Whether you call them network media devices or digital audio receivers, such devices--which let you stream your digital music from your PC to your home theater or audio system over a home network--have become something of a commodity over the past few years. Despite the availability of a wider variety of increasingly affordable models, however, we've been hard-pressed to find many that actually work well. One of the best-performing models of 2005 (after a few key firmware upgrades) was the D-Link DSM-320. Now D-Link has created an audio-only little brother in the same MediaLounge series: the DSM-120.

Instead of hooking up to your TV, the DSM-120 stands upright and has a small screen that allows you to navigate your music collection. It covers all the bases for a network digital audio device: Universal Plug and Play support makes for easy setup, and PlaysForSure compatibility means it can stream copy-protected WMA files purchased from (non-iTunes) online music stores, and it will pull standard MP3 and WAV files from a networked PC as well. The DSM-120 can also stream online radio stations straight off the Web--no PC required. Furthermore, the DSM-120 sports some impressive features we haven't yet seen on competing products. Its 802.11g wireless won't slow down your wireless network like products using the older 802.11b standard do (though the 120 will still work just fine on an 802.11b network). A built-in USB port lets you play music straight off of a connected USB thumbdrive or hard disk. Most impressively, however, is an empty 2.5-inch hard disk bay; do-it-yourselfers can drop in their own hard disk preloaded with tunes, negating the need for connecting to a networked PC. The DSM-120 is currently available for $230--though with no built-in iPod support, we think the price should be closer to $150.

Article discussion: Expandable network audio player: D-Link DSM-120 MediaLounge