... this is not the place for asking questions.

Anyway, yes, it is possible to run audio out to a different output than video. Most of us are doing this. You should consider operating your Mac mini "headless", i.e. without keyboard or mouse attached. You can then use Apple's remote app on an iPod/iPhone/iPad to operate your system.

The answer to the second question is USB. The analogue and digital outputs of a Mac mini are inferior to USB. If your system is truly high-end, then you would want to go for a DAC with asynchronous mode.

Regards

Kay

A great way to get the bits out of your Mac is through FireWire. I have explored various options and I really like FireWire best. I suspect you would need to look at other DACs that can handle this such as Weiss.

Sounds good. Which DAC to you have hooked up for firewire? Weiss is pretty expensive!

Todd

Thanks - I accidentally posted this to blogs. ANyway, If USB is the best, then why do so many people use S/PDIG converter with it? And I thought firewire was the best out of a mac mini

Todd

USB with or without SPDIF converter depends on the inputs of your DAC. If you are a beginner from scratch, you will probably buy a DAC with USB input. However, there are many good DACs out there that do not offer USB inputs. In that case you can buy a converter to connect your Mini to the DAC.

I cannot say anything about the sound difference of USB and Firewire from my own experience. Theoretically, USB ismore jitter prone than FW. The main reason why I recommended USB is that FW DACs are in most cases VERY expensive and thus probably not the first choice for beginners.

YMMV

Kay