By TROY DREIER
How to Connect a Music Streaming Device to Your Home Network
How can you connect your stereo, when the only digital technology it knows is how to read a CD-ROM, and it certainly doesn’t have a wireless option? Well, it’s going to need a little help. You’re going to need to attach a network music player.
A network music player creates a link between your computer and stereo. You connect it physically to your stereo, then it communicates wirelessly through your home network to grab information from your computer. Most have displays, so you can read the name of the artist and song playing. There are a few good ones on the market, so read our summaries to find the one that fits your system best.
Network music players only work fully when your computer is left on, so that’s something to think about before you buy. If you want to use one in your bedroom first thing in the morning, you’re going to need to leave your computer on all night (or set it to start up at a certain time.). You’ll need to have special software running on your computer, so that network device can read your songs. Also, these devices generally don’t play all DRM-protected content, meaning songs purchased online through music stores like the iTunes Store, Urge, Rhapsody, and the Zune Marketplace, although there are exceptions.
If you’re an audiophile and you’re willing to spend more, look to the Transporter, a high-end audio streaming device also from Slim Devices. It fits in with component stereo systems, and provides rich and accurate sound reproduction.
Troy Dreier is a freelance tech writer based in the New York City area.