Will computer to DAC replace transports and cdp's?

The possibly confusing interface Grant, may be coming off the computer. You can have one of three different solutions basically:

1. A USB DAC like the Apogee that takes the feed directly from your computer's USB outlet, converts the signal to something the DAC can understand, and spits out an analogue signal.

2. A USB interface device like my Waveterminal U24 which simply converts the USB signal to either Toslink (optical) or S/PDIF, and which still requires you output that signal to a separate DAC or digital-in on a select few one-box players.

3. A wireless device like the Airport Express, which can act either as a rather poor DAC and feed directly into an amp, or as a convertor device providing, in the case of the AE, an optical digital feed for a separate DAC.

It looks like the Offramp you suggested falls under category one, since it is a USB DAC essentially.

Drubin - thanks for the correction on the maximum USB length. Sorry for the misinformation.

Marco

Is the Offramp also a DAC? Looks to me like just a converter, since its output is a coax cable.

The Offramp is a converter, not a DAC. The Empirical Audio website explains it pretty well.

Jax2, thanks fot the additional info. Empirical Audio is developing a wireless version of the OffRamp based on the Airpoort Express. I believe this would be my preferred method, since I like the wireless concept, and I already use MACs.

Marco, you left "air" out of your chain!

I use a Dell Axim 30 wi-fi PDA to control my Bolder Cable modded squeezebox2. It makes it very easy to browse through my 1200+ CD's (in lossless of course). If you want, there is also a better interface from a company called Telcanto for controlling the SB2.

I got rid of my reference tube SACD/CD player about 6 months ago and I'm not looking back.

BTW - I keep all my CD's. I don't want to run afoul of any copyright laws.