[tunes]

What setup would be the most cost effective way to output my apple lossless itunes library for listening to headphones through a DAC 1 USB?

I may eventually use it as a server to stream music as well.

Does the fan matter in terms of noise and vibrations?
Do I need a screen or is there some remote control with a screen built in for selecting songs?

Am I better off using a dedicated computer audio server with iTunes-like interface but software with better filing and retrieval capability for home listening?

 

[bahamaman]

I was faced with the same issue just recently. I decided to go with a Mac Mini and 500 gig external hard drive (ministackV3 from newertech). To control it, I use an iPod Touch and, with the recently released Remote Application, I am able to remotely control iTunes without using a monitor or keyboard.

I have found the Mini and the external hard drive to be very quiet.

 

[majid]

You don't need a dedicated computer. Streaming audio takes a negligible proportion of your computer's CPU. If your computer (whether Mac or PC) is in a different room from where you want your DAC to be, you can always stream music from iTunes to an Apple Airport Express or AppleTV over WiFi or wired Ethernet, and from there to the DAC1 over Toslink.

You can remote control iTunes or AppleTV using the Apple Remote app for iPhone or iPod Touch.

Another option is to use a Logitech Squeezebox, which has a remote and a very nice Noritake VFD display that can be read from across the room (e.g. if you put it in a HiFi equipment rack).

The 160GB AppleTV actually makes an excellent and inexpensive music server, if your music collection fits. Your computer doesn't need to be running - the audio files are just synced from iTunes to the AppleTV's internal hard drive, and it should even work with Apple's DRM-ed files if you were unwise enough to but into that racket. Think of it as a 160GB iPod with HDMI and Toslink out, that syncs over the network rather than USB.

In my den, I just hook up my DAC1 (non USB) to my G5 Mac using Toslink (pretty much every Mac sold has optical digital out). In my bedroom, I have a Squeezebox2 hooked up to a X-Can V3. At work, I save my iTunes music directory to a DLink DNS-323 which has a built-in iTunes-compatible mt-daapd/firefly music server, and stream over the LAN to my desktop PC running iTunes and on to a Headroom USB DAC. Each of these solutions works quite well.

 

[zephyr_80]

+1 on the Mac mini.

I've owned several Macs since 2000 including pro desktops and laptops and the current Intel based mini is my favorite. It's super quiet and only uses 36 watts, running at full bore.