Cheese
Bitter lover
That's where I might go finally. Many people tell me it's rock solid - I just expect it to be able to do everything a SB can, but reliably. So do you mean in earnest that there's no point in spending £££ in a 'proper' DAC ?Sonos. Avoids the messy iTunes conundrum, has a good integrated DAC, has integrated access to Spotify and other pay-per online services, has varied remote control options, works seamlessly with my qnap/uPnP/Networked PC/Mac, the ZP90 streamer plugs into your preamp or directly into amp or active speakers. Zero drop outs as it uses Wireless Mesh or Wired Ethernet. Is Extendable. Can do optical out but don't bother, the Sonos DACs are fit for purpose, unless you like to needlessly overcomplicate things.
And which file format do you guys recommend, and is it of any relevance which software I use for ripping ?