Reason 1: it's probably quieter than a PC (no fan, etc.)

This fails to take into account that anyone considering spending the time and money to do what we're talking about here would probably either:

A - Take pains to make the system used for this VERY quiet (ie. water cooled, no fan, etc.)

B - Not have the PC in the same room.

I'd be more likely to go with (B).

Reason 2: your argument is the same as arguments made against the empeg. Maybe (big maybe) this Linksys product "just works" as well as the empeg does.

I couldn't disagree more. I love my empeg. I wouldn't give it up, ever. Unless it was for a Mark3. But I don't think it's fair to say it "just works". It does what it's supposed to, generally without a problem. But there's a learning curve. And there's posts about "How do I..." all the time. It needs (and allows) tweaking, which I would wager is what a lot of us love so much about it.

I'm not making an argument against the Linksys unit. I have some Linksys gear myself, and it's never let me down. But it doesn't sound like it's for me. I would rather have a media system that I can customize and modify. Make it do what I want.

Just like the empeg.