Help me set up new stereo system

What do you currently store your I tunes library on? Is it cloud based or on a hard drive?
What kind of digital inputs does the DAC have? USB only or are there coax and/or Optical inputs?
If your current iTunes is in mp3 or lower resolution, I wouldn't worry to much about any of this, because you won't be able to hear a difference regardless.

To find out how your copy of iTunes is configured for ripping CDs go to 'Preferences' in the iTunes menus, click on the first icon on the left, 'General,' and click on the 'Import settings' button near the bottom right of that window.

If want to check on the files you already have in iTunes do this:
- When iTunes is open go to the 'View' menu at the top of the window.
- Select 'Column browser'
- In the window that opens put a check mark in the 'Kind' and 'Bit rate' boxes
- You'll probably have to open the iTunes window all the way or scroll over to the right to see the two new columns of information you just added.
- Depending on which version of iTunes you have the options will likely be, in alphabetical order:
-- AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), a lossy compression format similar to mp3
-- AIFF - the full CD resolution format on CDs
-- Apple Lossless - a compressed but lossless format that should sound almost identical to the CD
-- MP3 - a compressed format with three bit rate options
--WAV - an uncompressed format common in the PC world but not so much on Macs

Regarding bit rates, higher is better in terms of audio fidelity and files ripped in iTunes will range from something like 1400 kbps for an AIFF file to 128 kbps for an mp3 ripped at the lowest resolution.

It's true that mp3s aren't going to sound as good as lossless files on a system capable of resolving the difference but my experience is that mp3s at 256 or 320 kbps do benefit from a better DAC and the one in the Hegel is probably excellent.

Right now all of my music is on my MacBook Pro that the whole family uses for general use. I'm open to suggestions as far as buying a PC and external HD, and also to buying a Mac Mini. I'm really just looking for some guidance. Every place that I went to demo speakers was awesome, they would pull out an iPad and ask what I wanted to listen to....amazing. Gone are the days of having CD's stacked from floor to ceiling.

At least 85% of my iTunes library is AAC and purchased AAC. Since I threw out all my CD's years ago I have asked family and friends if I can borrow their CD's and re-rip them. Question is what to use to rip them, will iTunes now have duplicates in the library, do I use something other than iTunes, etc.

Thanks for the help. Have a decent investment in the Revel speakers and Hegel integrated and want to get the best sound I can.

The Hegel h300 has digital, analog and USB inputs.

My advice would be to get the MacMini to start. Having a computer dedicated to music playback is better than using a shared computer if you care about sound quality. If you like using iTunes as the library then configure it to import CDs as described previously. Personally I imported using AIFF. Then get Audirvana Plus software as the music playback tool. Hook up the MacMini to the Hegel via USB to play music through your system. There will be a learning curve with configuration but it really is not that hard.

Great advice from Clio09. If you do decide to go with a Mac Mini there are a couple of things to think about.

Since the latest Mac Minis don't have an optical drive built in you'd need to buy an external drive to burn CDs (there are much cheaper ones than the Apple brand Superdrive) or you could use the drive in the Macbook Pro through wireless sharing with the Mini. The previous generation Minis do have internal drives.

You'll need a monitor to get the Mini set up, either using its HDMI output to a monitor or TV that accepts HDMI, or by screen sharing with the MacBook Pro.

Since the Mini has digital optical output and the Hegel has optical input I would suggest you consider using that rather than USB. USB really wasn't intended for high fidelity music transfer and while it can be very good with the right (expensive) implementation the optical connection might be better. The headphone/analog output jack on the Mini is also an optical digital output. You'd need a mini-Toslink to Toslink cable or a mini adapter for a regular Toslink cable.

If you re-rip files from a CD you've ripped before, iTunes will ask you if you want to replace the file that's already in your iTunes library with the new one. so you won't have duplicates unless you want them.

Whether you'd need more disc storage space than is in the Mini would depend, of course, on how big your library is and the format you choose for ripping but if that is ever a problem you can easily add an external drive or replace the internal drive with a larger one.

You do have backups of your music library, right? Ripping is enough of a PITA without having to do it twice or, in your case, perhaps three times.

I wouldn't be too concerned about trying to replicate all those AAC files at higher resolution. Just play and enjoy them. For your favorite music, the stuff you really, really want to hear at its best available resolution, re-rip the CD or go down the rabbit hole of even higher resolution through downloaded DSD files, but that would add even complexities to your considerations.

Good luck, I don't think you'll regret the effort when it's all done, and the gear you've put together would justify that effort.