Aegean

No issues with 2020 maxed out mini.

I've upgraded my music server from 2010 Mac mini to 2018 Mac mini maxed out. Can't be happier. Wish if there was an option to go higher than 2TB SSD like 4-6TB would be ok. I just try to avoid as much as possible putting anything external.

Well first of all, no-one ever said that it is an audiophile product. Not even people who made it. The rest is nothing but a circular waves that turned into a positive expression and transformed it into something fascinating word so called "audiophile". Hell nowhere it's an audiophile speaker not even close but it puts all other smart speakers into dust. And that's exactly what most reviewers were trying to send the message out. The reason some folks mentioned an audiophile word is just an expression that how good this smart-speaker is that it the best one out there which produces a great sound among the others at the same level. Its a good start from Apple that can be further improved in the future. It is not going to replace my audiophile gear at all which is more expensive than my Range Rover. But for the purpose HomePod is built, it does its job a lot better than others in the market available today. Sound really is subjective. I like reading many articles/reviews in this forum, and I laugh on many as well, no matter where they are coming from. Nothing in this world is perfect and nothing will ever be.

That's true. Apple is now mostly known as an iPhone maker. Company's focus has been diverted, unfortunately. All they care about these days are just iPhone and iPad.

I upgraded my system long time ago from Synology NAS to Mac Mini with Thunderbolt 2 SSDs and never looked back.

I've been using the new AirPort Time Capsule 3TB for about a month now. I stored my 24/96 and 24/192 files on TC in iTunes library and accessing it wirelessly through ac enabled network on 2013 MacBook Air 11" and so far results are great and no complaint whatsoever.

SSD is definitely hands down the winner in terms of performance, reliability and efficiency. I can't say about improvement in sound quality as I haven't done any real testing but I have been using SSD since day one and all I would say that there is no way of me going back to HDD. All my music and photo libraries are on different internal and external SSDs. External HDDs only carry backup for me. The only thing you will loose by getting SSD is more money.

"Scratched CDs read on CD-ROM drives produce distortions, blanks or clicks", and error correction must be used in that situation.

So far I don't see any issues with Lion. As I said in one my post that I don't rip CDs. I just copy the files (AIFFs) from CD to my SSD and play it through iTunes. No ripping required. I primarily use iTunes and am pretty happy with it. I also have a non-computerised set up as back up as well as high resolution audio.

Because any one can easily upgrade the hardware (H/SDD, RAM) and optimize the system if know the basics of OS.

I agree. Your best would be to go with wired connection. BTW, I would also stay away from Mach 2 or the types.

I would recommend the new top of the line iMac (16GB + SSD) if money don't matter. But if you only want a dedicated server and nothing else then Mini would serve you as well but make sure to add SSD as it makes a huge difference.

Portability and convenience I suppose are the major factors that I use MBP, otherwise iMac. I don't use any software to import CDs. I just drag/drop AIFFs through finder from CD to my SSD.

Did someone mention that you can run Windows and all its softwares on Mac? Even parallel. Though I don't use Windows anymore but for any reason I try to install it say just to check any new software or Windows OS, always end up removing it. So you have a choice on Mac to run anything you want without any drivers issues.

I am a long-term RME user and don't know but my mind just can't set up for any other stuff no matter how hard I try. I always go back to RME. One of the reason which is pretty well known is its steadyclock, extremely quiet. I am very much used to of Totalmix and enjoy all my EQ mixing. I also pair it up with my RME ADI-2 and SPL Phonitor. The interconnects on RME are noticible better than I found in most other equipments. Fireface undobutedly a great choice too with lots of other options. I am pretty much set to get Fireface UFX. Well, its a matter of your personal choice actually at the end. Both Duet 2 and Babyface are excellent. RME works best in my setup.