Slim Devices Squeezebox $279, slimdevices.com compare prices at PCPrices	MacSense HomePod $249, macsense.com compare prices at PCPrices

Apple made a big splash online earlier this week with the introduction of their Airport Express wireless hub/repeater/print server/music server gadget, promising to "free your music from your computer" and bring it to your stereos where it belongs. As exciting as the forthcoming $129 Express sounds, it's more of a nifty all-in-one gadget than a serious wireless music system -- at least until Apple brings a wireless remote control to market.

Windows users have a choice of nearly a dozen (if not more) wireless media server/receivers for streaming music -- and, in some cases, digital photos and video -- from their computers to their home entertainment systems. The choices are more limited for Mac users, but we're used to that. Two companies on the forefront of the Mac media server market sent us samples to review for you. While other companies such as El Gato also have Mac-compatible systems on the market, the Slim Devices Squeezebox and MacSense HomePod represent the most complete, affordable solutions available to Mac owners right now.

Tunes Without Wires
Bear in mind that this article was in the works long before Apple dropped the Airport Express on an unsuspecting public (I guess they can still keep a secret in Cupertino). But it would be sort of silly not to mention the elephant in the room, so let's start with a comparison: The big advantage these systems have over the Airport Express is that both the Squeezebox and HomePod let you navigate through your music collection without having to touch your Mac -- or launch iTunes, for that matter. This means that you can navigate and listen to your music collection in one room while your Mac stays in the other. Both of these systems feature integrated displays and remote controls that turn you into an armchair DJ; Airport Express relies on iTunes' navigation, which means you have to be at your Mac to control the music. Both Squeezebox and HomePod need your Mac to be powered up and running server software (and connected to your home network), but beyond that you can leave the computer behind.

Both devices set up and run in basically the same way: Server software on your Mac streams your audio files over your network (via WiFi or Ethernet) to the remote device, which then sends an audio signal via analog or digital out to your stereo or powered speakers. Audio output on both units was great -- I hooked them up to all of the audio systems in my apartment, and sound quality was on par with a direct connection to my iPod (better than that when using a digital signal). The HomePod also features built-in stereo speakers, though they don't produce very good audio quality. Configuring both systems was pretty easy -- though I did have to tell my router to let the boxes into the network -- and I was up and running in less than fifteen minutes with both products.

While the systems recognize a variety of common audio formats (no file conversion necessary on your end), the server apps encode the music on the fly for transmission. This process does sometimes result in digital artifacts, but the static-y snafus were relatively few and far between and didn't really detract from my listening pleasure. Our sample Squeezebox could handle AAC (.m4a) files while the HomePod couldn't -- MacSense has said that AAC support is on the way. Neither player can play songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store, due to their DRM architecture.

The big differences between Squeezebox and HomePod boiled down to two things: Design and performance. The Squeezbox won out on both counts. Beyond its ability to play AAC files and ShoutCast Internet radio (which is very addicting, believe me), the Squeezebox just generally works better. The display is larger and easier to read, the user interface is just a wee bit more elegant, and remote control response was much zippier -- the HomePod seemed to wait a beat or two before reacting to any of my clicks (though its super-slim remote is very cool). HomePod's jog dial navigation is nice, but I found myself using the remote much more than the unit's built-in controls. Even though the HomePod has built-in speakers and a headphone jack for "personal" listening, it still is tethered to a wall outlet for power, so it seems best suited to staying in one place, preferably where it can be connected to a real nice sounding hi-fi.

Slim's SlimServer software is also extra-neat beacuse it supports a Web interface so you can listen to your music anywhere you can get to a Web browser connected to some headphones, provided that your server software back home is up, running, and connected to the Net with the appropriate hole(s) punched in your firewall. SlimServer is also open source software. We like open source.

One thing HomePod does have going for it that Squeezebox doesn't is a built-in USB port for connection to a hard drive for playing local audio files. Set up in this configuration, HomePod can act as a stand-alone 21st Century Boom Box.

When Your Mac Shuts Off, So Does the Music

I really dug the Squeezebox for the first week or two I had it set up. It was easy to use, worked very well (save for the ocassional audio artifact and network traffic jam), and looked good next to my stereo with its slim black profile and cool green glow. Being able to listen to my entire music collection (which resides on a big firewire drive cabled to my PowerBook) on the big stereo in the living room was a joy. Navigating it all via wireless remote was even better. The problems started, though, when the thrill wore off and I realized that I always put my Mac to sleep when it's not in use. A sleeping Mac can't run SlimServer, and if Squeezebox can't find SlimServer, it can't play any music. So I found myself running from the living room back to the office to wake my computer up and reboot the server nearly as often as I reached for the remote.

If you've got one of those futuristic houses with several computers running on a home network built around a file server, this type of music system is ideal: Hosting all of your audio in one networked location means you can listen to it from anywhere there's a computer -- or a Squeezebox or HomePod. The trick is that you need to have a file server that's robust enough to handle the job and is basically always turned on.

If you've got a one Mac home like mine (we've also got an IBM ThinkPad in the apartment), you might want to think twice before laying down $200 or more for one of these boxes. Do you leave your Mac on all the time? Do you mind always having a server app running in the background as you do other work on your computer? Neither SlimServer nor HomePod's software interfered with my using iTunes, but they do eat up some (though pretty minimal) system resources just like any other app would.

It's bad luck for these innovative companies that Apple has decided to enter the wireless audio market with the stripped down Airport Express. Both Squeezebox and HomePod offer much more in the way of music-first features and functionality than the soon-to-ship AE. However, AE runs directly off of iTunes and it has that white Apple logo on its side, and we all know how that draws consumers like moths to a flame. Also, AE is priced at $129, basically half the price of either product reviewed here, and it uses 802.11g networking where both of these units use the slower 802.11b. While .11b is generally fine for audio-only streaming, from everything I've read, having even one .11b device connected to a .11g network will bring the network down to .11b speed.

In Summary
If you want a complete wireless system for streaming your iTunes around the house, Slim Devices' Squeezebox is the way to go. At $279 (the wired-only version is $199), it's $40 more than the HomePod, but you get what you pay for. Squeezebox's elegant design and user interface, support for AAC and ShoutCast radio, and overall performance makes it the clear choice over HomePod. Other media servers for Mac may be of interest, but these are the only two systems that come with a built-in display without breaking the bank. Personally, I'm not so into having to turn the TV on to see what song I'm listening to. I guess I'm just old-fashion that way.

Slim Devices' Squeezebox is available direct from Slim Devices. The MacSense HomePod is available direct from Mac Sense.

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Noah Kravitz runs the Technology and Culture blog Threebase.com. He is an educator, musician, and writer who calls Brooklyn, NY home and the author of the forthcoming book, Teaching and Learning with Technology.