I think you need to define what you are doing better to start with:
-
What hardware do you have or intend to use? Ethernet is not available by default on most Arduino's (Yun being the exception), so you'll need that. Additionally, as far as I know, the default USB connection on an arduino is a serial input. This is usually pretty limited, but it might work, I don't know. Do you have a way to transfer audio over USB?
-
What is your audio source? A wav file? An mp3 or other compressed file? A microphone?
-
If you are using USB, I have to assume you are using a computer. Is there a reason you can't just send the sound over the computer? Ventrilo, Skype, Yahoo Chat all can transmit sound over the internet and are already finished products.