AvFan

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a Cambridge Audio CXN with USB input and I believe it will accept 96/24 over USB. If so, all I need is to get usb c to usb b which shouldn't be an issue. (famous last words!) usb c to usb a adapter <===> usb a to usb b cable ====> CXN. I need to verify if my new MacBook Pro will output audio via the usb c ports. Anyone done this?

I have a new MacBook Pro that has four USB C connections and a headphone output. Unfortunately the headphone output no longer doubles as an optical digital output as did my older MacBook Pro. Is there an adapter from USB C to optical or coax digital? My DAC has optical and coax digital inputs and my source is a maximum of 96/24 music. Thanks.

Thanks for the info on how a NAS would work for me. Our needs are much the same. Interesting and disappointing that I won't be able to put my Aperture library on a Synology NAS as that was one of my reasons to get one. I'll have to decide if convenient high def music playback alone is worth the expense. For music alone I thought about a RAID 1 setup but they all have fans and aren't acceptable in my listening space so I've considered just buying a couple of OWC 2TB drives using one as the primary drive and the second for backup. Once I get my music off my iMac's hard drive it will probably be enough room for my photos. Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

If I understand a NAS it will allow all my computers access to my music, photos, etc. via my network. Can a NAS be set up as a RAID device for backup purposes? I can't hardwire between my main stereo and where a NAS would be located. Is there a problem with wirelessly (N) accessing my music and playing via Audirvana? My modem and router are located in a closed cabinet (and seem to do fine) and that is where the NAS would go. Is it a big deal to locate a NAS in a closed cabinet? I guess another way of asking is...Do these things get hot? Thanks for the guidance. AvFan

Thanks for the link and the excellent article on the TuneView.

I'm having a similar problem with a Dave Matthews CD right now ripping to AIFF. Thanks for the insight to give it some more time; maybe that will work.

Does anybody have experience with the Keyspan TuneView iTunes remote? http://www.keyspan.com/products/tvu200c/ What are the pros, cons and would it be recommended? I found only limited reviews, but it looks like it might hold some promise,

I have the OPPO 980H and have been very pleased with it. However, I purchased it mainly for its ability to upconvert 480i DVD video not its audio performance. I feed my Outlaw 990 with the OPPO 980H's coax digital and let the Outlaw upsample when I listen to CDs. OPPO is an internet direct company that is primarily focused on DVD video performance. Chatter on some of the other forums indicate the 980H has better than average audio performance, however only your ears will tell you if its acceptable. It also supports a number of formats (SACD, DVD-A, HDCD, etc). FYI, the 983H has essentially the same audio capabilities as the 980H. The difference is the 983H includes an Anchor Bay (DVDO) video processor to improve the picture quality of standard DVDs.

Thanks for the recommendation, Chris. The Airport Express using TOSlink might be just fine for my system and listening habits. However, the PS Audio Digital Lens sounds very interesting; I'll keep an eye out for it. Do you know when it might be released? As far as controlling my music I wanted the mobility of the MacBook running iTunes to play and control my music stored on a remote drive. The idea of sitting on the couch with the MacBook and listening to the music that fits my mood without having to shuffle through CD's is very appealing. And its not an afterthought that I want it to sound as good or better than my CD player. FYI, I did program my Harmony 880 with a "MacBook Music" activity and learned the little Apple remote's commands so at least I can pause/play and skip backward and forward if I leave the MacBook in one place.

So, the data is supplied by the LaCie to the MacBook via the Airport Extreme; that is good. I thought the Airport Extreme was a transmitter and a wireless receiver so it could wirelessly receive the info (iTunes, etc) from the MacBook and then it also was a router and send (hard wired in my case) the digital audio to my Outlaw 990. If that's not true I can add the Airport Express and it can receive the iTunes info from the MacBook and feed my 990, but not through its USB connection? Its all becoming clear...I think. I was trying to avoid a hard connection between the MacBook and my 990 so I need to look at other options. I'll check out the Squeezebox to see what it can do. If I use the Airport Express it looks like I'm limited to its toslink output which has some issues. I suppose I could try it and see if the Airport Express' shortcomings via toslink are a problem for me. Chris, you have mentioned a Pacecar in other posts, and it may be terrific, but to be honest that device is too expensive. Are you aware of any other similar devices that will "clean up" a toslink output and convert it to USB? Are there any devices like the Airport Express that will output wireless digital audio from a MacBook to USB? Thanks for everything!

