Where are the computer-controlled DACs, amplifiers and preamps?

[mac_and_dac]

I've been an on-and-off audiophile for many years, and since retiring a few years back have devoted more attention to the hobby: reading the magazines, following this forum and others, buying some new equipment, digitizing many years of CDs.

 

What I'm wondering is this: why can't I control the volume of the music I'm playing from the same computer I used to select the file that's playing? Why can't I choose among sources from the computer, instead of walking across the room to the preamp to switch sources?

 

Maybe I'm missing a whole line of equipment. Or maybe having Ethernet or wifi in the same box as the amp/preamp would hurt sound quality. If so, please educate me!

 

The technology's there. I recently purchased a Yamaha AV receiver which can be entirely controlled from an app.

 

My guess is that small- and medium-sized audiophile companies invest their R&D into getting their product sonically right, rather than paying geeks to write software.