Newbie needs help on iPod/iPad2/iphone based music systems

[tpoole638]

I just joined this site's forums, after doing quite a bit of research...I found that the advice from people here was very helpful, and the people here are very polite, courteous, and informative.

 

I am a green (very green) newbie to the world of high quality computer audio. I have used iPods extensively for a few years now; however, the highest quality audio equipment I have ever used is hooking my ipods to a Bose Soundock Portable (the $399 version sold in all of the big-box retail stores). I have also used my PC to listen to music with a plain ol' A/V line cable to connect my computer to the Bose.

 

I told you I am green!!!

 

I need some serious help and advice for moving forward. I will be buying a complete system from scratch, to include speakers, amp, etc. I think I'm going to buy two Polk LSiM703 bookshelfs & an NAD 356 or 326 amp. My main source of listening to music will be my iPhone/iPad2, as well as my PC. I use Spotify rather extensively as well, and have their premium service so I can stream music from Spotify on all of my devices.

 

Would Apple TV connected to a DAC (such as the Musical Fidelity M1DAC - what I'm thinking of purchasing, among many others) be the best way to use my iPad2 as my main music source? Is there a quality drop-off by streaming vs. hooking the iPad2/iPhone to a dock (such as Pure Audio i20) or by using a cord to hook the iPad2/iPhone to something else?

 

I envision being able to use my iPad2 wirelessly, sitting on my couch playing my music from iTunes and Spotify...will the Apple TV allow me to stream Spotify, or just iTunes?

 

I have only begun ripping music into Apple Lossless in the past year, so the vast portion of my iTunes library is in highly compressed MP3/AAC file formats. Also, I have purchased alot of music from the iTunes store, which is also compressed files. Spotify music is streamed at the highest quality of only 320kbps (and often at 256k I think), so I have alot of work to eventually get the bulk of my music files up to higher quality. Considering I will mostly be playing compressed music files, are there some DACs that are better for these types of music files?

 

I apologize for all of these questions, and I know it may seem from reading this that I have not done any homework, but I really have spent so much time researching these things, and I feel more confused now than whan I began. There are probably 20-30 components that I feel like would be what I need, and its just becoming overwhelming! I feel like I need someone to help get me on the right track and clear my mind from some of the things I may not necessarily need.

 

I would really appreciate any and all advice anyone may have on the above subjects. Thank you.