Music Server/DAC in Same Box

What is your budget?

what is my budget? I don't know, I'm a crazy audiophile, I will make it happen. :-). Really though. At the moment, I have about 5 grand to spend, but not sure if I want to spend it on a source/server/DAC at the moment. May want to spend it somewhere else in the system. With things changing so fast, I almost wonder if it is better to wait, but still I guess I wanted to know what options were out there.

Modwright Transporter and a NAS for storing your files.

No way I want some appliance in control of my music collection. I want to rip, tag, organize and backup my music files my way, not some set of compromises someone else came up with so they can mash everything into one box. I'm also perfectly happy with the playback control software options available.

I also think that because most of the dollars were invested in hardware quality, not software and storage that you get better sound quality.

I'm looking at the Weiss MAN-301 w/ internal DAC. But looking for alternative high-end server + DAC combinations, doesn't seem like there are a lot of them.

The Boulder 1021. All you need is a NAS, router, and IPAD. It is a very advanced ethernet system with up to 32 bit sampling. Sounds absolutely fantastic. Very expensive though.