EatMoreCarrots

Thanks for the link, earther, but that link describes copying / moving your itunes from one platform to the other (changing file extensions, etc). I came across a lot of this when I searched. I am looking for a method that allows use of the same itunes library across both the operating systems on my computer.

Hi everyone, Main system and subjective sound quality issues aside for a minute. I have a MacBook (up to date with Snow Leopard and iTunes 10 on the OSX side) that I very frequently have to run Windows XP via bootcamp on. I would like to be able to listen to my itunes libary while I am working on the PC partition. I figured this would be no big deal - I downloaded itunes onto the PC side, held down shift while opening it and browsed to the Mac partition to find my itunes library. Seems simple enough, right? It would be dumb to duplicate my entire library on the PC partition. HOWEVER, because of what seems to be a file extension difference between Mac iTunes libraries and PC iTunes libraries, my library is not available for selection when browsing for a library using the PC side. If I use the windows explorer to find the library on the Mac partition, it is there. Why does it not show up when using browsing via iTunes to select a library? I have tried to choose "show all files" on the pull down while browsing but that is not an option. Has anyone ever come across this or have any idea how to accomplish this task? It doesn't seem like it should be a big deal...

I know the trick on a Mac is to hold the Option button while starting iTunes... but can anyone tell me how you do this in iTunes on a Windows machine? I'm sure the answer is already somewhere in this forum, but I've searched for a while now without finding it...

I was wondering the same thing - My Mac Mini only has the one Firewire out which I am currently using to connect my Drobo. And though I haven't yet purchased a DAC, I wondered if I got a Firewire DAC, would it be better to daisy-chain the Firewire (Mac>Drobo>DAC or Mac>DAC>Drobo), or should I use Firewire for the DAC and switch to USB for the Drobo thus keeping them separate. Is this dilemma similar to yours? I look forward to the group's feedback.

I remember reading on these boards that Mac Mini's were difficult to get high rest audio out of - I didn't catch that it was only regarding the optical output. Thanks for pointing that out. As for the signal split, I my tape loop will not pass through signal while the pre is off. I could add / upgrade to an optional HT bypass... but it sounds like the best option would be to just run the Mac Mini headphone jack to my TV for general internet television... and then do the Firewire or USB to my Stereo. Eloise mentioned something interesting: "I'm not 100% sure on this, but Apple OS X and Core Audio allow you to "create" a virtual Aggregated device - I think with this you can set the computer to output the same audio to two devices, e.g. internal soundcard and FireWire connected DAC." I'll give this a try but I think that even if this didn't work out so well, flipping the audio output in the OS would still give better results than looking for a solution in my DAC or pre-amp. Thanks you guys.

Hey Mr. C - Thanks for mentioning the tape out option. I hadn't thought of that. I'll check tonight to see if those work on my pre without the unit having to be on. I'm not going to get my hopes up though. As for DACs, I'm really open as for price range - I'm willing to wait and save a bit longer for the right one. And I do appreciate the note that none of the major USB DACs will do USB at 24/192. I knew USB was limiting in some cases, but I didn't realize it was all cases. However, I am also limited by my Mac Mini - I understand that Mac Mini's only output up to a certain resolution regardless of optical, Firewire or USB. SO, so long as my DAC choice doesn't further limit my resolution potential, I'm ok. Does anyone know the max resultion you can get out of a Max Mini? Which USB DACs will accept (through the USB) at least what the Mac Mini can put out?

Hey Jesus - Good point about the TV audio out. I thought about it after seeing your post, but that would require me to have the TV on at all times to listen to music. It seems like the best way to do this would be to use the two analog outs on the DAC. Usually DACs with two have balanced and unbalanced. I don't have any balanced connections though so I have to use some XLR > RCA adaptors. I'm sure those exist, right? My question is this, on DACs with both balanced and unbalanced audio outs, are both output sets always on / active? Or does using one override the other putting me back at square one? Given this criteria, and that I'd like a DAC with no volume control, does anyone have a DAC recommendation? I'll likely be using the USB from my Mac Mini - I want a DAC whose USB implementation will accept all wordlength / sample rates that my Mac Mini is capable of putting out. Which DACs will and won't do this?

