To fix or not to fix

I'd say when the old CD playing gear finally breaks, its the perfect time to start a computer based music server as a replacement. That's where its all heading. I personally would not invest anything in any high end CD player anymore these days.

I've seen Bluesound in stores but not very familiar with it. Seems like good stuff. It's a NAD related brand I believe.

I've been running old Squeezebox system for several years.

Are you an Amazon prime customer? If so, Fire TV box running PLEX out to DAC is a very cost effective player solution. You would run PLEX media server (free) on any computer with appropriate disk storage. Be sure to run backups on any music library.

CR,

I've run Seagate USB drives, 1.5 Gb or larger, for a few years now. The cost is typically well under $200. Backup software is typically already installed. I have thousands of lossless FLAC CDs on mine and still only about half full.

FOr an all in one type server solution, make sure there will be enough disk space and/or that space can be added as needed. Many such devices I see have fixed limits. Also make sure there is a practical way to do teh backups. ALl devices eventually die, so you must have a backup of all the files you took so much time to rip in the first place.

I tend to stay away from server type devices from audio companies in that you generally will pay a premium for what you get and be locked in to some degree, but some may go taht way for the extra convenience and perhaps ease of use. YMMV.

Cr,

That approach is very similar to what I do, except I have SB Touch, not Duet, but with external dac, there is probably little difference between the two in sound quality. Wireless network connection between SB and Logitech media server software running on the server host computer is an ideal setup as long as reasonably strong wifi connections exist to provide enough real time streaming bandwidth and avoid dropouts, seldom a problem with SB system set ups if done right in my experience. The DAC used will determine most of how the source sounds, and any good quality modern dac should work quite well. Good luck.