Best path for PC audio into the big rig..

Blindjim,

The ONLY advantage of using lossless formats is saving hard drive space. Given the price of storage space, I elected to use AIFF for everything and then keep another user for MP3's should I use my iPods.

I hadn't looked at your system until now, so using an Airprt Express will require some sort of D/A conversion as well.

Thanks for the links ... especially the Altmann one. yep. He's out there... but entertaining for sure. Very Eeenteresting.

Kennyt thanks... the site i LOOKED AT ABOUT THE "AIRPORT" AND IT'S USER REVIEWS ISN'T VERY INSPIRING. ESPECIALLY THOSE ABOUT IT'S DURABILITY. SEVERAL POSTERS COMMENTED ON LIFE EXPECTANCIES OF LESS THAN 24 MONTHS.

My concern remains that I am plotting this correctly in that the only hardaware I will require adding is:
PC wireless notebook
NAS drive
USB DAC
...various ICs.
Yes?

You don't have to have an NAS drive, even USB 1.1 is fast enough to do the job, but a big NAS drive with RAID 5 is a simple way to have some backup. Otherwise redundant external USB drives will be fine. Just make sure you get ones that are well ventilated with fans like the Western Digital ones. Easier still is mount some drives in your desktop cases and just use those.

With iTunes you can turn on the share feature and have the hard drives connected to desktops and the wireless notebook can share those files directly via iTunes.

Unless Belkin finally releases their wireless USB interface, if you use a USB dac it will have to be wired to the laptop, not the drives. Wireless print servers won't work. You also have limits on USB cable length unless you use a USB optical repeater.

I don't know about the realibility of the AE units, but bear in mind they've sold millions of them so you have to figure some crapped out. Even if they did only last 2 years they only cost about $100 in the first place. They also have a built in DAC (not a great one) so that would get you started until you find the DAC you want, but it will have to have a toslink input or you will need a optical to spdif converter.

Apple claims they are accessible Won't that work for you? The reason I ask is that many Apple notebooks are very quiet whereas many PC notebooks have fans that are loud enough to be distracting.

You can also use their Front row software which will make it very easy to navigate through iTunes.

Ive had two AE since they first hit the market and both work fine, I have had to reset one twice, unsure why but it's easy enough not to worry about it, and as Herman says, they're $100.

Herman Man. thanks a bunch.

If you live on an island, your world is quite small. 100% of the trained professionals who provide the training of Higher functionality accessibility software have yet to mention the features of the Mac that you just provided me. I do however think the privately developed softwares such as JAWS (screen reader only.. no mouse or monitor required) & Xoom Text 9.0 (screen reader adn magnifyer.. and my personal choice, though I have and use both), will provide much greater a level of functionality... I assume the accessibility features described in your link are similar in nature to those in Windows. I'll look into the Mac gear now... pardon the pun.

I'd love to have a Mac. their monitors that i've seen are super. their costs are not however. My ego says I need a Mac... my wallet says otherwise... till now.

In any event... using a notebook/lap top (whomever the maker is), needs be "entirely" a wireless act. Purely. the other junk I can string together... not much of an issue there.

...and the thought of going with an AP does make sense and would allow more time to decide on the right DAC.

given the info I've been humg up on lately... the BC DAC3 and now the Altmann seems the front runners... I'd not wish to go beyond their price tags for that matter either... and would also like to be able to slip my sony CDP into the DAC too... later on.

thanks much.

one thing puzzels me however... the notion of a 'quiet machine'. If all is outboard.. and in this instance, it is, then what would be the matter how noisy a notbook or lap top is? the internal workings of the wireless computer couldn't possibly be an issue.