Scampo

Idolse and Audio_ELF for your comments and for putting out all this useful information. I am going to try to keep it simple (and cheap), for the moment, until I can go for an also simple but dedicated setup. I think that a remotely controlled headless mini + dac/preamp + active speakers (would love to try those Focal Twin6) would be ideal for me but I feel that in order to see a substantial SQ improvement from my system, I would have to spend a significant amount of money. I want to taste, though, the convenience of iTunes through my actual system and try the new HR formats available, so I guess the way to go is to get a cheapish DAC (Beresford, Moodlab or something in that range, suggestions welcomed) and connect it to my iMac "directly" if I want to send 24/96 files (no AE or SB). An ethernet DAC being out of the question, it should be an S/PDIF connection, and for this the solution is either a Gefen CAT5 digital audio extender (already have CAT5 in place) or a direct run of coaxial or optical cable. And here are my questions/doubts: 1) For the CAT5 extender solution, the physical chain would be iMac - Optical cable - Gefen Sender - Cat5 (two 30ft runs coupled to bypass the router in the middle)-Gefen Receiver-Optical or coaxial cable - DAC. I am worried about the stability of this connection. 2) If I go for a direct S/PDIF (optical or coaxial), I would want to do it through the PVC pipes in the wall, along with the CAT5 (a 60ft run in all). For that I would have to use a non-terminated cable, otherwise I don´t think it will go through, and terminate it in place with the appropriate connectors. Is this possible, in terms of signal degradation for such a long cable and availability of DIY hardware to make the cable? I know this are very specific questions and maybe the best thing to do would be to try and see, but I would like to sort it out before ordering anything. There is not much of this kind of equipment to find in my local market, so I would have to order it online and try to return it if it doesn´t work, which might turn out very complicated due to shipping and custom procedures. I could always go for an AE and forget 24/96 for now... Sergio

That Gefen device looks great (and cheap). I guess I will have to bypass the ethernet router in my network to create a physical p2p connection between sender and receiver, but that is not a big deal. The only doubt I have is if it will work at 24/96 coming out from the mini toslink in the iMac, since the specs on the product page mention "S/PDIF (Digital Coax): 96 kHz performance". I would assume optical and coax have the same specs but I´ll try to verify that with Gefen support. Took a look at the Transporter. Great piece of equipment, but out of my budget for now. Also, I have a Vista laptop with TightVNC that I am planning to use to remotely control iTunes in the iMac, and would like to stay with that interface for now. I am wondering why there is no ethernet DAC available. Do you guys think it´d be just a commercially very odd product or is there a technical problem to design a DAC with an ethernet interface? Regards Sergio

Hi. Though this is my first post, I've been coming to visit for a long time already, as my interest in computer audio has grown over the last months. Thanks to Chris and all you very active forumites for a very educating site. I have my main audio system in the living room and an iMac in another room with my iTunes music library (CD's ripped to ALAC). Have a local network at home, both wired and wireless. I was about to buy an AE and a cheap DAC to get started but I would like to be able to play 24/96 files and, having the wired network, I thought that an Ethernet DAC with 24/96 capabilitites could be the simplest solution. Is there such a thing in the market? I have been looking for it but do not seem to find anything. (At a low price. Otherwise, I guess that a Mac mini+low end dac becomes the answer...) Short of that posibility, is there an ethernet/spdif interface, other than the AE and capable of 24/96?. Thanks again. Sergio