Meridian Sooloos: wired for sound

Now that's what I call music... Starting at a cool £6,743, the Meridian Sooloos audio server does for music what Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall does for chickens. Tracks go free range and multi-room with CDs ripped to the three-part system in compression-free FLAC format. It's got an upgradable 1TB HDD and - the jewel in the Sooloos crown - a 17-inch touchscreen LCD control centre that's like the iPod touch's elder, smarter brother.

From here, you can rip CDs, display album artwork, create playlists and control different zones. You can also create 192Kbps MP3 versions of your tracks for your iPod. A new system  can include your current collection out of the box, and the upcoming Sooloos Music Store promises 'if it's in print, you can get it'... yes, we want one too.

Meanwhile for a 'cheaper' option, there's the Sooloos Ensemble, at £2,931. It consists of a removable 1TB hard disk, plus a component connecting to amplifiers or stereos for zone playback. You'll have to fork out £3,665 if you want the controller, though. ·