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By following the guidance (all other usb's except mouse disconnected) the mac mini registers the Dac1 in system preferences - sound and Audio Midi set up but, after selecting the Dac1 as the default output in both the mac mini quickly reverts back to the internal speakers and internal default output, losing the recognition of and connection to the Dac1. Any other ideas would be gratefully accepted.

As always, my sincere thanks and appreciation of the help, I shall relay the advice and encourage another individual to register himself as a member of this excellent forum. I am still awaiting the arrival of the DCS U-Clock and shall post some impressions once it has bedded in. Thanks again

Dear Forum I have a colleague who is struggling to get his Benchmark Dac 1 Pre (USB) to recognise the USB signal from a Mac (mini running Leopard). Upon initial connection the USB input is confirmed very briefly on the Benchmark indicator panel but after a few seconds the Benchmark goes to sleep (no signal). The presence of the USB output to the Benchmark does not appear in the Mac Audio Midi frame in utilities. Any thoughts and ideas, as always, gratefully received.

To quote from that artistic and seminal masterpiece of cinematography Basic Instinct "sometimes I cannot tell the difference between s**t and shinola (I think that's the spelling in USA english for shoe polish), should any of you be in the vicinity of Lyon (that's the French Lyon) I would be delighted to let you here the difference between usb cables thru various Emm Labs, DCS and ATC equipment. As a Scot I shall also be delighted to let you test (blind or otherwise) some rather more interesting drams than those previously mentioned. As said previously, whether one is better than another is not (at least for me) ascertainable but, they do sound different ... or so my cerebral processing unit relays to me !. To throw another herring rouge into the debate basket, this from one who has settled on Supra Lorad mains leads (with ferrites at each end) in favour of more esoteric options (many installed and ultimately removed again) ... because I like what I think I am hearing as a result of their presence in the chain. A truly interesting thread ... thank you all for the stimulating debate

At the end of the day (and I would beg the beginning) the reproduction of the performed arts e.g. music in ones home is fundamentally about art ... I personally like certain paintings / artists and would not decorate a dog's kennel with certain other examples. Expressions about hi-fi componets (or even audiophile componets, cables included !) fall, for me into the same perimeter of evaluation. The bottom line is (IMHO) if you enjoy and appreciate the sound that your personal masala of equipment produces then stay with it and have fun tweaking or upgrading it. It is by nature subjective, to apply science as a measure of good vs bad is simply not appropriate in isolation - there are too many other variables that cannot be reasonably factored in (recording quality, room accoustics, musical taste, mood at time of listening, etc, etc, etc...) most critically, again IMHO, that that the majority of hi-fi listeners have never been (or at best have been to few) live musical performances. The difference between reproducing the live event and the flat sterility of ersatz background music is ... well very significant. To cut to the chase of the thread ... USB cables can and do alter the sound of ones system but, for better or for worse I am not (and I venture nor is anybody else) able to pass black / white judgement. Surely though what is wonderful is that choices exist ... The search for the grail has no end and thank heavens for that.

Many thanks - all restored OK after a second re-boot of the router, a blind but effective remedy, my thanks again.

Dear Chris Many thanks for the quick response, yes that is exactly how I connect. Have tried the switching on/off for enable Screen Sharing but alas to no avail. Any other other suggestions would be most gratefully accepted !. Thanks also for the tip ref usb hubs - even more reason to try and get the mini to function again.

Firstly a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year to Chris and all forum users. Having enjoyed my Mac mini as a dedicated music server, accessed via my i-Mac I am now at a loss with the following error message that comes up after connecting to the Mac mini via the i-Mac and selecting share screen : Connection failed to "Mac mini" Please make sure that Screen Sharing (in the Sharing section of System Preferences) is enabled on the computer you're trying to connect to. Also make sure your network connection is working properly. I have checked and rechecked, the network is obviously OK as the basic connection to the mini works OK and screen sharing is enabled. No bright ideas coming from the Apple support forums either. Thus I plan to move to a Macbook solution, not as unobtrusive in the rack but I hope more reliable. Can anybody advise if there is any quality issue using a USB hub as I shall require 3 USB connections (2 for the external hard drives and one for the soon to arrive DCS Puccini u-Clock). Or is there a recommendation for any particular USB hub ?, I am well equipped with Kimber USB cables. If there is interest I can report back later in January on the DCS Puccini U-Clock, I shall experiment using it also as an external clock for the Emm Labs DCC2 & CDSD as well of course as the USB-SPDIF converter for the music server. My thanks in advance for any kind recommendations.

Many thanks Chris - I shall proceed accordingly, can anybody recommend a good firewire cable ?, I have been very happy with my Kimber USB cables but will need a firewire (I guess 4 pin from the Macbook to 6 pin into the Weiss Vesta) cable shortly.

As always the responses for help and guidance are excellent in these forums - thanks to you all. Given what I want to do i.e. use the Macbook dedicated to only running i-tunes is there any benefit to be had from going for a Macbook Pro compared to the standard Macbook ?. Certainly I do not need a large screen but, are the specs better for this music only application that I have in mind ?.

After installing and living with my Mac mini for a few weeks I have decided to move to a Macbook instead. No matter what I do the screen sharing function seems erratic at best and ultimately the i-mac may well end up in another room from the music system making the process of cd downloading a little less convenient. The Macbook is relatively compact and whilst not as small as the Mac mini should not be too intrusive in the equipment rack. It will be dedicated to music only with i-tunes and connected to a pair of Western Digital Studio Edition My Book 1tb hard drives (music files and back-up) Are there any tips or considerations that I should take into account prior to purchasing the Macbook ?. The rest of the digital system is as follows : Emm Labs DCC2 SE & CDSD SE Weiss Vesta (Firewire to spdif converter) iPod touch (for remote control of itunes) Vertex AQ Taga mains distribution ATC SCM 50 A SL loudspeakers Various connecting and mains leads (all from the high-end snake oil and fairy dust stables) Any advice would be welcome.

Dear Steve Many thanks for the input I shall go to the review now.

I am currently searching for a solution to the above to sit in the chain between my Mac mini and Emm Labs DCC2 SE, the research to date has narrowed the choices down to the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp Turbo 2 (USB) and the soon to be launched Weiss Vesta (Firewire) The rest of the digital system is Emm Labs CDSD SE transport, Vertex AQ Taga mains conditioner, ATC SCM 50 A SL's and a couple of Western Digital Studio Edition My Book hard drives. Musical tastes are predominantly Jazz and Classical. Any experience or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. In a recent thread Chris alluded to something new coming onto the market - is there any news / update on that. Thanking you all kindly for any following advice to this new member.