Mini Mac as audio server?


OK, I've existed in blissful ignorance of the OSX world, being a Windows dude. But, this little miniMac thing might change my world. Small enuf to stick next to the stereo... Cheap enuf too... With DVI and DVD, probably eliminates my DVD player as well. Check it out:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/

Sooo, someone wanna educate a non-OSX user on audio via Macs? Right now I'm 70% through ripping over 1K CDs to WAV files. I'm thinking the files will eventually end up on one of the Buffalo Terabyte NAS RAID 5 devices when they become available next month. So... the questions...

- Can I play the WAV files via iTunes?
- Is iTunes smart enuf to recognize that I've dropped the files into /Artist/Album directory format and create tags?
- Anyone using an Edirol UA-1D via USB out of the Mac? Any compatibility issues?
- Anything better to do PCM output from the Mac than the Edirol?
- If I watch a DVD, and output the video to my plasma via the DVI port, will the Apple media software recognize that I want PCM output, not multichannel?

Any help appreciated.
edesilva

Showing 3 responses by themadmilkman

Why not get one with a wireless card installed, get an Airport Express and use an optical cable into a DAC? That would be ideal, imo. That way you can control your music where you're sitting and still use a quality DAC.
Mcmanus-- There are too many variables to give an easy answer to that question. Basically, your CD player is going Drive --> DAC --> Analog output. All the computer is doing is replacing the CD drive with a hard drive. So the answer will depend on the quality of the design of all the different components more than saying "This > that."

That said, I would give the nod to the computer. Plus, it's just cool to have all your music right there.
I just saw this on Apple's site. Might be nice for some of you guys.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=TB638LL/A