My primary interest is getting most of my music on a NAS such as the QNAP TS-209, and then having a simple way to access it with my stereo. I was looking at the Squeezebox, but wondering if there are any better options.

Not in the same price range. I picked up a Squeezebox 3 about two months ago and I love it. Of all the electronics I've purchased in the last couple of years, it would have to be the one I'm most satisfied with.

Now if only there was a video equivalent of that standard :(

Another interesting option is the Roku Soundbridge, I have 4 of them and like them very much ...
Patrick S.

So what are the big differences between the Squeezebox and Roku Soundbridge?

SoundBridge's are a bit cheaper ...
They can use UPnP, DAAP (iTunes) and have a killer internet radio integration.
Roku vs SlimDevices = 2 different philosophy.
Roku: dumb server, intelligent client
Slim: intelligent server, dumb client.
Patrick S.

I am also looking for a solution (without buying a new receiver) to transport my PC music to my receiver. I need the solution to be able to support itunes downloads (DRM?). I was looking at the Logitech Wireless DJ which can be seen here:

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-media-receivers/logitech-wireless-dj-music/4505-6739_7-32004279.html

Any thoughts or other suggestions? Thanks!

-Jason

Sorry, the Roku's cannot play DRM stuff bought from iTunes ...
Patrick S.

I would say the only way to ensure that you can navigate iTunes DRM is go all apple or one of the PC streamers like the Logitech to stream from a PC running iTunes.

The best option from a cost perspective at this point are the numerous Universal Plug and Play NASs and audio devices. The NASs can be had for as little as $200 and there are a number of UPnP compatible playback devices that are on liquidation/sale for less than $50. That gives you an, albeit low end, system for less than one Squeezebox.

The other option is AppleTV. While a horrible video streamer, it should do iTunes just fine.

SoundBridge's are a bit cheaper ...
They can use UPnP, DAAP (iTunes) and have a killer internet radio integration.
Roku vs SlimDevices = 2 different philosophy.
Roku: dumb server, intelligent client
Slim: intelligent server, dumb client.
Patrick S.

I am looking at these two streamers too. Sorry, but I read this and not sure what you mean. Can you explain "dumb" server, "intelligent" client ?

Here we go :)
For Slim, the server is doing most of the hard work. Like if you add functionality, you put it 'in' the server. Until recently (addition of internet radio), without Slimserver, the unit was not able to do anything.

For Roku, the streamer is doing the work. If you add functionality, you interface directly with the device most of the time. The unit is not dependent on any specific server (it as Slim emulation, UPnP and DAAP).
Hope it helps.

BTW, even thought I do love my Roku's, it's been way to quiet for my taste with them since RokuMike left in September. They were putting regular updates before that, so I'm a bit concerned as to where they are headed.
Patrick S.

I bought a Roku soundbridge radio R1000 from Bestbuy last week and am very happy with it. I am using it with my Infrant NV NAS. I have both Firefly (iTunes) and Slimserver services running and connected to the R1000 as well as the internet radio and regular am and fm radio.

This is a great unit and for the small package, the sound is terrific. We use it in our kitchen after I returned one of those GE spacesaver under the counter jobbies. We could not get good enough reception for the stations we like and there was no external antenna connection so the spacesaver went back.

Roku sound quality, radio reception and appearance kick ass on the GE spacesaver and the ability to access my mp3 library and i-net radio mean it is really beyond comparison. I built a little shelf in the corner under the cabinet for the unit and while it takes more space, it looks pretty good.

The Roku setup was pretty easy and my wife (yes my wife) was very quickly learning how to use this unit and finding all kinds of internet radio satations to listen to. The cool thing is that we live in an area where radio reception is not great. So if we need better reception, we just switch to internet for the same radio station.

While I am impressed with the unit, there are some features that would be nice to have and likely would be easy to integrate:
-an ability to navigate the menu system better using the buttons on the device. Control of standard radio is fine but you cannot navigate the menu system for internet radio of music server control without the remote.
-when you push the preset button twice or three times in a row, it should switch through the preset banks automatically.
-There could be better support of the Slimserver and the text when using Slimserver should be bigger on the display. I note here that selecting and listening to music works flawlessly from Slimserver. Its just a little undersupported outside of the basic selecting/playing of music. Comparing firefly and slimserver, I think that right now the featuere list on slimserver is longer and will likely have more development support with the Logitech squeezebox relying on it.
-the remote should have preset buttons that work the same way as I have noted above. The manual shows a picture of a new remote with preset buttons however the new one was not included and I couldn't find one for sale anywhere.
-a cool feature when operating off of slimserver is their news ticker. It would be nice to have this built into the device like the radio stations somehow.
-tone controls or loundness control are not included unless using slimserver. This thing has great bass. However when there's lots of noise in the kitchen (dishwasher), it would be great to be able to turn the lows down abit when the volume has to be cranked up.

I would recommend this product highly to someone for their bedroom or kitchen where you want good sound and don't have or want another preexisting sound system. The clock radio would be terrific in a bedroom. As a one box solution I haven't seen anything better.

Like sansp00, I am a little concerned about Roku's lack of recent publicized development activity. They have made an excellent product here and since it is firmware based, it can be improved upon even more but I don't see any recent evidence of this. Perhaps they could open source their firmware and let the user community further develop features and better connectivity to slimserver.

Hope this helps. Any questions, please ask.