Music server quality.

Thanks, Thewebgeek and Eharlson.

The reason I ask is that there is really no truly high end CD changer, although I think the Onkyo Integra DPC 8.5 six disc universal player that I have in my system is certainly decent. It benefits enormously from the Dodson DAC that I have, and I'm more than satisfied (ecstatic actually) with the current sound of my system. So it's probably stupid to be wondering about the player. Still, the Onkyo Integra strikes me as the weakest link in my system. For critical listening, it functions solely as a transport, with everything (except SACD and some music DVD's) routed through the Dodson. It's not clear to me just how critical the transport stage is to CD sound quality. I've heard different things, including:
1) the transport doesn't matter;
2) the transport doesn't matter very much;
3) the transport matters a lot.

It seems that if a music server were as good or better than the best CD players, then the answer would be a no-brainer, and the price would be about a log lower to boot. Also, not having to dig through CD's to change music selections is incredibly appealing. However, I'm enough of an audiophile curmudgeon to be unwilling to compromise one iota on sound quality. Hence the question posted above.

Ckorody:

Thanks for your excellent insights and info. I'm intrigued, to say the very least. The ultimate (obviously) thing would be a UNIVERSAL server that rivals or exceeds the highest quality of each and every information storage medium (i.e. stores and plays CD, DVD, possibly SACD, HDCD, blue ray, etc.). I'm guessing that such a system does not yet exist, but would love to be wrong about that.

Thanks to Ckorody,* Thewebgeek and Eharlson for all the information so far!

*Who's Wayne?

I use an MBL 1511E DAC fed by a Mac Powerbook with the new intel chip. The new Macs don't have a fan but do have an optical digital out, so you can use a toslink cable to the DAC. I have a 500 Gb external hard disc. My 800 + CDs only use about half the space in lossless compression.

I just use i-tunes. The computer, hard drive and cable were under $2K. I was using a Sony XA 777 ES as a transport until I could purchase the MBL transport. But the server system sounds clearly superior to using the Sony and really has me wondering about the benefits of spending the money on the MBL transport.
-Sw23

Sw23,

Very interesting information. Have you compared the sound quality of the MBL transport to that of the server?
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The Slim Devices Transporter just got an A rating in the 4/07 issue of Stereophile. If you already have a PC, the Transporter makes more sense(less cables & boxes) than spending alot of money to upgrade a squeezebox, M-Transit or Waveterminal to feed a DAC.
-Kana813

Kana813,

Thank you for the information. Once I learn more about these devices, I may be able to understand what you're talking about. My knowledge base on music server technology is zero right now.
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Sorry - Wayne is the resident genius at Bolder Cable - pretty much the leader in SB mods though there are some others now. Wayne has done a number of units for me. He also makes some wonderful cables.

http://www.boldercables.com/servlet/Search?category=MODIFICATIONS
-Ckorody

Ckorody,
That's useful information and I'll check out the link.
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I have a McIntosh 300 Music Server hooked-up to my Accustic Arts Dac1 MK4 using a Stealth Sextet digital cable and very happy.

I do use this when I don't want to just change one cd, I have not as of yet done any direct comparisons to my single cd drive unit but will down the road. I really like the Mac. very classy piece and easy to use. When I had any questions Mac was there to answer any and all which makes me feel confident in owning such a piece of gear.
-Dev

Dev,
Thanks for the info. Going with a known high end manufacturer like MacIntosh has a certain appeal to me. I would be very interested in the outcome of any comparison you make to your single disc unit in terms of sound quality.
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Thanks to all of the respondents so far. It is VERY clear to me that I know NOTHING about music servers and have a LOT of research to do before even thinking about buying one.
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Henryhk,
The Arcam would be expected to be a good unit, I suppose.

Kana813,
My pockets are not that deep. (My grave might be deep if I bought one and "forgot" to tell my wife.)

Thanks to all for the responses so far. I didn't realize how little I know about this topic. For that reason I'll sit on the sidelines for a while, and let others with more knowledge do the talking.