looked at can do more than simply play audio files. Want to listen to Internet radio on your home theater system? No problem. How about watching your vacation photos on your TV, in perfect sync with your favorite music? Can do.
You might be thinking, "Great, all I need is another big box in my living room." Relax: These devices come large and small, wired and wireless. Besides, think of the space you'll save once you stick your old CDs in the attic.
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