Music in your home

• Music in your home
• Playing digital music
• Switching to digital music

Whether you are entertaining friends or simply relaxing, music is an important feature in your home. For years, the hi-fi was a collection of chunky equipment in the corner of the room. Although the separates market still exists (where you have individual units for CD, amplifier, and so on) for most of us one box is enough.

Advances in technology mean that music files can now be downloaded from the internet and listened to on an MP3 player (the digital equivalent of the Walkman), a computer, or through a hi-fi with an MP3 player connection. Models are now much smaller and many sound systems have become style icons in their own right.

It's also possible to access your music from any room in your home without buying separate hi-fis. This is called "multi-room", where music is stored centrally on a computer. It involves installing specialist wiring in the rooms you want to listen in. This is only worth considering if you're prepared for upheaval and redecoration.

Alternatively, a multi-room system can be wireless (also known as music streaming), where music receivers access the digital music library on a computer and transfer it to receivers in different rooms. But this is not the end of the road for CDs.

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