Apple vs PC for Music System

I was in the process of selling all my digital gear and focus only on analog playback. I only had my Benchamark DAC1 left when I decided to try hooking up the DAC1 to the Apple TV. I have to say that I was impressed at the potential that the Apple TV had with my DAC1. The sound is bit on the lite side, but I knew it could be improved.

I got rid off the cheap tosslink cable I was using and connected a new Audioquest Optilink-5. I also gave the DAC1 the Stereovox Reference BAL-600 treatment. This combination is the best digital sound I've had in my system. What first tipped the scale toward enjoyable digital audio was the Audioquest Optilink-5. Once this cable was in, the sound was more solid, more crystal clear and had more depth. Adding the BAL-600 was the ice on the cake.

The fact that the Apple TV is so affordable does not mean that it doesn't compare well with the best media servers or transports. I consider it a gift. Of course, I'm not implying the this combo sounds as good as my analog rig, but it makes a decent digital recording sound quite pleasing.

I forgot to add that if you have the iPhone or the iPod Touch, you can download the "Remote" application onto the iPhone or iTouch and control the Apple TV remotely via WiFi. So you only need a tv monitor for initial set up and for updates.

The "Remote" application has the exact playlists, artists, etc. as your Apple TV and it has all the playback controls of iTunes at your fingertips.

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You can also use Mocha VNC (downloadable from the Apple iTunes website) and web surf from your iTouch or iPhone... you can control Rhapsody or Pandora, etc. as well... you need a wireless gateway/modem to do that.

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Gordon Wavelength, your experience is irrelevant. Unless you have used the correct hardware and softare on a PC then you have no idea what you are talking about.

As I'm starting to set up a music server I'd like a "real" answer to this as well. My plan is to store music files on a NAS and feed analog to my preamp with a Benchmark DAC1 USB but am struggling with my choice of "middle tier". Sound quality and the ability to access my library with reasonable ease are my primary objectives.

To those who assert that one platform is better than another, is it a question of how the ones and zeros are retrieved and sent to the DAC? Is it a question of jitter? Are there more "artifacts" (e.g. noise) sent from a PC than from a Mac? And is this the fault of the OS, the audio software or something with the hardware itself? If any of these are the case is it better to go with a dedicated appliance (Sonos, Slim or whatever)?

I am a PC guy and work with Wintel boxes as part of my job as a data architect but if a Mac Mini would SOUND better than a PC or appliance and I could fit it into my network and I don't have to use a monitor or laptop to control it, I'll use one. But I'm still searching for a technical reason why one is better than the other.

I have spent a little time in recording studios, mostly at the business end of the microphones. My impression as to why Macs are more common in music is that for so long they were the only game in town and so much easier for non-geeks to use.