Music from hard drive better than CD?

Part of me thinks that some kind of hard-disc based music server is definitely the way of the future. So, it is not a matter of "if" so much as a matter of "when". Here is a paragraph I cut from the Apple website in reference to their new 17 inch powerbook:

"Audiophiles Rejoice"
"The new 17-inch PowerBook also includes built-in optical digital audio input and output for connecting to devices such as decks, receivers, digital instruments and 5.1 surround sound systems. Because optical digital audio transmits data as impulses of light rather than electrical signals, it enables true, noise-free, pristine sound — eliminating troublesome ground loops and ensuring higher audio and signal quality."

I'm just curious what you all think of this? How would this be implemented given what we are talking about on this thread?

There seems to be a fundamental distinction here between digital music servers (hard drive based systems that store CD music in various forms in a single audio style component) and Media Hubs (which organize music that is on a computer hard drive and potentially network digital music throughout one's home).

Excuse my basic terminology but I am trying to sort all this out. I think I am interested in a music server that can hold all of my CD's (400 or so) in a lossless state where I can access songlists and album art on a video display. Anyone know of a product that does this?

Onhwy61: I have an apple laptop but it is my work computer and I do not want to load all of my discs to it. Also, I figure I would need about a 280 GB hard drive to store all of my discs in a lossless format. So I don't think a regular CPU will work for me.

Thanks for these suggestions. A picture is beginning to form.

Henryhk: I have heard good things about the McIntosh (thought it is priced at around ($5500). Yamaha has a hard disk player coming out soon (HD 1500 -- I think) that will cost substanitally less than the MAC (under 1K). They have one out right now as well (HD1300, I think -- it is referenced earlier in this thread).

I am still trying to decide between a computer based system and a hard drive system like the Yamaha.

Okay, I think I figured out what I am going to do. I am going to use a Macintosh Powerbook as my interface and drive, and add a firewire hardrive to store my music in a lossless format. The only thing left to consider is, how do I connect the computer to the pre-amp portion of my integrated, with good D/A conversion in between? Thus far the Apogee mini-dac with USB seems like the only (and possibly best) way to connect straight from the computer into my pre-amp while maintaining a very high quality of sound. Any other ideas?

Thanks Edesilva and Jax2. I might go with the inexpensive wavelength to begin with and see how it sounds. This is all a bit of an experiment to see if I even like interfacing with my music in this way. If I like it I may then go for a more serious DAC.

Jax2: You are right that the Airpot Express would work, but, I don't currently have a DAC. So, I do need a DAC of some sort first.

Rsbeck: If I decide I like interfacing with my music in this way, I will probably go with something like the Apogee. I might trying something a bit less expensive first though. If I get to the point of auditioning DAC's I will definitely give the Apogee a try.

It will be a few weeks before I get everything set up and I will report on my experiences throughout the process. Great thread! Thanks everyone.

Rsbeck: Do you run the Apogee mini Dac into a pre-amp or straing into a set of powered monitors? Can it be run into a preamp (like any DAC)? Thanks,

Well, I finally got my music server together and I am very impressed with the sound. I am using a G4 laptop, a Lacie hard drive, and a Waveterminal U24. Music off of the hard drive sounds excellent, and I LOVE having my music accessible via iTunes.

Not sure how to explain it but my new computer set-up does sound qualitatively better than my McIntosh MCD 205 changer (which IS saying something). I'm sure many dedicated cdp's would sound better.