Use Squeezebox, without buying a Squeezebox...
Recently, Logitech discontinued most Squeezebox streaming music players. However, the media server is Open Source, so it looks like some form of Logitech Media Server (LMS) will live on, no matter what Logitech eventually does with it.
I've been a user of Squeezebox network music player since it was released by SlimDevices (SliMP3/SlimServer), and throughout the transfer to Logitech. I've owned 3 Squeezebox models over the years... currently enjoying the Squeezebox Touch, with music streamed from Logitech Media Server.
It works flawlessly for streaming my own music collection (FLAC/MP3/etc), and streaming radio (Pandora/Slacker/Sirius/etc), to my HiFi. I use the digital (S/PDIF) outputs, and sometimes the DAC/analog (RCA) outputs.
Now... with the release of Squeezelite, you can build your own Squeezebox, or use an existing computer/laptop with digital output as a Squeezebox.
Squeezelite is a cross-platform, headless, LMS client that supports playback synchronization, gapless playback, direct streaming, and playback at various sampling rates. It runs on Linux using ALSA audio output and other platforms using PortAudio. It is aimed at supporting high quality audio.
I gave Squeezelite 1.0 a try on Ubuntu 12.04, with S/PDIF optical output to my DAC. It worked like a charm!
Squeezelite info:
https://code.google.com/p/squeezelite/
Squeezelite download (precompiled binaries for x86/amd64/arm):
https://code.google.com/p/squeezelite/downloads/list
Enjoy the music.
