Music Server with no DAC?

Oh - and agreed to your last sentence, which makes the issue more complex as well... It, by degree, minimizes the importance of the actual DAC chip and whatever other ICs are there right around it to support the process.

Similarly, I like the idea of the Logitech Transporter, but how about no DAC and drop the price in half or a bit more? Just have AES/EBU, S/PDIF and maybe optical out...

Lightminer, you can always buy the Squeezebox 3 (aka Classic) for $300 and pretty much have the same funtionality of the Transporter at significantly less expense. If you intend to use the digital out into a DAC, the Transporter is overkill, IMHO.

I think Cruz123 is probably right.

Not having heard an SB and having a Modwright TP, its hard for me to judge, but I'm also thinking that Cruz123 is correct. With an external DAC, that is probably the sweet spot in the price/performance/functionality spectrum.

This is something along the lines of what I'm saying - so there is a market for this... They are basically prepping the Sonos for high quality outboard DAC...

http://www.underwoodhifi.com/mod_sonos.html

"Our Sonos reclocker upgrade is now available. This upgrade completely replaces the mediocre Cirrus Logic CODAC and the associated high-jitter clocks used in the Sonos ZP80. The mod was designed to integrate the Sonos system into a high-end audio system thru an outboard digital-to-analog converter."

I'll read more about the 'classic' and compare that to Media Monkey!

Thanks for all the thoughts...