"tutorial" on computer music servers

However, if you are happy with the cd, and I enjoy many of them a great deal myself, you should be able to find more music than you can find time to listen to by buying used cds on ebay and Amazon at very good prices.

I use both a disk player and a computer as a server. I buy most of my CDs on amazon or ebay or from used CD stores. I don't yet believe that the CD is dead. I have never downloaded a file. I rip all my CDs to a MAC.

There are high quality CD players now available at about any budget. Many have SPDIF inputs so there DAC can be accessed by a server. Alternatively, many good sub $1000 DACs are available, new or used. These can mated to a lessor expensive player and in addition, used with a server.

Regarding the computer/server approach, they are not difficult to set up and if done right can out-preform a player at equal cost.

Mesch - Thanks for your response.

I already own DAC components: Audio Alchemy DTI PRO32 and Perpetual Tech P3a.

I don't as yet own a computer, having not much more use for one than doing research like this, and sending e-mails, so I use a library computer mostly.

I'm totally clueless when it comes to music servers: who they are, how they operate, how much they cost. Thus the request for a tutorial. Any on-line articles "for dummies"?

A major incentive for buying a computer, would be to get server music. I have heard that the MAC Minis are an excellent choice (?). Thanks

As Steve Nugent mentioned the 2009 MacMini would be a great start. His website has a lot of information on how to easily configure one for very good sound. I went this route with an Audiophilleo USB converter and my existing DAC. if you want to use iTunes as the interface Audirvana is a good music playback software choice. If you want to bypass iTunes I recommend Jriver. You could probably do all of this for under $1000.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/dCS_Guide_to_Computer_Audio(2).pdf