So... I finally got around to buy me a laptop.
It's a lenovo G50 with an Intel Celeron 3205U processor with 150 GHz, 4 GB RAM and 500 GB disk space. It cost 299 Euros and came without an OS. After installing Windows 7 64 Pro and about 250 Windows updates, it's running fine now. It's not the most expensive laptop, not the fastest or best equipped one either. But I don't plan on playing games or storing video downloads on it, so it doesn't matter.
What I need it for, is simple: For some reason there don't seem to exist any decent ports or connectors for the iPod Classic anymore to hook it up to my stereo/home cinema system. And I always liked the idea of having my whole CD collection at my disposal without having to change a CD all the time, especially since I signed up to iTunes Match. Also, the classic iPod is very user-unfriendly for anything but listening music while jogging or working out (and both I don't do), so I went to get this laptop to simply use it as an audio device.
Of course I installed Kaspersky, which I had an unsused second license for, and Firefox, iTunes and an older version of Adobe Premiere but that's it. No more software needed at the moment.
Now, I know that the sound quality is not even nearly as good as with my CD player (actually it's rather poor but only I will probably notice). There are, however, advantages, too: When I have visitors, I can have playlists with fitting music for the occasion, be it a BBQ or a party. And if someone has a specific wish for a song, I don't need to rummage around my CD collection for half an hour to find it. Another advantage is that all songs are being normalized, which means you don't have the differences in volume that you normally have with different CD's -- also good for parties or other togethernesses. And, since my CD player is nearly 20 years old, I don't wear it off any more. I will only use it for dedicated music listening from now on, probably sitting with a glass of wine in my armchair.
I have this laptop hooked up to my Denon AV reciever via a classic cinch connection and simply put it on top of my BD player. Or, since the cinch connection is 5 meters long, I can take it and sit on the sofa with it. Wireless would be better but I'd need to have a newer reciever for that and currently that's out of the question.