I too am investigating this and building a multi-media server. It makes sense that once the CD is burned using a lossless format such as .FLAC or Apple Lossless (.m4a), the playback of that file does not have to deal with timing /jitter issues from a CD player. Hard disk bandwidth is at least a hundred times that of CD, and motherboard clocks run in the Gigahertz range, so a PC might outperform even a high-end dedicated CD transport in terms of jitter.
However, it's only as good as what you put into your ripping of the file ... I would use a program called EAC (
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/) and rip to .FLAC format, the .FLAC file takes up more space but I can definitely tell the difference between .FLAC and .mp3 file formats in terms of sound (even on my iPod ear buds).
IMO using EAC would negate the need for a hi quality CD transport, because the software ripping the file would correct and produce an exact copy of the CD itself regardless of the quality of the burner in your PC ... meaning the playback of ripped .FLAC file that used an inexpensive DVD/CD burner combined with EAC should be equal to or better than most hi quality CD transports (that's the .FLAC file itself and not taking into effect the DAC and other components in the audio chain of course.)
You can use pretty much use any PC as an NAS Server (Network Attached Storage), but a dedicated one right off the bat might be best if it's within your means.
Here is what I think is needed in an NAS/Music Server:
1. It should be at least 2 TB and be able to expand disk space by either adding more internal hard discs or daisy chaining external hard discs.
2. It should use a RAID configuration (needs at least 2 discs for RAID) for backup and safety reasons. With a RAID configuration - if one of the discs goes bad, the other disc still has a mirror image and can use that image and restore it to another disc. Let's face it ... ripping a music collection takes a lot of work and if you only have one disc and it crashes, you are SOL :'(
3. It should be fairly robust, quiet and be able to be left on 24/7/365.
4. It should be networkable so you can access it wirelessly from any room in your house where you want to hear music or access other media files.
5. It needs a universal language to communicate with other devices so it should be UPnP A/V (Universal Plug and Play) and DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compatibility; this will give it the ability to work with of a lot of aftermarket devices to access and retrieve data from the server.
6. It should be able to do more than play back music ... for economic reasons, I think just a dedicated music server would not fulfill the needs of most people and since my ideal server is RAID configured it would be wise to use the server to back up every PC and Laptop in my home including all my media, music, pictures and important files such as Word, Excel, Photoshop, etc. (hence the need for expandable disc space).
7. You should be able to remotely access the server, anywhere there is an internet connection ... if you are at Starbucks in another state (or another country for that matter), you should be able to access your server remotely and download that paper or song you forgot to add to your laptop you took on your business meeting or vacation.
8. Finally you should be able to create user accounts and set file/folder permissions. I want everybody in my home to be able to access pictures, music and movies, however I work from home and want to limit my work files access to only me and my business partner, etc.
With the above configuration, not only could you stream music, pictures, movies and other media from anywhere in your home, but you would also be able to remotely access it from anywhere in the world and back up ALL of your data in case your PC or Laptop crashes. It may sound complicated, but there are already server's out there that can do this and it is quite simple to set them up ... once they are setup the backups, etc. can be scheduled and done automatically ... so it's pretty much - take a couple of hours to get it setup, RIP your media to it and forget about it-.
That covers the server requirements … now you want audiophile playback and access to it from where your main listening room is … although you will be able to access and stream content from anywhere in your home, most people probably have only one or two main listening areas where the music playback really counts. So you will need some specific components to get the most out of your music enjoyment.