wacksman

Mac Mini to Bel Canto USB Link to Meridian 5200 loudspeakers. No separate amps, pre-amps or DACs. This is perhaps the simplest music system imaginable, with absolutely slamming Meridian sound. The built-in DACs and amps (3 x 75w Class A amps inside each speaker) obviate the need for these separate components. The 5200s support up to 24/96 resolution (as does the USB Link), so doesn't work for the higher resolution material out there. And, the 5200s aren't cheap at $13K/pair. But if you want a vastly simplified system (in terms of pieces of gear), this is an interesting application of Meridian technology that's more used to being partnered with their dedicated CD players -- made possible by the USB Link.

Chris, I'm sure you've answered this a million times, but does the above procedure work for moving the library to a different location on the same computer? For instance, if I want to move a current iTunes library from the internal hard drive (which is running out of space) to an external hard drive? I'm concerned about losing dozens of hours worth of album art fixes more than anything else. Seems like the Apple database technology to support user tags and album art is confusing and makes it hard for users to do this work once and then be ensured that it can easily be moved to other computers, hard drives, etc. in the future.