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SOLUTION

The answer is simple, practical, flexible, and scaleable!

A. Cat 6 ethernet wire connects all wiredstations, wired sqeezeboxes and wireless access points. B. Desktop computers store family member'smusic files. C. A wireless squeezebox hooked up withlow-end powered speakers provides music just about anywhere it's wanted, and can be controlled on location with the remote or with a laptop. D. One of the desktops (or it could bea laptop) runs the web server which controls all the squeezeboxes. Any computer on the network can access this server and play music to any squeezebox. E. Wireless access points provide wirelesssignal. F. A wired squeezebox with good poweredspeakers can deliver surprisingly good quality audio. G. A laptop that can connect to the housenetwork can control the music either using remote desktop to control itunes and by accessing the squeezebox server software with any browser. H. For the highest quality sound, feed the high-end receiver with the digital out from the squeezebox.

SOLUTION HARDWARE COMPONENTS

• Wired and wireless ethernet.
• Squeezeboxes in each music location.
• Powered speakers OR an amplifier with speakers at each music location.

DISCUSSION

A squeezebox is a clock radio-sized box made by the company Slim Devices that allows you to stream music from computers on your network or from the internet (i.e. internet radio) to a stereo receiver or powered speakers. It has a bright display which shows the name of the song along with other information. Each squeezebox can be controlled either with its remote or by accessing the web server software which you install on one of the computers on your network. This means that any computer on your network can control any squeezeboxes on your network. The different squeezeboxes can play the same music in sync or you can play different songs in different rooms via their respective squeezeboxes.

The squeezebox contains high quality audio components,so it can handle almost whatever quality you can throw at it and whatever quality you can play from it. This means that if you feed it lossless filesand plug it into the digital inputs of your high-end stereo system, you will not lose quality. But it also means that if you send it mp3 files and hook it up to some inexpensive powered speakers it will sound as good as the equipment will allow.