HNickM

Sorry, but I don't subscribe. There is however another thread in CA all about this. Just search on Aries mini.

skvinson: Aries mini has it's own App - Lightning DS (available free at the App Store for either iPhone or iPad). I use it on an iPad. It displays your library by Album, Artist, Composer, Genre, etc. You can build playlists, collection lists. And, of course, does Tidal and Qbuz. I haven't tried it, but it also appears to handle internet radio.

I've been pretty happy with my Aries Mini. It does Tidal and Qbuz. Does up to 256DSD. Like your wife, I didn't want a CPU anymore — just too many things to do with my previous Mac mini. Also found "Tag" — app that lets you edit metadata to make everything pretty.

Hi, I have a 1TB spinny (not SSD) drive with no issues. I did d/l the music library from an SSD external, but nothing unusual.

I have the CD, but was wondering if there is (was?) a hi-res version available. Thanks for any help. Nick

Hi, As an aside, the MM 2012 is USB 3.0 - it's my main computer. I use a MM 2011 as music server (it's USB 2.0). Also, the MM 2014 has soldered RAM (you can't change it). If it came with one hard drive, you can't add a second one, no plug. If it came as a fusion drive, there are two drives, one being SSD, but you can't use them as two separate drives. The 2012 might work better. In my 2011, I have two drives - one for the OS and one for the music. Seems to work for me.

I have a dedicated MM/Modi 2/Yamaha AV receiver. The MM has two internal HDs — one for the OS and the other for the music library. I use iTunes to manage the library, but BitPerfect to play the music. I use Simple Control on an iPad to control the AV receiver via IP. I use iOS remote to select music, play, etc. I share the monitor, mouse, and keyboard with my main mac when I have to add music and other maintenance. Everything works fine for me. Hope this helps.

I have two Mac Minis (2012 & 2011) — the 2011 is my music server. I use SuperDuper on both. On the 2011, I use a USB 3.0 external SSD, although it only runs as USB 2.0 because that Mini is only 2.0. On the 2012 (USB 3.0), I have two internal drives and an external drive. I SuperDuper to these partitioned drives on alternate days. The external is USB 3.0 — I use that as a ransomware-proof back-up. I am obsessive about Backups. Not sure why you say "..need a new program for my Macbook Pro..."? My wife uses SuperDuper on her MBP. ???

Right. As far as the Mac Mini is concerned, you have a monitor (the TV). So, the graphics card is "turned on". On a headless machine with out a video output (TV or monitor) it will be sluggish.

I also leave mine running continuously. I have it set to re-boot if the power goes off. I also use screen sharing - my main computer (also a mini) is in my office and the music server mini is two rooms away. The only problem with screen sharing is that the remote (headless) computer is very slugish. This is because without a monitor, the remote computer's graphic card doesn't turn on. There is a fix for this — it's a small device that plugs in and turns on the graphic card. There are several of them — they run between $10-15 — I got a CompuLab Display Emulator from Amazon. As far as audio out, don't forget that the headphone jack is also a SPDIF optical jack. I successfully got audio on that and HDMI. I use the music server only for FLAC files, therefore I don't need video or multi-channel (like 5.1) output, so I use USB, with a decent cable to a DAC and then decent RCA interconnects to the AV receiver. Control is iPad through Apple Remote. Good luck.

Gee. No mention of Lothar and the Hand People? They were a group that did psychedelic rock on a Theremin (hence the "Hand People"). Lothar was the Theremin. Their vinyl is apparently quite rare. They would start their show wearing white gloves with a single spotlight on the Theremin. I saw them at Syracuse University in the late 60's.

Thanks to both of you for your help. I did try the Jriver media server and it worked flawlessly. Everything's converted and now I can stop using iTunes. Thanks again, Nick

Thanks for the reply. I followed your steps, but only about 15 songs (out of 600+) got converted. There must be something messed up in my iTunes library. I will look into that. Nick

As a newb, not sure how to do this with the iTunes library. ?? Thanks.

Hi, I'd like to convert all my iTunes files to FLAC. I've been using XLD (write Playlist to CD-RW, use XLD for conversion, erase CD-RW, repeat). I'd like to find a way to do this as a batch operation. Any help appreciated. Thanks.