what is a lazy old audiophile to do?

Thank you very much for this response. I didn't even know these things exist. Apparently there are also converters that can be put between the computer and the DAC. Now I need to find out which DAC ... will check out the Bel Canto and others. Sites I have seen seem to say that the stand alone DACs will produce better sound than the sound cards (ATI, Nivia) installed with some computers - maybe because the computer is a "noisy environment" or maybe because the sound cards are intended more for sound effects than for music. Apple makes an airport device that apparently can act as a DAC, but I have no idea how good it is. My sense so far (after several attempts to find anyone at Apple who is knowledgeable) is that Apple doesn't care much about this stuff. Seems kind of short-sighted.

My sense so far (after several attempts to find anyone at Apple who is knowledgeable) is that Apple doesn't care much about this stuff. Seems kind of short-sighted.

Apple is quite highly regarded in audio. iTunes has been extremely succesful for them. So has the iPod. You could not be more off the mark about Apple. If anything it is the major labels and Microsoft that are short sighted...

The lazy solution is to use a USB DAC, iTunes and stick with the Mac. The sound quality is limited only by the DAC.

As mentioned before, make sure you rip your CD's using .wav or Apple Lossless (takes less space than .wav).

Shadorne
Perhaps the statement exposed only the knowledge of the individuals he came into contact with at Apple.

I'm thinking of adding another mega changer. This time however, a DVD mega changer... ala Sony.

have you ever had any of your changers modded or tweaked?

have you ever had any of your changers modded or tweaked?

No as I mentioned - I am pretty lazy. My philosophy is that if it doesn't work well enough then I buy better designed gear (I don't lack funds). I use the same logic for cables and ic's - if my system ain't working well enough then I am not likely to band aid it with esoteric cables or to "mod" it to try and tweak the sound. The horror of it all is that I find the modern Sony changers are not all that bad - even raw out of the box and without an external DAC (although the most recent models sound a bit harsh (is it jitter?) compared to the early 2000's models which were good sounding out of the box - so YMMV substantially depending on the year the Sony changer was built). Speakers and room acoustics make ENORMOUS differences in my book. I'd probably be relatively happy with nearly any digital source...often sound pretty good for my tin ears (although CD recordings is another matter - many of them are crap - especially modern recordings of pop and rock). I would, however, be extremely unhappy with most speakers, which I find dreadfully deficient in most cases. Probably all because of my "tin ears".