Timinla Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 My goal is to stream music via Tidal, Pandora and Spotify as well as play tracks from an NAS. Also, given the problems I have been having with Apple TV and Airplay of late (it just doesn't work anymore), I might use the Mac to stream video from non-mainstream sources. An example would be to watch the new Funny or Die movie about Donald Trump. Netflix and HBO Go work pretty well via Apple TV. I have read a bunch of strings regarding PC/Mac vs dedicated appliance and have decided to go the route of a Mac Mini. So, how should I configure the Mini? How much RAM? Do I need an SSD? Is processor speed an issue? The easy answer would be to buy what is most expensive. But the budget is not unlimited, of course. And with computers, I have found, buying more that you need is the same as throwing money away. Tim Link to comment
AudioDoctor Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Sounds to me like a monitor, an internet connection, and a DAC... I would get an SSD if I were you, I opened my Mini up and replaced the spinning drive with an SSD and it made a significant improvement. I would at a minimum get 8gb of RAM, 16 would be better. I would say get an I7, but I am running a 2011 Mac Mini with an I5 and 16GB of RAM, so...RAM may be more important. It is cheaper from OWC than it is from Apple too, and simple to install. There are several playback software options as well, they all have free trials and you could see which worked best for you. No electron left behind. Link to comment
wouterk Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I am very happy with my setup: MacMini 16GB - last i7 IFI Micro DSD Regen USB - using fixed USB adapted supplied Audioquest USB cable NordOst RedDawn audio External USB 3 2TB Seagate Roon software (tried lots of other software first) Link to comment
Timinla Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Thank you to those who have replied to my posting. I am surprised however at how few responses I have received. Is the Mac Mini not a popular solution for streaming and playing digital files? I see lots of posts on Windows boxes with, frankly, somewhat obscure versions of Windows that would require endless tweaking. But I am a veteran of wrestling with Windows in an office environment and would prefer to just enjoy music. But given all the discernible variations in hardware I have read about for Windows machines, I can't believe I can buy just any Mac Mini and it will sound the same as any other Mac Mini. I understand and that the more RAM the better. But do I need an ssd? I question this because the music will either be streaming over tcp/ip or played as a file from an NAS. And how much processing power do I need if fairly simple and inexpensive devices sound pretty good? thanks again for the help. Tim Link to comment
Tand Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I use a 2011 i7 2ghz with 8 gb. This works great with my Amarra w/iRC and streaming with Amarra for Tidal w/iRC. Very stable and sounds absolutly fantastic! I am on El Capitan and I also use the CAD script, the system uses below 4 %. I also boot with SD card and have all my music on a differet mini with a 1 tb SSD. The minis are connected with FMC (optical network). I also use Uptone MMK, JS-2 and Regen. I belive the reason you got so few answers might be that the Mac mini works great in many types of configuratons, from new to old, simple configurations to all in with 16 gb/ 3 ghz . Tommy Link to comment
Melvin Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 The most basic and inexpensive Mac mini will be fine. You do not need any more than that and no tweaks required. That being said, most of us are here because we obsess, because we want to eek out that last little bit of resolution and nuance from our gear. For example, check out the threads on USB reclock/regeneration gizmos. So, is an SSD necessary for good sound? No. I chose to configure my last Mac mini with one because I didn't want to hear a spinning drive. Was it worth it? To me, yes. I also spent the money on a Thunderbolt SSD drive for music storage for the same reason. Again, it was worth it to me. YMMV. My Mac mini is a late 2012 quad-core i7 with 16 GB memory and 256 GB SSD. Link to comment
