Help the 'PC Audio' bewildered....

Mac mini, solid state internal drive, external 1TB or more FireWire or Thunderbolt drive, Amarra or other third party software, external disc drive if needed to rip discs. Total cost between $1k and $1.5k.

Also check out the Vortexbox servers. They are small, run "headless" (no keyboard or monitor) and the 1TB model starts under $500. They also have SOTM models that run in the $2,000 to $3,000 range, depending on options.

I second the Mac Mini, however buy a late 2009 Mini with DC supply. Sounds better than the AC versions. Instructions here:

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/computer-audio/

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/computer-audio/recommended-systems

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

You could get a CAPS 2.0 for $1,500 (dedicated optimized music server spec'ed by computeraudiophile website and build by 3rd party). You need external storage though. Not sure how it would compare with the mac mini route (I had one for a week hated it), but it has a dedicated USB output card, which plays a big role in getting bits cleanly into your DAC.

Wyred for sound has a 1tb device for around either 1k or 1.5 k . Check out their website

How do you control them remotely?

Controlling the Mac Mini remotely is relatively straight-forward, at least in computer terms! You will need some type of monitor for initial set-up - luckily the Mini has HDMI out so assuming you have a TV with HDMI you can use that, along with a mouse and keyboard. You will need to set up and configure your Mini in the usual fashion and also make sure you enable screen sharing and log onto your home network - plus configure the remote ap on your ipad/iphone if that will also be used. Once all of this is configured you shouldn't need a screen any longer.

Can you only control with an ipad or iphone? Are there apps for other phones?

Not sure - I believe there is an app for androids etc but I've never used one so I wouldn't know - can you google it?

After much research for a quiet, reliable means of external storage (Raid-redundant) I landed on the OWC Mercury Elite AL Pro Quad external 4 TB drives. They come with the award winning SoftRAID 3.5 to manage raid array and ALL drives. You may not need this storage capacity as they have smaller options. A few weeks following installation, the SoftRAID alerted me that a failure of the 2010 Mac Mini drive was imminent. This accelerated my objective to replace the Mac Mini hard drive with an OCZ Agility 3 SSD. Catastrophe averted and the product was already delivering value. They also come with high quality Firewire 800 cables for use. May want to check out Other World Computing website.