multiroom audio system + imac ?

[soniczip]

i'm going to throw my pc in the trash along with my old mini stereo system, all the cables and stuff. also, i had enough of viruses, crashing downs, major failures ... time to update!

my idea is to get a good imac and a good multiroom audio system [someone told me about "sonos"] (at least 3 rooms need to be covered).

any thought? can any music maniac suggest a brand, a specific product, or products combination? any experience?

va va wooooom

[baldy]

Personally I reckon iMac probably over priced.

I have played with a sonos system and it is very smooth. Has iphone and andriod apps to control it over wireless, really cool feature as it turns your phone into a remote. Are you sure your existing machine isn't up to the job?
If its just going to act as a "server" then it probably wont need to be that powerful.

[vCLaW]

The Sonos systems are rather expensive.
I'm looking at the Logitech Squeezebox, which does a similar sort of thing, and a fair bit cheaper. I've not used one myself, but seen good reviews of it. I think there are Android / iphone apps to control it.
Though you do need some sort of server to store the music on. You can run the server on your PC, but then it will need to switched on whenever you play music. Or you can get a separate NAS box to run the server on, and leave it on all of the time.

[soniczip]

Personally I reckon iMac probably over priced.

i know, you're probably right. but there's always something wrong with my (microsoft) pc and, anyway, i can detract the cost from taxes. it'll officially be my business pc.

If its just going to act as a "server" then it probably wont need to be that powerful.

my pc often crashes down when i play music and use other programs at the same time. it's probably due to the huge music library i have. i also had a tera and a 500gb internal hds installed, so space is not an issue.

The Sonos systems are rather expensive.
I'm looking at the Logitech Squeezebox, which does a similar sort of thing, and a fair bit cheaper. I've not used one myself, but seen good reviews of it. I think there are Android / iphone apps to control it.
Though you do need some sort of server to store the music on. You can run the server on your PC, but then it will need to switched on whenever you play music. Or you can get a separate NAS box to run the server on, and leave it on all of the time.

i just yesterday discovered apple gives the possibility to go wireless with an application (airplay), so i could put speakers in any room i want and save money. but i'd like to hear the difference between this solution, sonos and squeezbox!