Well, that was one of my better written sentences, lol! Let's see if I can restate it and add a little more info. I'd like the Airport Extreme, LaCie and modem to be in an adjoining room. I want to keep the number of pieces of gear to a minimum in my home theater equipment cabinet and keep any noise from the LaCie from interfering with music playback. In my case the distance between the AExtreme and my Outlaw 990 might be over 5 meters or the cable length limit for USB. I was under the impression I could use an ethernet cable (Cat 5 or 6?) plugged into one of the three gigabit ethernet ports on the AExtreme and run it to my Outlaw 990. At the 990 I would use an ethernet/USB converter so I could plug into the 990's USB port. At that point the 990's DACs take over and handle the digital audio signal the same way it would from a coax or toslink connected source. Thanks for your patience and help.

Thanks in advance for your opinions on how well this setup will work as a music server. Computer: MacBook (specific one TBD) Airport Extreme LaCie 2Big Network (not sure of size yet) set to RAID 1 Outlaw 990 w/USB audio input to internal DACs The LaCie would be connected to the Airport Extreme via Gigabit Ethernet. The 990/USB would be connected to the Airport Extreme via an Ethernet cable then a Ethernet/USB converter to the 990. I'd run iTunes and all other software wirelessly from the MacBook. All music and other data (e.g. photos) would be stored on the LaCie. The AExtreme, LaCie, and cable modem can be located in another room but that will require some drywall work after fishing wires in the walls. I'd rather not do that but it depends on how noisy the LaCie is. Anyone want to offer an opinion on how quite the LaCie is? An optional addition may be a seperate small USB hard drive connected to the Airport Extreme USB to back up the MacBook's internal hard drive using Time Machine. Thanks for the help!

Would an Airport Extreme and a RAID 1 drive be an alternative to the Time Capsule in the CA02? Is there a sacrifice when attaching a RAID drive to the AExtreme by USB versus firewire? I assume I would connect the Airport Extreme directly to my Outlaw 990's USB using a USB hub.

What I want to do may be very similar to what other folks have discussed but I need clarification. Here is what I want to do: 1) use a MacBook to run iTunes wirelessly, 2) play my music on my stereo/home theater, 3) store all my music (standard CDs) on an external hard drive(s) not connected to the MacBook. FYI, I have an Outlaw 990 with a USB input and pretty good internal upsampling DAC. I have connected a MacBook directly to the 990 and found AIFF lossless to be identical (to my ears) as my OPPO 980H's digital output to the 990. If I understand correctly, the following equipment should allow me to meet my goal. - Use an Airport Extreme with external hard drive(s) attached and locate the iTunes library on those drives. - Put an Airport Express near my Outlaw 990 and connect the two via USB. - Use iTunes on the MacBook to get the music off the hard drives attached to the Airport Extreme and send it to the Airport Express for playback via USB on my Outlaw 990. First, will this work? Second, is jitter a significant issue with this setup since the Airport Express is connected to my 990 via USB?

That is odd the USB would shut off when you put a CD in the player. The 2150 must have some type of hierarchy built in when it senses a signal may be on its way. If it is a big deal I'm sure Outlaw could provide some insights into why the 2150 behaves that way. Regardless, the USB input on the 990 and 2150 seem to be pretty slick. I ripped Dave Matthews Bands "Crash" CD to my daughters MacBook (AIFF format) for my test. I played both the CD on my OPPO via digital coax and the MacBook via the USB and switched between the two throughout the CD. I used the 990's Upsample stereo mode for both inputs. I couldn't tell a difference between the two. I kept having to look at the 990's display to tell what input I was using. My daughter won't give up her MacBook so down the road I'll probably trade out my old Dell PC for an Apple MacBook. The Crash CD was 650mB so I'll keep checking this site for ideas how to deal with storage and mobility. I'd really like to sit on the couch with a laptop, have a bank of drives hold my music, and listen through my 990/HT setup. I'm sure that is possible now, but the fun is learning how to do it.