jax2- let me correct some of your statements. 1) you don't need a squeezebox or transporter to get remote control capabilities from the mac. actually you are wasting your $$$ if you get the squeezebox and you could do better by getting different equipment for the same $$$ as the transporter. 2) you don't want to use the monster toslink to rca cable since you will not get the quality of the music that you want. 3) you don't need to use only the toslink connection to the dac.
here is a recommendation that i have setup for many people (my self included) that preferred this setup to a sooloos or qsonix setup (sounds better and saves thousands of $$$).
* mac computer - any mac will do - it can be your workhorse mac if needed
* airport express - wired or wireless
* good quality toslink cable with toslink adapter with a longer stem
* good quality jitter reduction device (toslink from computer or AE)
* good quality digital coax cable (or aes if equipped)
* good quality external dac with input connections that match the jitter device
* good quality cables from the dac into the preamp
by using a jitter device, you will be cleaning up the signal before it reaches the dac. also, by using this setup, you can go out and buy the best dac that you can afford. you are not limited to only toslink or usb connections. your best dacs don't use usb right now anyway and coax is a preferred connection.
for remote control, don't limit yourself to a couple lines on a squeezebox or transporter. if you use the above setup, all you need is an iphone or ipod touch to connect to the mac and pick the playlists/songs/albums/internet radio stations that are linked on your mac. these devices give you a graphical user interface with coverflow/album artwork/etc... all for free. apple has the remote app you can download.
here is a recommendation that i have setup for many people (my self included) that preferred this setup to a sooloos or qsonix setup (sounds better and saves thousands of $$$).
* mac computer - any mac will do - it can be your workhorse mac if needed
* airport express - wired or wireless
* good quality toslink cable with toslink adapter with a longer stem
* good quality jitter reduction device (toslink from computer or AE)
* good quality digital coax cable (or aes if equipped)
* good quality external dac with input connections that match the jitter device
* good quality cables from the dac into the preamp
by using a jitter device, you will be cleaning up the signal before it reaches the dac. also, by using this setup, you can go out and buy the best dac that you can afford. you are not limited to only toslink or usb connections. your best dacs don't use usb right now anyway and coax is a preferred connection.
for remote control, don't limit yourself to a couple lines on a squeezebox or transporter. if you use the above setup, all you need is an iphone or ipod touch to connect to the mac and pick the playlists/songs/albums/internet radio stations that are linked on your mac. these devices give you a graphical user interface with coverflow/album artwork/etc... all for free. apple has the remote app you can download.