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[SeaNile]

Just bought Revel Studio2 speakers and a Hegel h300 integrated amp (has DAC).

I have a pretty big iTunes library and have no CD's at all. Not sure of the format of the music files when I put my CD's into iTunes. I'd really like to get great sound out of my system and would like NOT to re-buy hundreds of CD's.

I'm OK with buying a Mac Mini but not sure how to hook up everything. I'll transfer over my library to the Mac Mini but then I'm a bit lost. Best to hook the Mini up to the Hegel via USB? And then use something like JRiver to manage the music? What about wanting to buy new music that may not be available on a high resolution site, do I buy the CD and just import it to the iTunes library?

I'm also OK with going the PC route....

85% of my library is AAC and I really want to have the best quality music.  Do I need to re-buy all those CD's and import them to JRiver?

Thanks for the help..

[6233638]

If you ripped CDs via iTunes, Media Center should have no problem importing and playing the files.

If you have purchased music via the iTunes store, it may not be available in Media Center as they used to use DRM to lock the files to their application.
In the last year or two, Apple has since reversed this DRM policy, and re-downloading your music from the store may provide you with a DRM-free copy. (though some albums remain infested with DRM)
 
 
Connecting things up via USB seems like the way to go.
If you are purchasing a new machine just for audio, I might recommend something running Windows rather than OSX, as Media Center is more fully-featured on it. (there have been 19 versions on Windows, and two on OSX)
 
 
If you want the best quality, you should rip your CDs in a lossless audio format. (FLAC or ALAC)
AAC is a lossy format designed to save space at the cost of audio quality - though for some people it sounds good enough at higher bitrates. (256k)

[SeaNile]

OK, so I rip the CD's, where should i put them? Should I buy a dedicated laptop PC and rip them to an external HD?  What program to rip them?  At this point all I know is iTunes....and I know that is not the best option for high quality sound.

[The Mastermind]

This program will rip them. I buy CD's to rip with it all the time. FLAC is my file of choice, as it's lossless.