Has anyone with decent ears compared the sound quality of the Empeg versus, say, the Via AC'97 codec audio found in Epia-M single-board PCs, or versus a high quality sound card?

How about systems for the protection of hard drives in an automotive environment. Does anything available commercially compare with what the Empeg provides?

The above questions bear relevance to the use of in-car PCs for music. I currently use the Empeg in conjunction with a bottom of the line Epia board (epiaV) and a very small hard drive with enough space for Windows XP and EMSC only, for my car music (($250 total). Storage of the MP3s is in the Empeg, sound generation is in the Empeg, and car-smart power management is in the Empeg.

With some work I could get the exact same functionality without using the Empeg (I don't have the Empeg in-dash, but rather use a VGA display). This will require storage of the MP3s in the PC's drives; use of the built-in sound of an Epia-M (twice as expensive as the Epia-V), a high quality sound card, or digital car amplifier; and an expensive ($180) Opus DC-DC power supply that is car-smart.

So I could remove the Empeg (for use in my room, kitchen, etc.) from the car by spending about $300 on better stuff for the car PC, which is about the current value of a drive-less Empeg.

The questions I have are: would such a thing sound better or worse than the Empeg? Will I be able to get a drive cage of sorts that will protect the drives with the MP3s as well as the empeg does?

What do you guys think?