Van G

If you wanted to upgrade to system SSD drive, The Egg has a nice price on Corsair SSD: http://promotions.newegg.com/neemail/Apr-0-2011/Aprilfool0401/index-landing.html?nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL040111&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL040111-_-EMC-040111-Index-_-E0A-_-crucialSSD SATA II, supports TRIM, 64 GB is plenty for system drive Although not cutting edge it's a great buy for media/music server duty.

If you were on the fence, here's your chance to save $100! Apple (MC270LL/A) Mac mini Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz: http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Mac-Mini-Intel-Core-2-Duo-2.4ghz-MC270LL-A/260751767109?afepn=5335869999&campid=5335869999&PID=1225267&_trksid=p1468660.m2000036#ht_1456wt_1139

Ordering today. With money saved I'm going to add a pair of in-ceiling for rear surrounds or upgrade my 10" sub

Okay, so assuming I go with Denon 3311 or 4311, stream audio content to it through the Win 7 PC box via Dig Coax, and use iTunes as the Media Server/Reneder: - how do I find out what the native resolution of the Denon is? - how to best process the audio on the PC side that is not the native resolution for the Denon, ie: Denon is 96/24 native and selected music file is 44.1/16? This is all in the context of using 'Remote App' to control iTunes from extended zone.

I'm being told that the audio performance of the 4311 vs the 3311 is substantial due to the fact that the 4311 uses the Audyssey MultEQ XT32. From my understanding this is a room calibration tool that doesn't apply to 2 Channel playback. If I look at Miska's point regarding the AVR mucking the file, room eq is actually a detriment to fidelity. There is a $350 price difference between the 4311 and 3311. Worth the expense?

I think the Denon 3311ci works for me in the mid term: - network features and iOS/Android App to control AVR - extended zones can play 2Ch PCM while main watchs TV or Movie - low enough price point that selling down the road won't be a substantial bottom line hit The Marantz and NAD pre's don't make work for my situation although being better products. Likely, my next two steps will be: - speaker upgrade in extended zones - changing extended zones to dedicated kits with DAC, Music Server Thanks for all the help to date.

I have one of the Emotiva UPA-7 (unbalnaced outs) amp on order which from what I've read will give be more headroom across all channels at 125 W as opposed to the AVR amp's which are rated at 125 W driving 2 channels but take a plunge when you're talking about 4 or 7 channels. What I want from a pre or AVR this time around is the network programming/features, quality audio and video processing, and good sound. I know the amp is a better investment than the AVR/Pre and that the latter depreciates very quickly. I think of this as a stepping stone and would like to put dollars in the right place so if I can get by spending less on an AVR becuase it has less power but equal processing/features, then I'm interested. I would also consider spending more on the Emotiva Amp (XPA series) if that money is worth spending.

Paul & Miska, you both seem current, wondering if you could help determine if one AVR/Pre is better than the other in my price bracket? Denon 3311ci - $806 Yamaha RX-A2000 - $875 Marantz AV7005 - $1100 Yamaha RX-A3000 - $1200 Denon 4311ci - $1150 Since I'm not using the amp portion of the I rationalized that I didn't need to buy the higher models of Denon or Yamaha since the features I was going to use were all in the lower model. There is the argument that the higher end models are built in Japan (vs. China) which I'm not sure I put value in. The Marantz is at the absolute top end of my price range for this purchase but I'm not sure it is justified considering the spec seems similar to the Denon models, only in a pre-amp format. Am I over thinking this?

And in other news, I figured out the 2CH PCM stream required by the Denon to play in all zones is in fact what the media server will pass to the AVR. Assuming there won't be a quality difference between getting the music to the AVR through dig coaxial or using DLNA across ethernet?

Been reading on supplying the AVR via dig coaxial and have come across that only audio being supplied in 2CH PCM audio can be played to extended zones. If I'm connecting the Win 7 to AVR via the mobo's dig coax, does that not mean the track is decoded on the PC and sent to the AVR? I'll do a little searching but if you have a layman's answer/explanation please share.

Did you go through any Win 7 mods/tweaks for your setup when running it direct to AVR? I've read an article here and on J River site. I'm sure I'll like the iPad (ordered) but wish it would support flash so the web... was the web! Plan on using the tablet to read news while eating breakfast and most news/sports sites use flash for media delivery. There are a number of iTunes remote appz for Android but they are buggy and not as good an interface. I'll wait until the Xoom price hits $300 and Honeycomb gets the wrinkles before I jump in. Anyway, looking forward to it. Thanks again and enjoy those Maggies.

Great. I'll give it a go through coaxial off the board. Noticed 16GB iPad wifi's going for 275 so seems like a good entry point. Hoping Android will pull thorugh with a decent controller app in the near future so I can have a tablet that isn't closed system but we'll see. Thanks Paul

Paul, are you running a dedicated sound card or simply using dig coax out of the mobo chipset?

khollister, just took a look at the outputs of ATV2 and noticed the TosLink connection which makes this a good solution for my garage where the my old Yamaha RX-V1600 is going to power the Man Cave Theatre and two outdoor stereo zones. Since it's an older receiver I'll have to use 'old school remote' for receiver control (sources, volume) but it's a great way to get things outside. Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) Micro-USB (for service and support): just read this can be hacked to allow USB HDD connection

This is a great starting point. If at all possible I would love to use either the dig coax or optical coax to connect directly to the Denon. Denon digital inputs (S/PDIF) are very flexible in terms of which zone plays what: 3 separate sources in 3 zones. The board is an Asus A8N-E which uses the Realtek ALC850. If I'm not using a USB DAC like the rDAC and starting with just a straight connection to the Denon, am I facing quality issues or am I able to get the file through "bit perfect?" Actually, with this old system I already have a decent vid card with HDMI, 8 Gig RAM, Small SSD drive for system. I just need to add storage drives (internal SATA) and decide how to configure them (some flavour of RAID or JBOD).