Ed,
No, no, you've got this all wron -- you must continue t upgrade and tweak :-).
Well, while not the alix per se, I'm getting an Auraliti PK-100 for the living room system and to be used directly into the spdif connection on the AudioGD NFB-2 (which I just ordered the WM-8805 receiver chip upgrade for so I can go true 24/192. I wanted something that would be as close to plug and play as possible, which has no user interface per se, and if Linda has trouble with it when I'm not around, she can just reboot it and relaunch the client app and she should be back in business. It turns out to be about the same cost as a mini with the extra ram and SSD that sI feel is critical to maximizing the sonics, but without the setup and configuration hassles that even the mac can have.
You should seriously consider sending your SE to Dave at Pi so he can do some minortweaks and dunk the thing in the cryo tank -- a very nice upgrade for not much money, and the new output devices (free upgrade for the SE) are supposed to be a really sweet upgrade and will only cost shipping.
I should hear more about the status of my Nagas tonight, my rack should ship anyday now, and my SE, battery buss, and DC converted mini should be back later this week or early next, and then we'll be ready to rock and roll. BTW, the cornwalls will be going away this weekend -- not sold, just going to Ruben's for crating and short-term storage. Slowly, slowly it comes together.
Talk to you soon,
Jim