Possible to convert Apple Lossless to WAV.?

Right. I think you'll lose any album art you have if you convert to WAV. I also think you have bad information about the limitations of iTunes, but regardless, you should be able to find an alternative piece of software that will run on the Mac and will accommodate your library of ALC files. There's tons of stuff out there, more every week. And you can reasonably expect iTunes to evolve to better meet the needs of peoples' growing music libraries.

There are a few people who argue you should go uncompressed, that lossless compression, even though bit perfect, loses something in the uncompressing process, perhaps due to some codec anomaly. I know, it doesn't make any sense, but hey, this is the land of audiophiles. I've started experimenting to see if I can hear a difference.

I'm amazed at how little consensus there is on the right way to best sound from the PC though.

No kidding! That's what's held me off from jumping in with both feet -- I can't get a straight answer.

What works just like the Squeezebox for much less money?