Alternatives to streaming via Apple TV/iTunes

arafiq , I also store data in ALAC and use iTunes. From Mac Mini data is transfered over WiFi to AirPort Express, then by Toslink to Benchmark DAC1 and by XLR to power amp. I don’t know how good is the DAC in Parasound P5, but major problem I can see is AppleTV that outputs the data always at 48kHz while receives data recorded at 44.1kHz. This conversion in AppleTV, was reported to cause some loss of sound quality.

Main idea with WiFi, Ethernet or async USB is to strip timing from the music and send it as data, to recreate timing again on the other side, far from the computer. Computer quality, playback program etc. become irrelevant (cheaper that way), while computer’s electrical noise is further away. Recreated timing has to be perfectly steady with no jitter - otherwise music becomes "noisy". AirPort Express is decent on Toslink output but it still produces some jitter that is suppressed by Benchmark DAC1. It can also be done with reclocker.
I’m not sure what would be the best in your situation. You can go with async USB, but that requires async USB DAC, or replace AppleTV with something better. Squeezbox was decent, but no longer available. There are Sonos wireless bridges, but I don’t have experience with them.

Thanks, kijanki. I'm also looking at Bluesound right now. It's supposed to be a step up from Apple TV or even Sonos. One thing I'm not sure is whether a preamp (I have Parasound P5) is even needed in this case, since the Bluesound has a built-in DAC.

I use DAC straight to power amp, but I don't have analog sources. Sometimes it is better with preamp (that helps with impedance matching), but additional component (and cables), cannot improve transparency IMHO.

Steve, thanks for some good suggestions. Since I recently made some major purchases (speakers, amp and preamp), I am very sensitive to laying out anything upward of $500-700 at this point, so a dedicated server is probably not going to be on the horizon for a while.

Buying a relocker is not a bad idea. I'll probably look into this. By the way, have you looked at BlueSound:
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BDNODE2

Looks quite promising. I'm very interested in hearing your take on it.

Thank you so much for all the advice. I would like to add one. If you need to stream Apple Music or iTunes music to your Apple TV or other devices, you can use audio converter for Apple Music to convert the songs to MP3. In this way, you will be able to stream them as you want.