Ok, so I have a Mac Mini. The audio is hooked up to my stereo straight from the headphone jack for the time being (I'm still DAC shopping) and the video is hooked up to my plasma, via HDMI, for a monitor (for when I need one). Everything was dandy until my girlfriend and I discovered the side affect of having a computer in the link - internet TV on the big screen (Hulu, Joost etc.). Now, I am wondering if there is a smart way to split the audio signal from my Mac Mini to both my stereo and my TV so that I can listen to all my music through my stereo as well as watch web TV through my TV's internal speakers (it seems like a giant waste to have to use my big tube amps just to watch web TV). Is there even a good way to do what I am thinking? Here are some of my ideas - (1) My first thought was to just get a Y cable out of the Mac Mini's headphone jack but I figure the direct link from the TV to my Pre this solution would create might introduce some serious ground loop noise and possibly severe signal degradation. Since I don't even have a DAC yet, maybe a little degradation is no big deal - its not like I've got excellent quality sound straight out of the Mac Mini jack anyway. But then what about once I get a DAC? (2) Another idea - regarding my DAC search, I could consider only those with two sets of audio outs - one to the TV and one to the Stereo. Would that work? This way I would also have the TV / Stereo option for other digital sources plugged into the DAC, like a Blue Ray. I guess my concern here is the lack of DAC's that meet this criteria. I figure there is probably a reason - maybe it is a bad design idea and splitting the signal is going to reduce quality no matter what? (3) Lastly, I was thinking that maybe after I get a DAC... any USB or Firewire DAC... I could do USB or Firewire from my Mac Mini to the DAC to the Stereo, and then still come out of the Mac Mini headphone jack to the TV. The problem I foresee with this is having to go into the MIDI settings and flip back and forth between the two audio outputs. Am I right? Is there a way to turn on and leave on multiple outputs in the Mac OS? Any advice is appreciated as I am sure I am not the first person to have encountered this dilemma! Thanks.

So, there are plenty of threads about the best settings to use when ripping CDs in iTunes... but this morning, for the first time ever, I found myself needing to go the other way around for a friend. I googled how to burn on my mac mini / itunes and found it simply required me to drag the CD i wanted to recreate to a new playlist and hit burn disc. Well, I did this and got an options window. I chose Music Disc, no gaps, include CD text and I enabled soundcheck. Is soundcheck like an error correction thing? Anyway, I wonder if anyone knows better how to best recreate a bit perfect CD copy from something already imported into their itunes library, gap lengths and all. I doubt slowing down the max speed really has an impact on quality, does it? I use AIFF by the way. Thanks!

I also have a firewire drobo with 4 WD TB drives (the package deal drives offered with the drobo). I have nearly as much on my as you do at this point (still importing) and I also use AIFF. My entire library rests on the drobo drive which is set up as a single 16TB volume by my Mac. The only difference is that I use a Mac Mini (not the ones that came out like a week ago, but a recent one). It has a Firewire 800 that goes to the Drobo, 2.26 processor, 4gig Ram, and 320g harddrive. I don't use it for anything but my media stuff and I have no problems at all. Importing, tagging, playing, are all a breeze. I'm therefore inclined to believe it is your computer which is the weak link. I don't know what all you have on there or what else you use that computer for, but for starters, you could always swap out the firewire for a USB connection to the Drobo to eliminate that possibility. Then i would think a good disc clean-up might be good; the October issue of Mac Life has a great article listing a number of tips and tweaks to maintain operational efficiency on your Mac (I'm sure you could find the article online). Then after that, if you're still experiencing problems, you should probably look into hardware upgrades (RAM, HD, new computer...).

