Do yourself a favor and get an Airport Express for under $100 and a decent optical cable for $50-100 (I did, but I never noticed much of a difference with cables so the $30 apple/Belkin set will do) and stream your music from your laptop wirelessly. It's so convenient and sounds great if you think straight from your laptop is good.
The AEx has a DAC in it, it sounds way better than just plugging it straight into your stereo with a 3mm RCA Y cable... IMHO (I thought it sounded good too).
I"m listening to radio paradise (online radio station) off iTunes right now and it sounds great...
I bought a Monarch M24 DAC/linestage (it's tubed) and use it as a preamp in addition to the DAC.. from Monarchy for $725. I have the AEx, an Oppo Universal DVD player and a turntable attached to it. Hell of a deal for that kind of money.
I also used an Entech 205 Numbercruncher DAC that I picked up for $150 and it sounded great.... the Paradisea DAC always gets mentioned and it's around $250.... but if you have money to burn...
Try the Airport Express though, think you'll like it. And if not, return it. You can also attach a printer to it and wirelessly print stuff off your laptop.
The AEx has a DAC in it, it sounds way better than just plugging it straight into your stereo with a 3mm RCA Y cable... IMHO (I thought it sounded good too).
I"m listening to radio paradise (online radio station) off iTunes right now and it sounds great...
I bought a Monarch M24 DAC/linestage (it's tubed) and use it as a preamp in addition to the DAC.. from Monarchy for $725. I have the AEx, an Oppo Universal DVD player and a turntable attached to it. Hell of a deal for that kind of money.
I also used an Entech 205 Numbercruncher DAC that I picked up for $150 and it sounded great.... the Paradisea DAC always gets mentioned and it's around $250.... but if you have money to burn...
Try the Airport Express though, think you'll like it. And if not, return it. You can also attach a printer to it and wirelessly print stuff off your laptop.