firewall416

The USB Drive was a bust with the Lumin U1 mini. I did not know that If you use a USB drive for storage, you loose most of the tag dependent views. I believe it mostly read folders and filename -- the way it looks. It wouldn't be so bad if the IOS app did not crash 80% of the time with a library of 1700 titles, apx 24000 tracks when the music was source from the USB Drive. (I tried multiple drives and (3) IOS devices.. same result). Absolutely no issue with a NAS (keep reading) That was all the bad stuff... Now the good stuff. Removing the Mac mini / USB/ Bel Canto REFlink made my vinyls and reel to reel sound better! It was most likely polluting the AC on the one dedicate AC outlet that I use for the system. The Lumin is connected directly to my Berkeley Alpha DAC Serie 2 MQA upgraded by a AES cable. I dumped the USB Drive and got a NAS QNAP TS-231-P2-4GB and set up minimServer (Router and NAS on a different AC Outlet , not the dedicated line) Sound fantastic! Works great. That's it

I just received the new Lumin U1 Mini and a bus powered 2TB USB SSD drive for storage. Up in running in less than 5 minutes! The Mac Mini/Bel Canto Reflink/Audirvana served me well for many years, but this new lower price Lumin transport only was hard to resist.

Upgrading the Mac Mini power supply or otherwise is not really an option that I am considering. It is going on 7 years already and I feel that using the Bel Canto Ref Link does most of the work in that area. I am not unhappy with the Mac Mini - just wondering if I am missing anything compare to an Aurender or Lumin kind of server. The options are either I stay put until the Mac Mini Server having been serving me well for 7 years and still going on strong or simplify with a standalone music server that would return a decent ROI in regards to sound quality. Of interest is if you have gone thru this process, how much of an upgrade in sound quality are you hearing compare to a Mac Mini Setup as described. Thanks

I am currently using a Mac Mini (Mid 2010) with an internal SSD drive connected to an external firewire HD holding my digital content. I am using Audirvana in direct mode to a Bel Canto Reflink USB/SPDIF converter connected to a Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC Series 2. Cabling is from Nordost (USB and AES). Standard power supply connected to Isoclean 60A3 digital designated outlet. Any suggestion for a Music Server (Server only, no internal DAC) that would best my Mac Mini in a significant way? I have been looking at the Aurender N10 or Lumin U1 but not easy to find a unit locally to A/B. Thanks

Mac mini Server / Roon / Audirvana I like the convenience of digital to find recordings and research material but there is something about analog that just sound right to me.

Being busy the past couple years. New Pre-amp, Amp, Phono pre-amp and cabling.

I was very happy with the SQ of version 1.5x. I prefer to listen to LP Records, distant second, CD Transport then my dedicated Mac Mini Music server. But I just upgrade to V2.01 to support ongoing development and maintenance. With Apple yearly OS delivery $40 is a good deal to have Damien keeping things working. Cheers!

Just got the Bel Canto RefLink USB/SPDIF and it work great with Audirvana Plus Beta 1.3.9.10 in integer mode

Hi Dalek I used to have the SA Amplifier with the Ref 3.1 as well. When I refreshed to the new Ref 3.5, in my listening room and with the music genres (mostly jazz) that I listen to, it did not seem to have as much of a positive impact on the SQ as before so I remove it. The 3.5 have a more cohesive frequency delivery than the older models and the PrimaLuna mono blocks have more "ooomf" than their power rating would suggest. But I do agreed that if the music selection required to shakes things up, the SA Amp helps.

Here's my current setup. Just added a BC RefLink a few days ago, quite happy with it.

Thank you all for all the comments, especially in regards to the Apple TV2 and AIFF. So.. I had the Rega Dac on for a week non-stop, had a burn in track going for days and I was able to get a MacMini tonight to compare with. Change the fuse to hi-tuning Silver, add a C5 to C14 Power adapter and use a DH Labs/Furutech connectors Powercord. Using Primaluna Dialogue 3 Preamp, Dialogue 7 Mono AMP, Gallo REF 3 Speakers, Nordost Frey interconnects and Speaker Cables. I will have more time to test in the next few days but after a few A/B back and forth I now have this question... Is the Rega DAC that good at reducing jitter that I can hardly tell apart from the Mac mini Mini-Toslink out or USB and the AppleTV 2... Again this is for 16/44.1 AIFF, I am in Canada and I believe that HDtrack is only available in the US. Let me know about your experience. Thanks

I just rip 1500 CDs in AIFF format (own a Gaggia super-automatic espresso machine!), bought a Rega Dac and the Apple TV2. Setup: Airport Extreme 802.11n (5Ghz) for WIFI to the Apple TV2 (very good performance in my loft, no competition on my selected channel). iTunes is running on my iMac quad core with the library on an external firewire 800 drive. The iMac is connected to the Airport extreme by ethernet cable. iPad 2 and iPhone for remote access. Results: It sound very good. Not quite as good as my Raysonic CD228 but very good nonetheless for a 1/4 of the price and the ease of access to the music. Inquiry: Taking HI-Res files out of the equation, would a MacMini connected to the Rega DAC by toslink, USB or a USB S/PDIF Bridge-Toslink sound better than the Apple TV2? for 16/44.1 AIFF only as I am aware of the advantages of the MacMini for Hi-Res files. Interested in first hand experience as much as possible. Thanks