deckeda

I guess the point of the whole post was to pose the question is the later model mac mini worth spending the dough on or would it be better spent a better DAC or Pre amp, amp, so on. I'd argue that's unanswerable without considering: 1) What's the price difference between older vs. newer Macs? 2) What would that price difference buy in a better DAC, speakers etc.? You already have an iDecco. You're ahead of the game right there. At this time, I have a hard time thinking it's the weak link here. Skip the DAC/amp thoughts for the moment. You can't sell the iDecco, add a few hundred to the mix you saved by not getting a better computer setup and come out better in the end, I don't think. The old adage is still true: get your sources as right as you can first and spend downstream later. (Unless your speaker suck!)

@ Frank FYI, you mentioned the G4 mini is limited in what it can run but my MDD I mentioned is older than your mini and it runs OS X 10.5 just fine. Doing so would permit you to use the current version of Pure Music and iTunes if desired. @ Niner Regarding software, that's enough for its own thread(s) and everyone has their own reasons for picking one or all of them. Search this site. Due to owning iPhones and iPods my family is wedded to iTunes. But I also happen to think it's a good database app and in a pinch a more than decent software player with some well-known caveats. I use Pure Music because it intelligently integrates with iTunes while letting the whole mess run on old hardware. The others typically don't have that mix I need. Most stuff is available trial software. Regarding the volume---that's really more of a function of your weird sources! (Sorry.) There shouldn't often be wild swings in volume such as you describe IMO. But if it's what you have to work with, iTunes will let you set individual volume levels on a per-song basis. Ignore this issue for the moment; after you re-rip from CD I suspect it'll disappear. Everyone here will tell you never to use iTunes to adjust volume, leave it maxed and adjust volume the computer's volume or 3rd-party software player's volume because iTunes doesn't dither its output. This is true. But if doing so in the short run meets your needs based on your sources, it is what it is. A new internal HD? Is this a necessity? If I can store all my music on a external HD should I only use the internal drive for operating programs? The new internal HD recommendation was only in the context of say, buying an old machine that likely came with a tiny one. The general recipe here is, one disk has your OS and apps, another has your songs, a 3rd backups up either one or both of the other two. But if the internal is large enough to hold everything, there's no sin in having it run OS, app, songs and using just one more as backup. We're talking bang-for-buck here, which is what you need on a budget. Don't waste time worrying about what's ideal or lower priority. We want something that works well and sounds good first, and satisfies all the Audiophile Checkmarks second. Good? Sorry to be clueless, is a C2D mini the same as a Mac Mini. C2D=Core2Duo. It describes the class of CPU. Today's Macs all use the i-series. i3, i5 etc. I would like to rip all my CD's over again in FLAC this time. Would this preclude me from using iTunes. iTunes doesn't play FLAC files without an unreliable plugin. For iTunes stick with uncompressed AIFF or ALAC (Apple Lossless.) If you're re-ripping, I'd rip straight to Apple Lossless. If using 3rd party software such as Pure Music, there's a way to shoehorn FLAC files indirectly into iTunes and PM will play it. That's more effort than is necessary for whatever reason you may have. My library is Apple Lossless. If I ever run into someone who doesn't have iTunes … because iTunes is such a rare app (ahem) I can convert it to FLAC for them with XLD (freeware app.) There's zero advantage to WAV on the Mac, and virtually none either on Windows other than being an old habit.

An SSD is a luxury, not a necessity. If it makes the thing sound better due to no moving parts or data delays then fine, but oh my would that kind of upgrade be WAY down on my list of things to concentrate on if under a tight budget. Meaning, don't let it stop you. C2D mini, ~ $400 new internal HD, ~ $50 ram, ~ less than $100 external HD, ~ $50 Skip the player software, just use iTunes and send up to 24/96 native to a simple DAC. That will get you going for $600

Our concern is that you save $100 or so and wind up losing more than $100 in utility, for example. Even so, a budget is a budget and there's no reason why sticking to one can't result in some fun. Adjust or understand the expectations going in. The fun is what you make of it IMO. I have a 1.83Ghz C2D mini I beat the living hell out of. It runs 24/7 as iTunes server, MTR-and-Handbrake workstation, AppleTV server, kid's computer, my desktop computer, iPhone sync station. That's a mid-2007 computer. I have another Mac that's more of a proof-of-concept at the moment, because I'm broke but wanted a second machine to play the music. It's a Dual 1.0 G4 MDD running Pure Music. This Mac auto mounts the mini's shared storage via Gigabit ethernet, with iTunes set to not add music to its own library. A tc impact audio interface is my DAC. My MDD is a 2002 model and as a player it just loafs, with one important caveat. Its RAM is maxed, at 2GB, so Memory Play mode in Pure Music is a challenge. It works but for songs tagged as gapless it can't often play them back as "gapless" so there will be a pause as the RAM is purged and filled anew. I'd never use such an old machine to edit with but for one that's literally worthless I can't complain. Having said all of that, most people might do just the opposite: use the old machine as a server and playback on the newer one. I can't dedicate my newest Mac as a player however, because the MDD is too slow to play the kid's Flash games ... All of which is a long way to say, if you're only going to use ONE machine for editing, tagging, acquiring music playing and so on, make it the best you can. What would be your combined budget for computer and software, either initially or for the next year?

