Jeff Rowlands Amp and Dac vs. VAC amp and DAC

I appreciate this, but I am not buying a server. At least not now. I have a long usb and that will do for now. I thought you meant did I use a music center like J. River or some such thing. I use MAC so I am actually mostly on itunes and wouldn't mind trying a center like Audirvana. I have Tidal but I am not convinced by the quality of the files. I would love to hear you all weigh in on this. R

Some reading for Mac usb and usb audio :-

http://djtechtools.com/2010/07/14/macbook-usb-port-inequality/

http://www.audiostream.com/content/usb-audio-gremlins-exposed-beyond-1s-and-0s-ifi-audio#evM2XaGXX7s...
(See 5. The corollary for us would be Listen -> Experiment/tweak/rearrange -> Relisten, circum et circum)

rinpoche if you are soliciting opinions on Tidal then I will weigh in as loving it. I think the sound quality is excellent for the most part one thing to keep in mind though is the source they are using, i.e. some are remasters some are not, some were recorded well, some were not. But I think it sounds as good as CD's that I've ripped and stream, and its tough to beat the selection. I listen daily and love it. The one thing Tidal doesn't have yet is high rez, that may or may not be coming down the road.

I concur with jond. In many cases the sound quality fom Tidal equals the qualitiesof CD's that I've ripped. It depends on the original recording. 

I have listened to my files vs. Tidal files and I find there is a difference. Can't beat the selection -- I agree. And I do use HD Tidal. 

What do you think about music centers such as Audirvana and others?