Will computer to DAC replace transports and cdp's?

In time, the answer will be unequivocally yes. The shift is already underway.

My only concern is the effect of downloading on the art form of the music album. Already, song downloading chops up otherwise seamlessly mixed albums that are intended to be heard uninterrupted from song to song.

No doubt about it. I very rarely use my transport anymore. Absolutely cannot tell the difference between my transport and the same music through the same DAC as a WAV or Apple Lossless, through my HD. Nothing like having your entire music library at your fingertips with only the push of a few buttons. I have the same concerns as Grant about downloading, not just with regards to the death of the "album", but also if compression and mediocrity in recording and digitizing the music becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Marco

so tvad, what do you think needs to be overcome before a computer hard drive to a dac will surpass state of the art transports and cdps? i'm thinking it might already be time to switch. I was thinking of buying an Emm Labs setup but the more i think about it, the less sense it makes. currently i'm researching a stand-alone silent computer with separate high speed hard drives (two, stripped) and a high end usb or firewire tube dac. I'd like to burn all my cds in wav format and use a palm pilot as my remote control. if i could find a tube dac with a good volume pot. then i'd think about doing without a preamp and havin a different setup for my vinyl.