Help to store hi-rez on external hard drive.

You would probably need things like an operating system, keyboard, and monitor to accomplish that.

I recently picked up a used IBM ThinkPad laptop to use as a music server for the USB DAC in my main system. It can play any files from its own hard drive, CD/DVD-ROM drive, or USB ports (external hard drive or plug-in flash drive), plus it can stream Internet Radio from my wireless network. And the laptop is battery powered so it runs on pure power instead of dirty AC from the wall and is isolated from the rest of the audio system.

All that and it can download (and play) all types of music files directly from the Internet. I installed the free version of the MediaMonkey music server to facilitate the file managing and playback. MonkeyMedia will play the Chesky HD Tracks (and many other formats) without compression and it features Internet Radio as well. It plugs right into the USB input of my Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2.

The laptop is considerably smaller than my Oppo Blu-ray player and I can easily unplug it and take it elsewhere when I'm not using it for the stereo. Heck, I can even stream movies from Netflix on it. That said, it lacks a remote control. Good Luck.

Here's how I do it. Dac connected with usb cable to mac mini, mini connected to outboard hard drive.
Use Itunes and rip in Applelossless, error correction on.
Use Itouch for remote using Apple's free remote app (you must leave your computer on to access your library)
Finally, use the PURE MUSIC application to run with Itunes.....the sound beats cd's and it's really nice not to run back and forth to a cd player or stand in front of the cd rack trying to select some music.
Suggest you check out computer audiophile and well tempered computer websites...very helpful. have fun!

This is very new to me. You both are a great help. Thank you. You made it sound real simple. Computers can be picky. I do like the idea of having a battery powered laptop for maybe better sonics. I will look for a used one, I like that idea because I think this part of audio will have some nice progress in the near future and I won't be to invested in it right now that way. I also like the idea of sending it to hard drive for back up for all that good hi-rez I hope to get. I am going to work at this. Thanks a lot. Do you have any simple thoughts on how to keep the best signal through download to music system. Will media monkey work best? Thanks, and enjoy your music.

If you are going the Windows route, I would suggest Windows 7 rather than XP or Vista. If you use a used laptop, check to see if it has Windows 7. One of things you would like to have is a clean system with very few other applications running. I use a Netbook with Windows 7 Starter, which is a very stripped down version which means very few things are running. I do not even run anti-virus software, since it is very rarely on the network. Some people think you need bigger systems, but I am happy with my little Netbook with very little overhead.

You need to have either a DAC with USB input or a USB to S/PDIF converted to feed your DAC. There are lots of options here, depending on whether you want to use an existing DAC or purchase a new one.