In with the new

Related to my previous post "Out with the old" I have been thinking about what's next for me in terms of a home media solution. I've also been spurred on by my recent purchase of a Current Cost meter which I can hook up to a computer, but more about that another time. Similar to my old system, I'm not bothered about video so this is purely an audio solution.

There are some things I took into consideration when building the old system that I don't consider to be so important this time around. I'm not bothered about browsing the Internet on my TV and I'm prepared to spend a bit more cash, for example. But rather than concentrate on those points, here's a list of things I would like to include in the new system:

• Switchable speakers in different rooms (kitchen and living room)
  
• Connection to my stereo amplifier
  
• Access to my mp3 collection without leaving my PC powered on
  
• Access to Internet music (podcasts, radio, etc)
  
• Remotely controlled
  
• Separate screen (from the TV)
  

After much research, here's what I've come up with:
Click to enlarge.

I'm going to use a Linksys NSLU2 (a.k.a. a SLUG) which can be modified to run Linux so I can hack it into submission to be my low powered music server. The SLUG will provide my music collection over my wireless network to a Slim Devices Squeezebox Duet system. The Squeezebox is also able to access all the Internet services I want and similar to the SLUG runs open source software so has a fantastic community of users. The Duet comes with a wifi remote control with built-in LCD screen so I can interact with the system from anywhere in the house. From the Squeezebox is an audio connection to the amplifier which, similarly to my old system, is connected to a speaker switcher box.

That little lot should keep me busy for a while and give me all I want from music at home. As I mentioned, a lot of research went into deciding which components to choose. The weak link here will likely be the SLUG because it's such a small box with only 32Mb RAM and a relatively slow processor (just 264 bogomips) but it should do for the time being. Here's my component list:

• Onkyo CR-515 (stereo micro-system)
  
• Tannoy Mercury F1 (living room speakers)
  
• Denon SCM-50 (kitchen speakers)
  
• SqueezeBox Duet (media streamer)
  
• Linksys NSLU2 (music storage)
  
• Freecom Mobile Drive (USB hard disk)
  
• QED MA17 (2 way speaker switcher)