What is the best hard drive based player?

I would get an Apple iBook and a USB DAC. The Wavelength Audio Brick is a good choice, but there are many more available. I agree that without a screen (and a big, big hard drive) a hard-drive based system is limited in capabilities. You could also simply get an iPod; simple, small and decent sound quality with Apple Lossless files. Use that with your stereo and use your computer to rip CDs and load the iPod.

The HD capacity on the Yamaha is 200gb.

As for the price of the Mac is was mentioning? I was speaking of the MS 300, (300gb), and did have the price stated incorrectly. It has a retail price of $5100.00.

I thought you were referring to a Mac computer system.

The Yamaha can be tuned, too, as is done in Germany by Manfred Diestertich, chief of Audio Physic. It comes to 1650 Euros in this version, and sonically very close to the much more expensive McIntosh - at least this was the conclusion of German Stereoplay, when comparing these units recently. And there seems to be another quite interesting unit from British Zero One, see an essay-review on
www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/zero-one_e.html

How does an IPOD (with Apple lossless compression files) feeding into the main system compare to such hard disk drive players in terms of sound quality?