I just finished setting up my computer audio system based on months of research. I highly recommend computeraudiophile.com as a reference.
I went with a Mac Mini as my front-end, and i-Tunes as my playback software. All my music is stored in AIFF on a Drobo, which is attached to my network with a Droboshare. I ran wired Gigabit ethernet from my basement to my music room on the second floor of my home. Ethernet to the Mac Mini, Toslink to my DAC.
I went with a Drobo because it's simple to setup, you can use both a PC and a Mac at the same time, backup is automatic, and you're storage is only limited to the size of available hard drives.
I went Mac because of bit-perfect output without a bunch of tweaking unlike PC. When more high-rez music becomes available, I'll upgrage to a Mac Pro and run a Lynx AES16 card.
My music has never sounded better.
Hope this helps. . .
I went with a Mac Mini as my front-end, and i-Tunes as my playback software. All my music is stored in AIFF on a Drobo, which is attached to my network with a Droboshare. I ran wired Gigabit ethernet from my basement to my music room on the second floor of my home. Ethernet to the Mac Mini, Toslink to my DAC.
I went with a Drobo because it's simple to setup, you can use both a PC and a Mac at the same time, backup is automatic, and you're storage is only limited to the size of available hard drives.
I went Mac because of bit-perfect output without a bunch of tweaking unlike PC. When more high-rez music becomes available, I'll upgrage to a Mac Pro and run a Lynx AES16 card.
My music has never sounded better.
Hope this helps. . .