the AE hookup is not different than what you get with the transporter. all the AE does is to accept a signal wired or wireless from a central computer. that is exactly what the transporter does. so if you think that the AE device is inferior to the transporter in that function, you need to explain why because they both accept "bits" from the network.
No, I do not necessarily think the AE is inferior in its wireless transmission of bits. My comments regarding the AE are regarding its function in sending a digital stream directly to a DAC. I've tried it with four - a Benchmark, Wavelength a Muse 2+ and a CAL Alpha (the Muse and Wavelength required some kind of adapter as I recall - but it did not address jitter). It is in that regard I found it's performance lackluster. Soundstage was very limited and dynamics were inferior to the same DAC fed by a CD transport via coaxial cable. My results were consistently poor. I have NOT used the AE with a jitter reduction device in between, as you suggested. You are correct, I missed that detail in your post. Sounds like a good idea. I cannot explain why the performance was inferior, I can just try to convey what I heard. To clarify, I use a Modwright (modified) Transporter. I do not have experience with as stock Transporter. I can assure you that, though it may have the same capabilities as an AE, it does not sound like one...at least to my ears. You made some inference that I was making claims to the effect of it being be-all-end-all front end. I made no such claims. I simply said it's the best I've had and experienced. I'm sure there are many others that do a fine job and even excel. I'm just contributing my own personal experiences and, as with anyone else's, it's worth exactly what you paid for it. Take it with a grain of salt as you would any advice. Try this stuff out as you see fit in your own system, your own room, your own music and with your own ears and find out what works for you.
I didn't make any comment at all about the DAC in the G5. I have no opinion since I've never tried it. My intuition is to get the signal OUT of the noisy electromagnetic environment of the computer box ASAP doing no conversions at all inside that environment.
The Esoteric D-05 that uses an AKM AK4397 DAC is a standalone DAC. The Gryphon I mentioned is a player. Alex Perchev also uses AKM DAC's in his APL players.
My comments about the WAP devices and the G5 are strictly aimed at the G5 towers that the poster said he had. They are constructed entirely of aluminum. There are issues around transmission because of this construction. I've found it best to use an external wireless device, and the Airport is excellent, and easy to setup. It will also transmit throughout a house and outside. Internal cards in my g5 will not transmit 20 feet. This is a known issue. I suggest before you try another type of device you do some research on that issue. As I said, there used to be a few companies making external antennas that mount on the back of the G5. I don't know how effective they are. The one Apple produced is useless in my experience and I believe they stopped selling it. Perhaps some other internal card actually does a better job, but I'd suggest you do some research. If you find something that works well please post it here as I'd also like to know. I'd prefer to have an internal device rather than another box on my desk. In that regard I'd agree with that advice.