Shortcuttomonctonthe

I’m interested in the same question. I sold my 2012 mini i7 with 16gb ram and 1Tb SSD due to some persistent questions about fan use and overheating, which is a common issue of that model. One benefit of the Mac mini that I keep coming back to is a holistic solution to HTPC—both audio and media (ie movies). I have a Thunderbolt drive array with about 10Tbs of all the TV shows, movies and music that I’ve collected and ripped over the years. So the mini ran Plex and served my movies and shows via Plex app to a 4K AppleTV connected to the TV via HDMI, and to a Peachtree Nova150 DAC via optical. The mini also ran iTunes (usually accessed through the Rmote app) via USB audio out through a USB purifier into the USB input of the Peachtree DAC. As this TV setup is in the basement, the first floor and second floor of the house also has a bunch of grouped Sonos One and 5 speakers that could be accessed via Airplay 2. I thiught it it would be great to add Roon to the mix, as I love the interface. The Nova goes out to a 2.0 audio setup of Totem Tribe III speakers. (Been thinking of adding Totem’s separate Tribe sub and separate Bash amp, but haven’t yet figured out how to do that with the Peachtree.) I also have a turntable setup that currently plays directly into the Peachtree MM inputs and the main stereo system, although I’ve toyed with the idea of trying to figure out how to also stream that to the Sonos groups for kicks. Overall, the system I want should answer the question “how do I make this easy for the family to use”? If movies are the want, the TV gets turned on and the AppleTV handles Plex or Netflix duties. The side benefit of using AppleTV is that it’s also easy to cast media on a phone or iPad to the TV, of course. If it’s music, then Roon via iPad/iOS to the main system (if it’s not being used) or the Sonos groups. So for me—a dedicated audio streamer that costs almost about the same amount as a mini answers only half the question. Where does the multimedia come from? I know this is a bit specific use case, but for me there’s nothing worse than no one else being able to figure out how to play music or turn on a show—it has to just work.

Backblaze study. Hitachi was best. Western Digital drives had highest failure rate in first several months but then leveled out pretty good. Seagate drives were far and away the worst over IIRC. That all depended on the size of the drive though, as 1TB different from 3TB and 4TB etc....

You can also try external SSD drives if you're concerned about "spinning drive" issues - but that will cost a small fortune of course (if you're looking at 4+ Tb). I have a 5-bay JBOD enclosure with a bunch of Western Digital RED drives (a few 3Tb & one 6Tb drives). They are in theory designed for NAS-related use and may be a bit more reliable; as there are probably no concerns about saturating the bus, I doubt performance should be an issue. I have not had any problems, but I did have a cheaper Seagate 3Tb HD die on me after a year or so of operation. As for sound: I swapped a friend's SSD drive into my JBOD enclosure, copied a few of the same 24/96 music files to it, and then played back the same music from the spinning drive and the SSD via Audirvana (not the latest version 2, but the one before that). Drive enclosure is direct to 2012 Mac Mini i7 via Thunderbolt cable; no fancy power adaptors or mods for the Mini. Neither myself nor any of my friends could tell a difference in which file was being played. My system is (by design) not super-resolving (although my equipment was still pretty nice), so your mileage may vary......but that test was enough to convince me that if there is a difference, the "average audiophile" would need to have an extremely detailed system (or use good headphones) and be listening in a dedicated no-noise listening room in order to spot these differences.

Considering it's the new replacement for an extremely well-regarded and popular DAC and it also attempts to address the coincident vinyl craze in a single box...I'm still surprised there's not a single online review available, two months after release. Or have I missed something?!

Many thanks for the update. Have not seen any other reviews yet but I am excited to hear 1) if sound quality has improved in any way over the M51, which is already quite good; and 2) how good the phono stage is.

Double take

That seems to include the phono stage, which is nice (if it's a good one).

Also really interested. Biggest for me is going to be phono stage quality....with many DACs nowadays including the M51 not offering analog inputs, you need to use an ADC converter to integrate a turntable - with inconsistent results - or use separate preamp and DAC, which is what I've been doing. It's really a waste of resources and if one box can do three functions well it could be spectacular.

Agreed...good luck to you on that, I'm already tinkering a little. But more looking to simplify this time, not complicate...hence my interest in re-inserting something like the M51, which I had for a couple years and sold to a friend to fund the Vega upgrade. But I also added a turntable in the meantime...so...combining both technologies into a streamlined system while taking a little money back out for other non-audio toys is proving to be more challenging than I had anticipated. The fun begins.

It was implied that this was in my system.....I'm recounting my experience after all Sure....like you I found what I was happy with, and I like to think it's a very nice system, but in my case it was a step back from the highest possible level of fidelity no....that was a comment on the state of music. As in, it's a great time to be an audiophile; but the music scene is arguably as bad as it's been IMO; and that includes a continued lack of importance placed on recording/mastering audio quality, oddly enough in the inverse of the audio scene. Well other than the first three being factually correct however tongue in cheek , My final point is that you're extrapolating a statement I made about myself to be about you. As I specifically mentioned, there's nothing wrong with tinkering for the sake of tinkering if that floats your boat; doesn't matter if you love or hate music. But the endless rat race and worry about whether I was missing something by not listening to the next level of DSD or properly powering my USB eventually made me realize that I didn't enjoy keeping up with the joneses....but anyone who does is certainly welcome to fill their boots.

In any event, hopefully in the next week or so someone can confirm if the C510 is actually the M51 with a downgraded casing, a volume knob, and 12v remote trigger out. IMO that would be amazing value; no 12v trigger out was the single worst feature of the M51...it's just such a convenient feature once you start using it.

You might notice the mention of DSD256 somewhere in this very thread (forget who mentioned quad DSD but saw it somewhere). Give it 8 months and DSD 128 won't be where it's at, either - you'll need 256 for your enjoyment. Because, you see...it's more.

Could have always been a system quirk, too...for the record I certainly did not find it dull and lifeless, so you're still the only person who's ever said that. I actually have the X-Sabre; after trying the Vega, I figured I would try switching to something cheaper that also did DSD, to see the difference. After a couple months, I'm certainly impressed at its features and DSD capabilities at that price; but the M51 still convincingly bests it in enjoyable-ness. As for the Lampizator...I did some research a few times and it's very interesting, but the total mess of a product line reflects the homegrown nature of his operation, and I think also really fits a lot of what I'm talking about - just endless levels of endless tinkering, without any end goal (in the sound or the product line, in his case). But I'm usually a big fan of tubes in source components so would love to hear one someday. (Modwright Instruments have a new tube DAC - no DSD yet, but look forward to someone comparing it to the Lampi.) Yes, I also went through this period, and as you can tell have recently learned to just let go. Yes...not so great time to be a musicophile. Coincidence? Doubt it.

Agreed. I have come to terms with the fact that I do this to listen to great music. A lot of my friends seem to be caught up with obsessing over their sound quality...that's the ultimate goal, and they haven't listened to a full album in ages (or even a full song for some of them) - too busy critically listening for whether they're getting the best attack and decay on certain reference tracks. Nothing really wrong with it if it floats their boat, but it's not why I do it. I borrowed a DSD Dac (Auralic Vega) and just couldn't justify the cost when I enjoyed playing music from my non-Dsd DAC just as much, at half the price.

Someone on another forum pointed out that they have added a 12v trigger out in the C510, instead of only in like the M51 - makes way more sense for a DAC/preamp. Also you could still use it for vinyl if you wanted to spend more cash on an ADC into one of its digital inputs.