My two cents. I am not a tech person, I put up with it to gain access to music. Dedicated music servers have integrated hardware and software into an all in one box device, that is simple to setup and control. They are filled with proprietary hardware, firmware and software. The more complicated the device, the harder it is to repair. Computer based servers like mac, windows or linux are assembled with off the shelf components. Repairs or upgrades most often can be performed locally without a trip to the OEM.
Music Server vs Computer?
Currently streaming music from a PC to a modded Airport Express that's connected to my pre. The Wyred4Sound music server looks really inviting. Appears to do everything my PC does. Ripping cds sounds like a breeze and storage capacity is great (1T or 2T). All I have to do is link it with a DAC. Are there any disadvantages, to include SQ, to using a music server vs using a PC/MAC? Seems to me that they both use HDs for storage, but that SQ with the MS might be better because streaming is eliminated.