If you're referring to storage connection, I'd wager sound quality would be affected only indirectly. And maybe not even then ... FireWire was meant for streaming---that's what music does. As such, it places fewer demands on the host computer. USB lacks a brain and so it must use more CPU to do large file transfers. It was designed for momentary, temporary data transfer, think keyboards and mice. If the USB bus isn't used for much of anything else and your computer isn't old, you'll be fine. But FireWire would permit use of a much older computer for storage and playback, because it permits the computer to coast more. ALL of the above is me speaking in absolute terms. Used correctly, either will be fine!

Niner, ask yourself if you want to experiment or do better. Any Core2Duo will get you to the table regarding software availability, but you'll be RAM and speed limited compared to the Sandy Bridge models. Do what your budget allows.

Don't know how your setup is configured but would additionally suggest small UPS boxes for the NAS, router and source disks (sounds like your laptops wouldn't need the UPS if the battery's charged.) In my home a small UPS runs the router, VoIP and a network Time Machine drive, another UPS runs my iTunes library and Mac. When the power goes out I still have Internet, VoIP---and no computer or disk interruptions.

You both are quite right, I didn't read it carefully. Sorry! Gilad's claim of an impossible "Buick Eldorado" probably threw me off kilter.

10.7.2 does run better than 10.7.0 or 10.7.1. Regarding Snow Leopard, perhaps you're referring to integer mode, which I have no experience with.

It's not the Drobo. The storage device can't dictate how the file system works. Only the OS or an app can do that. ... the files do not aggregate as album folders in my iTunes library. iTunes has a pref you want checkmarked to permit it to keep the library organized into proper folders. Look in the last Preferences area, in Advanced.

Not sure what's meant here by studio masters and CD versions, but there's no way to shoehorn 24-bit files onto an iDevice. Prior to iOS5 you put a 24-bit file on one and iTunes would convert it on the fly to 16/44. Doing so now results in an error. Maybe Neil thinks his iPad has 24-bit files on it, but it does not.

Seems like your question could have been asked at any time in hifi's history. But computer-based audio reproduction increases greatly the repeatability of a change to the system, and one I think over time will favor transparency over euphonics for bringing pleasure. Assuming of course we'll be able to buy good-sounding sources. That remains just as much a variable.

Jeff, on one of the videos from RMAF 2010, still available on their site, there was some discussion of just what you mention and some recognition of that occurrence from some of the panel members. The feeling was this: -eliminate anything that moves or spins in the computer -eliminate anything that makes the computer work any harder than it needs to My personal view is that for best performance your (hopefully dedicated) computer setup needs enough "cushion" to do its best. While that echoes the sentiment from the 2010 panel and elsewhere, that's not the same thing as saying using uncompressed files always sounds better. If you've got sufficient horsepower to decompress on the fly, which I gotta say doesn't really take a lot with modern computers, this is one area of distinction most listeners probably don't need to prioritize. Said another way, if you hear benefits from uncompressed files I'd be looking very, very closely at the rest of the computer setup for answers first, and want a test or two that can compare the output streams of both compressed and uncompressed to learn what's getting changed.

In my experience, Pure Music also works fine with Lion. But if you want to cover all the bases get a used or refurbed Mac with Snow Leopard---a new one won't install or boot into the last generation OS. If you are curious about Lion you can always dual-boot into that from another disk or partition. But overall I don't think that's necessary. 1) Refurbs at apple.com are literally as good as new, with new warranties. There's often a selection of current and last-gen models. 2) Yes, get more RAM and install it yourself, it's easy to do.

ssgp2 has the gist of it. Are you also wanting the benefits of letting iTunes keep the library organized and to add content to the Media location when "adding" to iTunes? Then ensure those prefs are already checkmarked. 1) Ensure iTunes is pointing to the correct location for the Media folder (where music, apps, movies and so on reside. If the Music folder isn't yet in there, put it in there.) 2) In the iTunes UI, delete all the songs. Leave the playlists alone. Make is appear as if "nothing" is in iTunes. Strictly speaking, this step is optional but will ensure later that the only things appearing in iTunes are indeed located. 3) Drag your Media folder into iTunes' open window, in the upper left portion, the Library portion. iTunes will add everything back. What this does is update the library and XML files that tell the UI where content really is.