Like Gonk, I'm using the Soundbridge (M1000 - actually have a couple of them, one for the 990, another for a Tivoli Model 3 in the bedroom). I am storing the MP3s at 320kbps on a 500gb external drive on my PC (those drives get cheaper every time I look, it seems). At that bitrate, I've got around 15,800 songs crammed into 138gb, and with an optical hook-up to the 990, I'm hard pressed to hear much of a difference between those files and CDs played on my Harmon Kardon FL 8380 (also an optical hook-up, or maybe coaxial, haven't looked back there in a while). Then again, I've spent too many years listening to loud rock and roll, and so perhaps I'm not the best judge. For casual listening and for sheer convenience (especially for entertaining), however, I'm kind of hooked on the Soundbridge.