[elmoe]

256kbps is not really audibly transparent, I can pick it out everytime in foobar abx tests. Transcoding lossy encodes isn't as simple as you make it sound. Depending on how it's done it can sound pretty terrible (and almost always does). As for AAC support, I don't know, I don't use it.
 
Personally I like to know what I'm working with and how it works, and I like to be able to configure it to my liking, all of this without overspending. I also want choices in which apps I want to use. Also you don't really have to spend much time making sure products/apps play nice, depending on the level of freedom you want. A PC can integrate perfectly with any device, android, windows phone, whatever. You can use any remote control app such as VNC for instant access through your phone (or any tablet, laptop, etc) to your complete server. You have literally hundreds of choices for music player, even more so for playlist control, video playback, etc etc. It's just a matter of picking the one you like best, rather than going with whatever you're given without being able to configure it extensively the way you want it. And all this without wasting thousands of dollars on a pretty design and inferior/slower hardware.
 
I have my TV plugged into my PC, which itself is remote controlled via VNC by my android phone. Not only can I access it anywhere in my house (neighborhood, in fact), I can also access it from across the planet if I need to, and control absolutely everything 

 

[bigshot]

AAC 256 VBR is generally accepted to be audibly transparent. I would love to see someone pick it out every time in ABX tests. Me thinks you exaggerate a bit. Codecs matter. Frauenhofer MP3 at 256 isn't the same as AAC at 256.
 
Using your Android phone, can you turn on the components in your stereo without getting up, do a search for a specific song by keyword, play it in your bedroom, then drop a screen and watch broadcast TV in your living room, switching channels and finding channel listings for shows being broadcast? I do that with my mac mini and iPhone with an IR to wifi remote converter. Pretty slick.

 

[sonitus mirus]

My IR is built right into my Android LG G2.  I can control practically any device with the Quick Remote app. (sports bars hate me)  I can just speak into my mic and tell Google to start playing any song, album, artist, or radio genre and it does it.  I can cast to my media server or to any of my Chromecast devices connected to my TVs.  It seems like we are both on the same page, just using different equipment to get the same job done.
 
 

 

 

[elmoe]

AAC 256 VBR is generally accepted to be audibly transparent. I would love to see someone pick it out every time in ABX tests. Me thinks you exaggerate a bit. Codecs matter. Frauenhofer MP3 at 256 isn't the same as AAC at 256.

Using your Android phone, can you turn on the components in your stereo without getting up, do a search for a specific song by keyword, play it in your bedroom, then drop a screen and watch broadcast TV in your living room, switching channels and finding channel listings for shows being broadcast? I do that with my mac mini and iPhone with an IR to wifi remote converter. Pretty slick.

Like I said, I don't know about AAC, I only compared with LAME 256kbps mp3s.

Yes, I can do all that with my android phone and more. I can also pick which app I like best to do it with out of dozens of free options.

 

[Brooko]

Like I said, I don't know about AAC, I only compared with LAME 256kbps mp3s.
 

 
Elmoe - if you get the time, and can be bothered doing it, you should try an abx (volume matched) between lossless and aac256 (transcoded from same source file).  The results were pretty surprising for me.  I concur with what bigshot is saying about being audibly transparent.  A group of us did some tests a couple of years ago, and no-one (not even a guy with a Stax O2 set-up) could differentiate.
 
Saying that though - I'd imagine people with a library like bigshot's will be few and far between.  I also archive to flac - and just use aac on my portables. 

 

[elmoe]

I'll give it a shot!

 

[bigshot]

One thing I learned when I did my tests is that AAC drops the volume level a hair, presumably to avoid clipping. I had to line level match to compare to CD quality or MP3

 

[Brooko]

  One thing I learned when I did my tests is that AAC drops the volume level a hair, presumably to avoid clipping. I had to line level match to compare to CD quality or MP3

 
Agree.  For anyone wanting to try (and is Windows based) Foobar's ABX tool combined with replay gain and your good to go.
 
Tools are free - here's a (basic) how-to
http://www.head-fi.org/t/655879/setting-up-an-abx-test-simple-guide-to-ripping-tagging-transcoding

 

[elmoe]

Yep that's what I planned on using.

 

[jonbernard]

   I always have the CDs themselves as backup

 
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/05/14/1459235/your-old-cd-collection-is-dying

 

[bigshot]

Tens of thousands of CDs dating back 25 years in my collection, and I haven't lost one yet.

 

[Agharta]

How would you know?

 

[bigshot]

I've been going through my collection ripping them to my media server

 

[Agharta]

Cool. A fun and interesting adventure no doubt that - come across many forgotten gems?

 

[bigshot]

Tons! My media server surprises me all the time.