I am loving my combo of Squeezebox Touch and Vortexbox Appliance music server. It only handles hi-res up to 96/24, but the sound, through my K-Works SuperBerry DAC, is fantastic. And this combo is about as cheap as it gets for a server/wifi player that you don't have to build yourself.
Mac Mini vs Squeezebox Touch
My system currently consists of a Decware Mini Torii amp and Cain and Cain Abby loudspeakers (with Fostex 166e). I have $1000 in my budget right now to spend on a digital source. I have been evaluating the EE minimax dac over the last couple months and find it quite enjoyable with a dose of Mullard 12au7's (one in the minimax and 2 as signal tubes in my amp). I have been feeding the minimax with a sony dvd player using black cat veloce cable. If I keep the dac, I have enough left in my budget to purchase a Squeezebox Touch. Or, I was thinking I could take the route of a Mac Mini (control it with my existing iMac G5 or with iPhone) and then maybe purchase a NOS dac such as Valab. I realize the Valab will probably not give me the detail or expansive soundstage of the Minimax but it may give me more midrange liquidity -- which I do prefer. Just wondering what your thoughts are and whether you have any other recommendations that would fit my budget and system. I am looking to get away from cd's and have the convenience of a music server. Thanks