Apple TV without TV

Kbarkamian, I'm pretty fond of Andriod so not sure if iTouch would provide a lot extra for me.

Advantage of ATV: built in HD, so no streaming. Advantages of SB Touch: Hi Res capable, runs from Android phone.

Yesterday, Google announced their new beta music locker: 20,000 song capacity. Now another new option, but not much fleshed out on it yet...

Thanks for the replies.

Macdadtexas: I wanted to avoid using the Apple ecosystem other than ATV if possible.

Kbarkamian: Hoped a Harmony with display would give the visual needed. Might consider a marked down touch... The analog out is short term, plan is to add a DAC after the system is up and I'm dialed in to its sound. Glad you like your Rega; it is on my list.

Arni: I've considered the SB touch. Almost pulled the trigger but thought ATV's onboard HD was worth a look. ATV 2 is a possibility. Haven't ruled SB out.

If an Android app would show ATV's menu I'd pull the trigger. Don't see devs rushing to support it now since it's discontinued. That leaves ATV 2 and SB the likely contenders.

Exactly my reasons for liking the ATV. The android app for ATV 2 clams it will stream to it. I've posted on their forum to see about whether it will also run ATV. No reply.

Thanks again for the replies. I like that the ATV has a built-in HD, no streaming required. But would like to avoid going further into the Mac ecosystem. Sadly, no Android app I can find will control it.

kbarkamian,
We seem to agree on a lot. Google, or other cloud storage, looks promising. The rub is that the music industry is preparing for a fight over its licensing. Also, I'm not thrilled with the prospect of paying to store the music I've paid for. It will take a while to sort out.

As to hi res, it'll be a while before it's mainstream, no doubt. But if I can get some of what I want in a truly superior sounding medium I'll take it. As to the ham fisted sound engineers, unfortunately not much we can do about that.