PC audio out USB to external DAC

Marco,
Thanks for your input. I have a Hagerman USB to SPDIF converter on the way. So I'll go from PC via USB to the USB/SPDIF converter, and then on to the external DAC. I guess I was wondering if you need some sort of program or additional hardware to direct the audio out the USB port (rather than the computer's speakers) to the USB/SPDIF converter. I asked Jim Hagerman the same question this AM and he told me that all you do is plug in the converter to a USB port and that's it. I'm looking forward to trying this out next week.
Regards, Mike

Marco,
Thanks for your thoughts on the HagUsb, I'll post my impressions of it later. I looked up the Waveterminal also, it looks like a quality converter with a lot of connectivity options. I may look into it at a later date. As this is my first foray into PC audio, I wanted to keep it as simple as possible.
Regarding WiFi, I recently tried out the Squeezebox 3. Sound from the squeezebox was not great, but my thinking was to connect it to the outboard DAC. I had lots of problems with the networking end of it that tech support was unable to resolve and I sent it back within the 2 week grace period. Many people rave about it, and they do offer a wired ethernet version. I'm sure my experience with it was not typical. Yup, the Airport express is another option I thought about (and the Sonos, which looks great), but my experience with the Squeezebox has kind of turned me off to the idea of WiFi for now.
I do have Itunes on my PC, I like it very much. I'm looking forward to listening to it and internet radio on my main stereo. I hear people saying that with properly done PC to stereo audio, you'll never listen to your CDP again. I have a Meridian 508.24 player that I like very much and I'm a bit sceptical of those claims. But there's no denying the convenience factor of having your entire music library, Itunes and internet radio at your fingertips.
Regards, Mike

Marco,
I've been reading some great things about the Waveterminal,I may have to pick one up for a head to head comparison with the HagUSB. The Meridian unfortunately does not have a digital input, that would make things too easy! I have a Bel Canto DAC2, with full mods done by Empirical Audio. I recently bought this dac to use with the Squeezebox, which of course I no longer have. Yes, Steve's gear there at EA looks like the ideal equipment for audiophile PC audio, if you can swing the cost. BTW, when I got the modded Bel Canto DAC2, I connected to the digital coax out on my Meridian 508.24 to hear if there was an improvement over the stock Meridian. While the Bel Canto sounded good, the Meridian clearly sounded better without it. In all fairness, I was using a new (not yet broken-in) Blue Dragon coax interconnect from Moon Audio, so my initial impressions my not be accurate. I'm looking forward to seeing how the DAC2 does with the digital input from my PC. Thanks for your thoughts on ripping audio files, I am currently using Itunes in the Apple Lossless format. I can't say that I'm pleased with the way the Itunes compresses the songs that you purchase from them though.
Regards, Mike