Ipod + Wadia 170i Dock OR AppleTV + Airport Expres

Do folks who use the AppleTV route have one big enough to store most of the music on or do they stream to the AppleTV from another Mac?

Is there an advantage going via an AppleTV over going directly from the Airport Express into the DAC?

Here is the other thing that kind of makes the Wadia option attractive: I rip a lot of music onto my Mac at work. Having the option to bring different iPods from different places is also attractive.

I am going through the same situation.I like the convenience of a music server.At first I thought I buy the Wadia itransport 170 and use it with my ipod classic 120gb latest generation BUT I thoroughly checked the forums here and at audioasylum as well as various other websites and realized that the best solution for the money is the Mac mini hooked to a DAC with two external 1 Tb hard drives (one for storage,the second for backing up data).Some upgrades include 4 gb RAM plus a solid state drive for the OS.
Your miles may vary.
Regards
George

George: Are you going to put the external drives in the same room as your system or have them accessed via a wireless network? Do you have a monitor in your listening room?

Thanks,

-t

t
I haven't work out the finer details yet but I believe that a music server can't compete with a good digital front.I am happy with my cd transport/dac in my listening room ,I just find it tiresome to keep changing cd's during listening sessions,that is why I want to invest in a music server.It will be for casual listening and therefore I will install it in my den so that all in my family get to use it and not in the dedicated listening room.It will be hooked to a flat panel display to interact and also watch movies.I got a good DAC and Genesis DL that I connect to the mini. The hard drives will be in the same room,most likely I will go for the Drobo unit.I am planning to have the mac mini by Christmas,there are rumors that Apple might upgrade it so I am waiting till then and making sure to get the latest,if they do decide to bring a newer one out.
Best Regards
George