I'm guessing the iPad (great name, and to think everyone's been calling it the iSlate and goodness knows what else - what were we thinking) being kinda like a big iPhone with solid flash storage and no hard drive will have no fan and be silent running... it can have a lossy compressed copy of your iTunes library on it so you can take it on holiday... you can access the NET... view photos... read emails and books(!)...

I'm loving the macmini idea...

M Explorer2 / Raspberry Pi / Roon
M 502
Power amp TBC
Technics SL-1210 Mk 2 / SME 309 / Denon DL-304
Pioneer BDP-450
Yamaha RX-V1067 (processing, centre, rear)
B&W 804s, HTM4s, CDM CNT
Panasonic PT-AT6000 projector