Hello Charlie,
Since Northstar transport was mentioned I will chime in.
Using PC as a music server and transport is the latest thing in digital mainly because it offers convenience of a mega jukebox with audiophile quality sound -- a big bang for the buck. The biggest drawback for a lay person who is not really savvy with computer is learning how to rip/compress/catalog music and how to set up the necessary hardware. Notebook on your rack doesn't look all that great either. Wireless devices such as Sqeezebox also mean you have to learn how to set up wireless network. Some of you who live and breath IT stuff laugh but for an average end-user, all these computer stuff can be daunting.
Suppose you are willing to do all this for a PC based digital frontend, how does it compare with dedicated CD transports in terms of sound if we discount the other factors like mega jukebox feature and relatively low cost? The absolute sound quality, personal though it may be, does matter since some will spend the last 18k to get that infinitesimal improvement (to his ears) over a 2k unit. In my limited experience, Bolder modified wireless SB2 used strictly as transport to feed my Northstar 192 DAC via coaxial SPDIF connection doesn't sound as good as same CD being fed through my matching Northstar 192 transport. But there is a caveat here. I like the sound that I get from my transport/DAC when they are connected in I2S transfer protocol. This mode allows direct upsampling to DAC bypassing the receiver on the DAC. When I use a SPDIF connection between the Northstar transport and the DAC, the advantage is gone. The Northstar unit, which uses a top loading Philips CD-PRO2 mechanism sounds about the same as SB2 digital out when both are connected via SPDIF. If CIA VDA2 only has SPDIF or TossLink, SB2 may not be a bad option if you are willing to spend the time to learn to set it up and if you are amenable to deploying a computer for music. As for Northstar 192 transport, it is a solid unit if you only use SPDIF but an exceptional one when mated with Northstar 192 DAC enabling the I2S mode.
