The new box is about $1,500 is it not? Surely this is not a replacement to the Rio Receiver at $169.

The new box is not a replacement for the Receiver. It is a jukebox/server/ripper. It will serve Rio Receivers by default, and it actually COMES WITH an extra Rio Receiver so you can do precisely that when you open the box.

The new box is meant to be in place of the dedicated PC computer in the server/client system. It's for people who haven't ever tried to use a PC as a ripper/server, or those who have done it but would rather have a quiet, reliable, standard-stereo-component unit doing the job.

It's also a fantastic stand-alone jukebox, and an excellent CD ripper. You just stick the CD into it, and it does all the rest: ripping, tagging, categorizing, etc.

There's a thread on the Empeg BBS about it here:

http://empeg.comms.net/php/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=empeg_general&Number=48986

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Tony Fabris