iMac vs. PC Laptop

Hmm...Well for someone who uses PC's for work, it seems pretty straightforward, but if you are a Mac person then it will not be...you can use Apple Lossless through iTunes on PC which is the easiest way, other ways get more convoluted. You can use a media player or Squeezebox much like an Airport except these also give you a screen and remote to control them with unlike an Airport which still depends on the computer for control.

It really is just what you are comfortable with, both can be configured almost identically, however as mentioned you need to bypass Kmixer on PC which was a deal breaker for me. I have heard the new Windows Vista will not have this, but it is not out until year end.

Your best bet is to use PC + Itunes + Apple Lossess + Sqeezebox for a while until the new Windows comes out...

That's what I'm doing now... I'm using USB + External DAC for my main system and Sqeezebox for my second system.

The PC with upsampling to 24/96 delivers the best quality (with ASIO and SRC), but the MAC is superior at 16/44.1

Less hassle with the MAC to set it up, but you are limited to iTunes. They both sound identical whan using the AE, and they are limited to 16/44.1 with the AE.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer

Thanks to all...this has been a real learning experience.

So, will PC at 24/96 deliver the same sound quality as my Music Hall cd25.2 CD player? Opinions?

A question for Steve, I have been contemplating your Turbomod for my DAC1, what are your thoughts on the value of completing the mod and continuing to use a Squeezebox and feed to the DAC1 via spdif? Is there a major difference in going straight from a usb offramp to DAC?