Have you tried the Spotify music service?

(I have no connection with Spotify, other than enjoying the ease of use and incredible selection of music.)

http://www.spotify.com/uk/

Spotify is available in seven countries, there's a free option, but you can also buy a premium service.
With the latter, you get a 320kbps stream of music - and I've found it quite enjoyable to go on long musical discoveries with the service. Think iTunes, but without having to store the music on your own computer. The free versions have commercials interrupting playback, but the Premium service is without ads.

Now there's an app that will help you control your Spotify playback with different mobile phones or iPod Touch, and that will also let you search for music - the search function is extremely responsive. If I enter Loussier, I get a lot of the Jacques Loussier Trio recordings, instantly available for playback, at the press of a button.

If you have a computer connected to the internet and to your sound system, then I recommend giving the free version of Spotify a spin. 

Remoteless is an app that will run on a number of different mobile phones, and which is Windows and Mac compatible. The Mac version was released just a few weeks ago, and I've been trying it out. Extremely happy with the result - I have a very stable internet connection, and am not experiencing any drop-outs or difficulties. The app just runs. It can start Spotify if the application is closed, and it can help me access playlists, search for music and control playback.

The app is still in development, but is already where I find it extremely convenient to use.

http://remoteless.no/

I haven't tried the Windows version, but as I understand it, that's been in development longer than the Mac version, and it runs perfectly. The Mac version did a good job for me.

Note that there's a special page for the Mac version, and follow the installation instructions. For what the app costs, it's a hundredfold return on investment as far as convenience in playback - that, combined with Spotify, has sent me on some serious musical discoveries lately.

Yes, I have - and can only support you in saying that Spotify is excellent.

I would like B&O (BeoSound 5) to get onboard, but I do understand that they can not cater for "local" services on a global product. But as the household has a couple of iPhone's, an iPad etc I do fear for the future use of the BeoSound 5. The app's do a great job, and it would have been great to just pick up the iPad and select from a world of music (with no need to upload your own cd's) - using the Beo5 and looking over at the screen of the BS5 doesn't feel like the future, especially when in a link room.

Starting to sell a Mac Mini/iPad combo or something similar which would integrate with MasterLink could be easy money...

Roger

I have had a Spotify premium account since the turn of the year. I will certainly be checking out the app when I get home from work.

Devices like the Beosound 5 are going to struggle if a suitably atractive iPad/dock combination comes out that could aloow very similar functionality via Spotify or similar at a much lower cost without any need to 'own' the music.

I particularly enjoy delving into the Jazz and Blues sections of Spotify  which contains  loads of stuff that is hard and/or expensive to acquire, and in some cases impossible to get anywhere else.

Simon

wirralsimon:

Devices like the Beosound 5 are going to struggle if a suitably atractive iPad/dock combination comes out that could aloow very similar functionality via Spotify or similar at a much lower cost without any need to 'own' the music.

Sonos is compatible with Deezer premium, and you can connect Beolabs to a Sonos ZP90... Everything controlled by a free iPhone/iPad app. B&O should beware... I will test a ZP90 with Beolab 8000 soon, I think that Sonos+B&O seems to be the perfect solution for an up to date multiroom audio solution.

Here is the preview of the Sonos iPad app : Deezer, Last.fm, Pandora, Napster... (Almost) all the music of the world (and of course all your personal music from your computer, or, better, from a little NAS), that you can just grab and place on the zone of your choice... Just forget iPod docks!