audiophile music servers the latest products, info

Duanea,

There are probably a hundred threads which answer your questions on Audiogon. Just try a little harder to find them. The short answer is yet, even the CEO of SimAudio has admitted that a hard-drive based system with DAC can outperform his top of the line CD player. I would begin looking at a number of USB DAC's (Benchmark, Bel Canto, etc...) and a MAC Mini computer with external hard-drive. Going that route you could even use an iPod touch to access the music on your hard-drive.

The analog output from any of the music server/Sonos/SB3 is a waste of time. I have a fully modified Bolder Sb3 and it does not come close to an external high quality DAC. The key is a very good quality DAC and then you can get rid of your expensive cdp.
I have switched over to music server a year ago and have never looked back.

Precisely put Nakolawala,one cannot skimp on the DAC and a Mac Mini is a breeze on most levels though there are many paths to salvation...Wavelength,Empirical......

I bought Exemplar musicserver after listening to many servers at CES and the RMAF. The closest competition for the Exemplar IMO was the Blue Smoke, but I feared that it was not going to come to market.

I have several Macs and have tried using them directly and through the USB port into a dac. I have not liked what I heard in comparison with and separate dedicated music server. I rip all cds into the .75 terrabit hard-drives and backup with fewest errors WAV files. Seldom do I see any errors, but some cds take as long as 45 minutes to get there. The normal time is 7 minutes or less.

One thing that continues to amaze me is that treated cds sound different than untreated cds even through this process. Untreated have better bass but less sense of soundstage. How this happens defies what I know about this process.

Nakolawala hit the nail right on the head. Squeezebox or whatever---if you can get a dac that sounds as good as your cd player (or better) you're there.