PC, Lynx AES16 card, Berkeley DAC... What else?

Go http://www.computeraudiophile.com/here for the info you seek.

If I understand he buzz about the Berkeley it's about how it handles high resolution digital files, not standard Redbook streams. The Lynx card works as advertised but it is somewhat complicated for what most audiophiles need. You might want to consider one of the Weiss firewire DACs as an alternative.

I have a Zalman silent music server running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit with the Lynx AES16 PCI card feeding a Berkeley Alpha DAC. This set-up significantly bested by previous CD/Pre reference player.

I can assure you that the buzz about the Berkeley is not just over how it handles hi-rez files, but also how it renders regular CDRB 16/44.1 material. If you do want to play hi-rez files then you do need a sound card that can do 24/192 which the AES16 supports.

Installing and configuring the AES16 is very simple, as is most sound cards these days. In terms of a software player if you're after the best possible sound quality I would highly recommend XXHighEnd.

I did not audition the Weiss DAC and I'm sure it is very good as well. I think the fact that both Robert Harley and Chris Connaker (host of the Computer Audiophile website) have heard a wide range of DAC's and prefer the Berkeley is significant.

Good luck with your project.

If you want to convert to AIFF, running an older G5 with Tiger and backdated firmware and the Lynx AES is preferred by some as the best sound.

I've tried the legacy PC and Mac music server platforms both with the AES16 PCI card. I would say that the PC running Windows 7 with the latest 64bit Lynx driver and a music player that uses WASAPI is better than the legacy approaches.

Redwoodgarden, sounds like you are going in the right direction. The new Bryston DAC is supposed to be quite good as well. I think you have all the pieces. One thing you may want to add is a netbook PC, link it to your server via wifi, and now you'll have a very cool remote control for your server for a little over 220 bucks.