Music server quality.

Yes - unless you are in the seriously megabux category with Aero, Wadia and the like.

To answer your last question first - the transport is the root of all evil in this equation. Simple fact is that getting rid of the problems associated with electro-optical -mechanical systems is a huge plus providing an instant gain to all who try it.

If you like your DAC, keep it and use it with a Squeezebox or something like an M-Transit or Waveterminal. Better yet get a USB DAC - like Scott Nixon's TubeDAC or if you really have golden ears and a purse to match, Gordon Rankin's Brick or Cosecant. Or have Wayne mod a Squeezebox for you along with one of his power supplies and use it as an analog source.

No matter which approach you take, you will get all the benefits of instant random access, a house free of CDs etc

Plenty of info here and on the Audio Asylum PC Forum

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.

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.

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