Austin, TX!

Thanks for the reply Eloise. That really helps - especially in regards to the Amarra vs iTunes volumes. However, I have a couple responses - "Your Mac has a volume control to affect the analogue output level for when you are connecting to a pair of desktop speakers (for example). Usually when using a digital output this is fixed." - I admit that currently in my pre DAC purchase time period I am using the analog outputs of the Mac Mini. However, and maybe this is different with a Mac, at work I use iTunes on an XP PC with a USB dac / headphone amp and both the iTunes and system volumes both still function. I wish I could make the system volume fixed and I spent a a lot of time Googling how to do so and why it wasn't in the first place, but found nothing. Any ideas here? I hope you are right in that adding an external DAC (without volume!) to my Mac Mini will eliminate one of these extraneous volume controls. "A DAC has a volume control so that in a simple, digital only, system you can connect the output direct to your power amp. This is especially true of DACs such as Benchmark that support multiple inputs. Be aware that different DACs have different types of volume controls, some (such as Benchmark) use an analogue potentiometer, where others (such as Weiss) use a digital volume control." - You say to be aware that different DACs use different volume types - to what end? Is one type better? Which one? What is the difference in how it affects the sound / signal path - isn't it just one more extraneous volume control either way? And regarding the Weiss, I've research the DAC2 and the Minerva extensively and wasn't aware that these had a volume control on them at all... ? - Also, why are DACs with volume controls and multiple inputs still considered DACs?? Why are they not considered pre-amps with built in DACs? (I don't really expect you to have an answer to that one - just venting!)

Why does everyone feel that their products need to include volume control? I am a convert from standard high end audio to computer audio; tube pre, tube monoblocks, turntable, CD player, etc. In my old world, I had one volume control and that was on my pre-amp (where it is supposed to be). I now have a Mac Mini, with an AIFF filled Drobo, as the main source feeding my system (still shopping for an external DAC). The problem is that now I have more volume controls than I know what to do with! - iTunes has a software volume control - my Mac has a volume control that is apparently independent of software's volume control - most DACs I'm looking at have their own volume control (i.e. Benchmark, Bel Canto) - WHY?! - If I go the Amarra route, that apparently has its own software volume control - my original pre-amp volume control Does this not seem ridiculous to anyone else? How does everyone here deal with all their volume controls? Does everyone just keep everything cranked all the way up and just use their original pre-amp volume? Do you guys somehow bypass some of these unnecessary volumes? Also, I don't understand how any volume control prior to the digital to analog conversion works exactly. Aren't data bits just data bits? I understand how you can turn down analog signal, but how do you turn down data bits? In my own theory currently, when the conversion happens externally to the computer, the software and computer hardware volumes should be nullified, right?? Why do they still work? Any advice / explanations would be appreciated!

For all you folks that use a Mac Mini controlled via your iphone through remote or via your laptop through screen share, how do you wake it up once it goes into stanby? Luckily I have a wireless mighty mouse with mine that wakes up the Mac Mini when i click it but I find it ridiculous that i have get out my mouse to wake it up every time I wasn't to play music using my laptop or my iphone. Am I missing something? Or, do you set it so that it never ever goes into standby? And if that is the case, what about your external drive? I have a Drobo connected to mine that I would prefer not stay on all day every day... Thanks!

I'm beginning to import all my CD's onto my new music server setup and I am wondering about this gapless option. I never used this feature back in my mp3 days and I therefore suffered from random spaces between continuous tracks. (I assume this feature eliminates the gaps all together?) I'd like to avoid this annoyance in my new uncompressed music server setup so I guess my question is this: Should I just check the gapless album box for everything I import? Or would that be bad? What does everyone else on here do? And as an aside, if anyone else has any tricks or preferences for importing or organizing your metadata that you feel is very important, let me know. (I already know the basics - I am using AIFF with error correction enabled, etc.)