Building a HT/ Music system for my pops. He always scratches his CDs. Wanted to input his CD's into a server component which would feed my outlaw setup. Any ideas or brands on where to begin looking for that good quality music server to store all his music and then be able to output it in an high quality sound and is easy to use?

First step may be to find a media client that he would be comfortable with. Slim Devices (now owned by Logitech) has the SqueezeBox, which a lot of people really like. There is also the Sonos system, although it is a bit pricey. I've got a Roku SoundBridge, but it is an older platform and not especially impressive in the first place (at least in my mind). There is also Apple, who have both the Airport Express (no local controls unless pops carries an iPhone) and the AppleTV. Once you find the client you like, it will impose some limits on what server app and hardware you use.

Also, think about high quality you are interested in - you may need to think about lossless formats like FLAC or Apple Lossless or even raw WAV files, and support for such files varies between clients. It will also affect how much disc spaceypur server needs.

I use a Linksys Music Bridge between my PC and my 990. The Music Bridge has both coax and optical digital outputs. I've used a couple of different music programs but settled on iTunes. I now rip my music in lossless AIFF format (with the iTunes correction feature on). Ripping to AIFF takes a significant amount of space but with hard drives so cheap (1TB for $275) ripping to WAV or AIFF is no big deal now.

To control iTunes there are now a couple of options. The iTouch and iPhone both have software available that will turn them into remotes for iTunes assuming you have a Mac computer. For those with PCs the Keyspan's Tuneview RF remote mimics the iTunes music library, including playlists.

Good luck with your search.

so avfan, if i use apple tv to stream lossless music to my 990, can i use a logitech universal remote to control my apple tv, which would control my music?

If you use the Apple TV, you can use a universal remote - it comes with an IR remote of its own and a user interface you can view on the TV, so you can learn the commands to a Harmony remote (it's probably already in their database, actually). The only time you need to control iTunes directly is with a device like that Linksys Music Bridge or an Airport Express.

any thoughts on using an actual imac as a music server placing the computer near my 990 and using itunes? good idea?

i think i can control it with a universal remote right and maybe output the video of my itunes to my plasma tv. does that work out?

New iMacs and Mac Minis come with an IR remote, I believe, so in theory it would certainly work - but I'd want to make sure they have a digital audio output as well. Of course, if you have a computer already and can get a network connection to your equipment rack (wired or wireless, something you'd want either way), it would be cheaper to get an AppleTV. You could even add a hard drive to an existing PC and get an AppleTV for less than a Mac Mini.

yeah but does even the apple tv have a digital audio output?

Yes, the AppleTV has an optical output. It also has video outputs (component and HDMI, plus maybe composite) so you have an on-screen interface for controlling it, and a hard drive for storing some content on it locally. Check it out for specifics.

By the way, I looked - both the iMac and Mac Mini have optical outputs, but they are the 1.8" mini-jack style also found on the Airport Express, so you can't use a standard optical cable. The AppleTV actually has a standard optical connection.