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Help....I have a blank slate and am flying blind

I am not an audiophile and am trying to get my arms around the whole thing - quickly. The water is deep. I've never had a nice system and am buying a new house. At the expense of all furniture, I want to rig the place for sound to the chagrin of my wife (who hopefully will not discover this post) and 4 kids (though the kids may well opt for music over furniture):

I basically want the system to be PC driven, but also have a couple of components that I would like to include (Teac H500 CD recorder/player and XM receiver). I have at least 4 rooms to rig and am shooting for low to mid-level audiophile grade.

I am thinking of setting the system up something like this: (but am missing a few pieces, which is where I need guidance):

750 GB external hard drive (just purchase new) --> P4 laptop computer (just puchased used) --> DAC (perhaps HAGUSB and/or something else --> cheap/decent receiver (need to purchase or perhaps a pre-amp with A and B channels):

A channel (for room 1) --> good amp (need to purchase - perhaps simaudio i-3) --> totem hawk speakers (just puchased);

B channel (for 3 other rooms) --> cheap amp (need to purchase) --> russound 10 speaker selector (just purchased) --> 8 inferior speakers in 3 different rooms (have them);

The critical threshold at this point is PC to receiver or pre-amp. I use iTunes and have a ton of music in Apple Lossless format, so compatability is an issue I think. My sense is to avoid a wireless connection and soundcards (I've heard they are inferior), so I think I need some sort of DAC, which is where I get off the bus.

I was looking at a HAGUSB (Hagerman Technologies - under $100.00) and a squeezebox ($299 model). The thing I don't like about the squeezebox is it appears that I would have to control it through their box and not through the PC/iTunes. If possible, I'd like to simply use the laptop as the the control center with iTunes as the interface (if that is the right word). I'd rather not spend more than a few hundred dollars on a DAC (I still have to purchase two amps, a receiver or pre-amp, wire, connectors, protectors, rack, etc.)

The second (less critical) threshold is choice between a receiver and a pre-amp. I suppose I could buy a cheap but decent receiver with an A/B channel, but I don't think I want the music filtered through a receiver. Is there a pre-amp with an A/B selector that I could raise the roof by selecting both A and B? This may affect the DAC connection decision from the PC. I have a couple of other components I want to include (CD player and XM receiver) so maybe I have no choice but a receiver - maybe I just answered my own question. You can see I am processing.

Long way to the short question: What is the best way to get from the PC (via usb?) to a receiver or pre-amp in a way that is both compatible with iTunes and would be considered "acceptable" from an audiophile standpoint at a reasonable cost (under $400.00)?

Any assistance is appreciated. Please respond in crayon and do not use "big" words.
graves
graves OP
8 posts
 
Talking about differences in sound quality is probably about like canning fog. It sounds like multiple AEs may be an option, but that is a wireless solution. The WMB54G and Squeezebox both can be wired via ethernet, so presumably would avoid any airborn glitches. However, the Squeezebox costs 3 times as much at $300.00. It does not appear that anyone has a strong opinion about sound differences between the WMB54G and Squeezebox. So I'm inclined to go with the WMB54G - Viola - it works. Perhaps the next step up would be a more expensive external DAC, but I'm not sure why that is any better - though I'm sure it is.

In any event, in the absence of any objection from the audiophile community, it sounds like a wired WMB54G is an "acceptable" PC-->receiver connection solution from an audiophile standpoint. And that is good enough for me.

Thanks for helping me connect the dots. I am still blind and dumb as to the particulars, but I look forward to hearing well -- at the expense of just a few key pieces of furniture.

G
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,757 posts
 
Graves - I'm not arguing with your solution, I'm sure the Linksys box will work fine but, just in case anyone else with a similar question reads this thread, the Airport Express can be used hard-wired, as well. It's got an ethernet port.
graves OP
8 posts
 
Hmmm. So the AE would do the same thing as the WMB54G...and would be fully compatible with iTunes. So the AE connects to the PC via ethernet and then somehow directly to the receiver (not wireless). That does sound like another good option - confarnit. Several good options requiring yet another decision: WMB54G or AirPort Express (wired via ethernet). A difficult situation for the indecisive, but both good entry level options for the would-be audiophile trying to build his or her first erector set. Thanks for the clarification/insight!
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,757 posts
 
The AE is designed primarily as a wireless access point and the ability to connect it to a audio system is an add-on.

There are two ways to get the audio stream from the AE to your receiver. You can get an analog signal by using a stereo mini to RCA cable and connecting to any of the line-level inputs on the receiver. Alternatively, you can use a mini-toslink to toslink cable and get a digital signal which would go first to a digital/analog converter and then on to the receiver. Both the analog and digital outputs come from the same jack on the AE and the output you get just depends on which cable you use.

I've used the AE only with a Mac and can't compare it to the other options you have but I do think it could work.
rcstevensonaz
3 posts
 
Sqeezebox is excellent. I have two in my house.

I can control it from the "box" and equally well from my laptop.

On the laptop, I connect to the machine running the SlimServer. E.g. I type "http://192.168.11.2:9000" in my browswer (or create a link) and my laptop is now "browsing" the slimserver (in much the same way that the Sqeezebox "browses" the SlimServer.

I actually have two different SqueezeBoxes in my house. From any laptop anywhere in the house, I can control either Sqeezebox (e.g., adjust volume, change playlist, play/pause/stop, shuffle, etc.).

The DAC on a Sqeezebox is very good. If you are an audiophile with money, you have an awesome amp and you have awesome speakers, then you may (or may not) want to get an off-board DAC. Otherwise, just connect Sqeezebox staight into your amplifier, processes, AVR, whatever. I'm using RCA jacks into my NAD; but it has optical and coax digital if you want to use the DAC built into your AVR instead.

There are other digital music solutions than Sqeezebox, but I've been very satisfied.

p.s., I'm also very interested in this thread since I want to find an effective solution to drive speakers in four different rooms.
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