Amarra for iTunes at RMAF...

>The big problem with Amarra is that it handles only uncompressed files.

There will be an update soon to accommodate Apple Lossless.

You can turn Amarra on and off as you like, but to date it won't turn on with any compressed format files. Does no compression sound better than Apple Lossless or FLAC? Maybe, but I'm sure they will be improved by Amarra, unless you don't find Amarra an improvement.

I read all the relevant forums and don't recall a single Amarra user mentioning any problems in this area. I don't think it's anything to worry about.

TBG, you do know that you still use iTunes when you use Amarra, right? Hopefully it's the sound of it you cannot tolerate and not the UI or functionality, otherwise you are SOL.

I thought that with Asynchronous USB implementations, such as from Wavelength, Ayre and dCS, the computer is no longer the master clock. Likewise for some Firewire implementations.

Redkiwi! That you might be one and the same crossed my mind.

There are also a number of budget pro audio devices you can use as Firewire to SPDIF converters, such as the Focusrite Saffire and the TC Electronic Konnekt 8, both of which can be had for around $300. The new Weiss converter, the INT202, is expected to cost >$1000, which still makes it a lot less than their Vesta, which is a product whose price makes no sense to me at all.

If you have a computer that can accommodate a PCI card, the Lynx is supposed to be a great way to go, as Chadeffect says. You go straight from computer to DAC via AES/EBU, without an intermediate device. I'm giving that some serious thought myself, even though it will require me to get a desktop Mac I really don't need want.

Oh, and Mark, you should be sure to visit the forums at Computer Audiophile, if you haven't already.