Improving sound quality of streaming setup

Zardoz only does what the AE does, but with a better clock. Still not god enough IMO. I used to have a product similar to Zardoz. I discontinued it.

As for USB , be prepared to do some work. Upgrading the computer (DRAM and SSD), computer power supply, playback software and other OS tweaks. All of this is needed to match the performance of a Sonos or SB with reclocker and good power supply for the reclocker. A lot more expense and time consuming. The advantage of USB is native up to 192 playback.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

SB without re-clocker + external DAC to tweak the sound as needed ain't too shabby even IMHO. I listen to this setup all the time and am hard pressed to say I am missing anything. AEs reclocker is probably better technically regarding jitter, but better enough to hear a difference in practice? Dunno. AE thinks so but then again he is the designer and seller. Does one need one to start? I doubt it. Looks easy to add one later if one feels the need or desire.

Can't vouch for SOnos but many like those as well. A wireless network connection between server and streamer is a good thing! It helps isolate the parts that make music from the commercial computer, which can be a huge source of noise in many cases.

Mapman - I agree that SB Touch is probably the best stock network source, but it can be improved with mods, power upgrades or reclocking. I have had them here and both modded and reclocked them. I use a Sonos myself, but I also have a SB3. Both SB and Sonos provide one with a clean digital signal compared to Apple. Once you have this, there is no drawback to the source except jitter which can be improved several ways. Its an excellent starting point.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

My suggestion was an attempt to keep it simple, per the OP request.

bondmanp, if you are looking for a fan less solution look into the CAPS 2 servers described at computer audiophile.com.

I didn't mean using the laptop on his lap, but rather having it sit by the stereo, likely several feet away from his ears. Surely some laptops are still audible, but many aren't and still his priority is simplicity.

With a reclocker like Synchro-Mesh, you could use a stock Sonos, squeezebox or AppleTV.

Only after gutting and modding the piss out of them (ala Boulder)....

There is a misperception of the Z at work here. It is a highly modded entity with its own master clock, dual power supplies (one of the clock), proprietary shielding, etc, etc. According to the designer, it is a low jitter affair. The French audiophile who turned me onto it used to own an Empirical Audio offramp along with a highly modded Squeezebox, and the Z thumped it. He also did shootouts with Weis, Alpha Berkley, etc, etc. The Z was found to be superior. Dan from dbSystems has developed a plug-in the hacks Airtunes to circumvent the downsampling to Apple Lossless during transmission. I own it and it is much better than stock Itunes and even Pure Music.

You can tweak the unit further by putting in a synergistic fuse, and floating the transformer on audiopoints. I have also pondered using the Bybee music rails to lower the noise floor further.

WiFi is still limited in what it can transmit in terms of file type (RB only as far as I know). Hopefully Apple will uncork it soon. Its only a matter of time.

Since audio is an endless, open-ended experiment, you could always try Steve's new product and see if it improved things....