Philips Streamium WACS700/05 - £600

The Streamium WACS700 is a different type of player designed to sit in its own market, aimed primarilly at those who don't want a computer or wireless network

The system works by having a base unit, containing a hard disk, CD player and speakers (plus subwoofer)

This system automatically rips your CD's onto its on-board hard disk and can either play them back locally, or stream them to additional, wireless units around the house, with the music following you around the house

This is ideal for those who don't want to spend time setting everything up as it is simply a case of plugging it in, however, the 80Gb hard disk in the new models, is restrictive.

	Rating	Notes
Price		A complete plug and go solution, with 2 players for £600, excellent price!
Sound Quality		Larger unit has a subwoofer to help, but the nxt speakers won't rival a hifi setup, especially in terms of bass response. NXT speakers are less picky on placement, so would be useful for some situations.
Ease of Use		Very easy to use, excellent remote
Compatibility		To add new devices, simply plug and go. PC software isn't great though. Built in hard-disk and CDDB make it truly plug and go
Looks		Nothing to complain about here, obviously won't fit in with a hifi though
Audio Formats		Only MP3 and WMA supported, shouldn't normally be a problem, but does impact sound quality.
Reliability		Some reports of devices failing here: Link
Networking Support		802.11b and 802.11g Ethernet Port WEP 128-bit and WPA
Overall		An excellent plug-and-go option, especially for those without a computer. A great stand-alone choice.

Pro's

• Plug and go solution
• No need for a computer
• No internet connection needed
• Looks good
• NXT speakers are less 'directional'

Con's

• Audio format support
• Small hard disk
• Sound quality won't rival a true hifi
• Bass response

Supported hardware/software

Name	Compatible
Twonkyvision	N/A
Slimserver	N/A
Musicmatch Jukebox	N/A
Windows Media Connect	N/A
iTunes	N/A
Netgear	N/A
Philips MediaManager	N/A
Sonos	N/A
Any Network Share	N/A

Name	Compatible	Instructions
Qnap TS-101
Buffalo Linkstation
Buffalo Terrastation
Infrant ReadyNAS
Linksys NSLU2
Lacie Ethernet Disk
Maxtor Shared Storage Plus
Kuro Box
Freecom FSG-3

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