I may have missed it, but I didn't see anyone talking about the Surface RT tablet from Microsoft as a replacement for Squeezebox devices.
Like original poster on this thread, I have my music on a Windows Home Server system (HP Datavault), including MP3s and FLAC files, some of which are 24-bit high-res files I have been buying recently. In addition to two SB Classics and a Touch, I had been using a dell laptop connected by USB to a DAC on one of the all-too-many stereo systems around the house. The laptop's fan is annoying when I'm listening to a quiet passage, and I have other plans for that unit. I paid $350 for Microsoft Surface RT tablet recently, which is not much more than I paid for the SB units. It has no fan. (Unlike the Surface Pro, which does have a fan, and is far more expensive.) It "sees" the Windows server with the music on my home LAN. It has a USB port to connect to the DAC. Mediamonkey app running on the Surface RT is conversant with the Logitech Media Server software on the server, via UPnP, and plays all my music files. There are a few minor issues (I heard a few hiccups in the playback while MS was pushing OS updates at the tablet), but did not require any fancy configuration footwork, just WiFi access point, which I already had. Finding out if this would work before I took the plunge was the trickest part. I actually carried a DAC to the Microsoft store and a pair of headphones to prove to myself that the output side would function. Yes you have to spend some time getting used to the Windows 8 interface. But given that I'm already invested in Microsoft infrastructure, this was I think one of the easiest ways to go. I know there's a lot of anti-Microsoft factionism out there, but if you are looking for a company that is likely to be still around in 5 years, I think you can put Microsoft on the list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ headed4hires's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=61908 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=99871 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
