[sacad]

I found a used system 1-2 yrs old for about 3k that I considering to buy - Would you consider this a good buy?

Rega apollo - CD player
Rega Mira 3 - Int AMP
Totmen Hawks Speakers

Also since I don't have a CD collection most of my music is on hard disk - my question is what additional equipment would I require to use my network to access and play music that on my hard disc and through the internet.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

[Stu Pitt]

If you want to go direct from your computer, a DAC with a USB input is the simplest approach.  If you don't want the computer in the room, a streamer could work well.  Sonos, Squeezebox, and Apple TV are all popular examples of those.  They'll need to feed an external DAC to sound their best.

I use the previous generation Apple TV.  It has an internal hard drive, so the computer doesn't need to be on, there's no issues of lag, dropped signals, etc.  I can control it by using my TV's on screen display or with my iPhone with remote app.

All the streamers have different pros and cons.  My Apple TV won't do high res music, and is limited to 160gb of internal memory.  It also doesnt plac FLAC   Some pros are what I mentioned earlier, and I can watch YouTube videos through it.  This in itself is worth the $150 or do it's selling for IMO.  There's a lot of great music performances on there.  Pic and sound quality vary, but it's a great thing IMO.  It also does Internet radio, as do the others. 

[Stu Pitt]

The first step in setting up a music server is making sure your files are created right.  mp3 sucks.  If they're ripped as .wav, Apple Lossless, or FLAC, you'll be fine.  People debate which sounds better, personally I've never heard a difference between any of them.  Except mp3, which sounds awful.

The internal DACs on streamers don't sound great to my ears.  An external DAC is pretty much a must if you've got a good system (like the one you're interested in).  I said this in your other thread, but I'll repeat it here - if you're going to mainly use digital files for listening, a CD player shouldn't be that high up on your list.  A decent and inexpensive CD player with a digital output to an external DAC will save you some money.  If your TV is in the same room, you can also use the DAC to increase sound quality in 2 channel mode. 

[sacad]

This is great info.  I will do my homework capabilty and cost on all of them - Your right about the REGA CD don't really need it - With the proper network and DAC in place - I can use other cd player that I have if ever I use a CD.

Once again - Thank you for the information