If you are into the MP3 scene, Addicted to Sound is more than just the name of a 80's band; it's a condition of life that keeps you tethered to your PC (and its toy speakers) to hear your favorite tracks.

Want to crank up the volume (and audio fidelity) a bit? The new Digital Audio Receiver from Dell uses S3 Rio Audio technology to bridge the gap between your PC and your home stereo, allowing your PC to do what it does best (downloading and storing audio files) and allowing your stereo to do what it does best (serving up high-fidelity audio).

The $250 receiver retrieves audio files or streams from your PC through your house's existing phone line (no need to rewire your house) and converts your tunes to standard audio signals which you can feed to your home stereo or (thanks to the built-in amplifier) pipe directly into stand-alone speakers or headphones.

Since the whole thing works through a 10-megabit per second network protocol built on open standards for phone line (HPNA 2.0) or Ethernet networks, the receiver can handle even the fattest (or is that phat-est?) tracks or live streams.

Digital audio is hot and not about to go away soon. Dell's Digital Audio Receiver is a great way to let your analog stereo system join the party.

Features:
- distribute to other rooms via phone lines
- supports MP3 or Windows Media audio files
- connects to existing PC, stereo, and phone lines
- built-in amplifier
- back lit LCD: displays song, album, and artist
- 10-megabit per second PC connection for streaming audio
- infrared remote control
- works over HPNA 2.0 or Ethernet network
- available in August
- $199 with purchase of Dell Dimension PC
- $249 bought separately

Copyright © 2006 Stephen Jones All rights reserved.