Does it have similar functionality to the Rio Receiver? That is, if I already have 60+ gigabytes of mp3s shared out on my home network, can it play from there?

Well, it comes with a Rio Receiver, so I guess the answer would be "Yes. Just plug the Rio Receiver into your home network."

I don't think the HSX-109 can stream files off of another server, though. It's meant to be the centerpiece of your home audio network, the main server. It's not meant to be a client.

You can squirt tunes into it with emplode, so there's no problem copying the stuff from your home network onto it. And if you want more than 60gb of space, then just put a bigger hard disk into it (similar to, and probably easier than, putting a disk in the empeg car).

If you are happy using a PC to serve up all your music on your home LAN, then this product probably isn't for you.

The HSX-109 is for you if:

- You have never had a big music server on your home LAN before.

- You have a PC-based music server on your home LAN but you don't like to leave it on all the time (the HSX-109 is meant to be left on all the time).

- You don't like the complicated process of ripping, tagging, and encoding. The HSX-109 makes it literally as simple as inserting the CD. Everything about the ripping, encoding, and tagging is completely automatic. You can even listen to a new CD as it's being ripped.

- You want a single central unit to store and manage all of your music, including downloads to portables.

Really, it's meant to put MP3s into the living room instead of the computer room. It's for people who don't already have MP3 server solutions worked out, or for people who aren't completely satisifed with their existing MP3 server solutions. Think of it like an expandable 700-disk CD changer that only takes up a single-unit space in your audio cabinet.