Music Servers vs. High-End CD & DAC--Help Please

Mac Mini or laptop with high capacity external drive (eg Lacie) in RAID array. Uncompressed file format like AIFF. Software augment to iTunes such as Pure Music.

This is, of course, just one implementation of PC Audio route. Many routes will give good sound, as others have noted, and I expect the price will compare favorably with a a server like the Mac, esp. as you have a good DAC.

Not plug and play, but not too difficult. See the excellent computeraudiophile.com Lots of info here, too.

John

I own a Cary 303 and a QSonix server. Running the digital signal out of the Cary into either my Canbridge dacMagic or my Benchmark allows direct comparison to my QSonix run thru the same DAC. Someone out there might hear a difference, but I certainly don't. And, believe me, I tried to. The functionality (GUI & associated software) of the QSonix is great and I will never go back to a stand-alone CD player.

Marty

BTW, I've written about it in these threads so you can search for QSonix to get my (lengthly) description of this unit. It's pretty expensive, but I'm sure that there are good alternatives with a similar GUI. If I were looking at a lower price point, I'd check out the new H-P touch screen PCs, for starters.

There are many ways to set up a music server system, dependent on budget and room constraints, but once you go there, they're is no going back. In general, sound quality and flexibility are advanced, and it opens a whole new world of 'hi-res' recordings.
If you go for it, I'd be surprised you'd regret doing so.

I second the motions of the folks above regarding going to a server. My experience indicates that you don't take a quality hit - it actually gets better (at least compared to my CD player) as well as much more convenient. I went to a Mac Mini server for the same reasons you brought up - you get tired of changing CD's and you get to hear a lot of music you bought and forgot you had (i-tunes on shuffle - it was the first time I ever "got" the reason why the i-pod is so popular). I started out with a DAC much more modest than yours, but over time I've upgraded both hardware and software (Ayre USB DAC and either Amarra or Pure Music/Vinyl) and now have both the i-pod convenience and the best digital ever heard in my house - you don't have to say "it sounds good for digital" it just sounds good. Direct vinyl playback is still better, but I'm working on that. . . Based on the comments above, I assume your DAC has firewire. If so, a Mac and Pure Music would be a great way to go.

Great information and advice as usual!

Thanks to all--I'm going to give it a try.