I always thought that Slim Devices Squeezebox was cool. They were the first network MP3 player that had a digital output, their own server software that didn’t suck and it worked with iTunes. It was difficult to get past its looks, however. The first two versions had wonderful personality and were great dancers, but you didn’t want your friends to meet them.
Slim Devices fixed that by offering their Silicon Valley neighbors, Roku, the most sincere form of flattery.
The new Squeezebox has a little something for everyone. It plays a laundry list of audio formats(AAC, WMA, MP3, FLAC, Ogg), although no encrypted formats (sorry, binge iTMS users) For audio nerds, the 24-bit Burr-Brown DAC and digital outputs should float your boat. It’s both wired and wireless and you can keep several units in sync to play tunes all over your house/office/underground bunker.