Liam Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I am very happy with the setup below. No issues at all. Do bear in mind.... http://www.support.apple.com/en-ie/HT203091 I also removed the spinning drive from mine and installed the ssd from the get go, simply to avoid the spinning noise. I use the CAD script in Amarra, and then close Amarra again if launching Amarra SQ for example for streaming from Qobuz, which is my predominant modus operandi. LOUNGE:- Qobuz Studio>TP-Link RE650 WI-FI Extender>AfterDark Ethernet Cable>EtherREGEN/Farad Super3 PSU/Furutech AC input/Level2 DC cable/SR Purple fuse>AfterDark Ethernet Cable(1/2 Metre)>Lumin U1 Mini Streamer/LEEDH volume/External PliXiR BDC Elite 12v/4amp PSU>Oyaide DB-510 bnc-bnc Digital cable>MHDT Orchid Dac>Townshend DCT300 Interconnects>Airtight AMT-1S Amp>Townshend Isolda EDCT Speaker Cables>Speakers Revival Atalante 3. LIVING ROOM:-Qobuz Studio>Bluesound Node2i (streamer only)>Oyaide DB-510 bnc-bnc Digital Cable>iFi Retro 50 Dac-Amp>iFi LS3.5 Speakers. Various tweaks in both systems - tubes, footers, grounding, Shakti devices, Nordost QK1, Furutech fuses, resonance generators. Link to comment
intermediatic Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I would get a Raspberry Pi and install Moode on it. My Mac Mini sounds BETTER *streaming* through Moode hooked via optical spdif to my Ayre Codex than my Mac Mini sounds using Audirvana Plus and USB Regen. Sharper, clearer, more musical. Now if you still want the Mac Mini, that's another story and I'm keeping mine to run Roon, but just an FYI. Software: Roon [depricated: Moode Audio (http://moodeaudio.org), Audirvana Plus+] Digital: Ayre Codex [upgrading to Ayre QX-5 Twenty]; Oppo UDP-205; [depricated: Raspberry Pi 2 with Hifiberry Digi+]; Synology Diskstation 412+ NAS; Tidal Preamplification: Ayre KX-5 Twenty; Amplification: Ayre VX-5 Twenty; Speakers: Vandersteen 5A Analog: Clearaudio Performance DC, Concept tonearm, Artist v2 ebony cartridge, Ayre P-5xe, Nakamichi 630 (Tuner… just for fun) Cables: Audioquest Aspen for speakers, otherwise Anti-cables throughout (except Audioquest running from P-5xe to K-5xeMP) Link to comment
beerandmusic Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I am very happy with my setup:MacMini 16GB - last i7 IFI Micro DSD Regen USB - using fixed USB adapted supplied Audioquest USB cable NordOst RedDawn audio External USB 3 2TB Seagate Roon software (tried lots of other software first) roon doesnt play native dsd....it downsamples to pcm first then does dop...better off with auidovarna+ ?? Link to comment
Freann Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 roon doesnt play native dsd....it downsamples to pcm first then does dop...better off with auidovarna+ ?? Where did you hear that? Roon client on iPad/MacBookPro Roon Server & HQPlayer on Mac Mini 2.0 GHz i7 with JS-2 LPS-1 & ultraRendu → Lampizator Atlantic → Bent Audio TAP-X → Atma-sphere M60 → Zero autoformers → Harbeth Compact 7 ES-3 Link to comment
Freann Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 roon doesnt play native dsd....it downsamples to pcm first then does dop...better off with auidovarna+ ?? Where did you get that information? Roon client on iPad/MacBookPro Roon Server & HQPlayer on Mac Mini 2.0 GHz i7 with JS-2 LPS-1 & ultraRendu → Lampizator Atlantic → Bent Audio TAP-X → Atma-sphere M60 → Zero autoformers → Harbeth Compact 7 ES-3 Link to comment
orgel Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 roon doesnt play native dsd....it downsamples to pcm first then does dop...better off with auidovarna+ ?? Roon does DoP. There's no downsampling or conversion to PCM (unless that's something you want to do, in which case you can). If you use Roon as a front end to HQPlayer, then native DSD isn't a problem (depending on OS, drivers, hardware in use). In this case, Roon just passes a bitperfect PCM or DSD stream to HQP for processing. --David Listening Room: Mac mini (Roon Core) > iMac (HQP) > exaSound PlayPoint (as NAA) > exaSound e32 > W4S STP-SE > Benchmark AHB2 > Wilson Sophia Series 2 (Details) Office: Mac Pro > AudioQuest DragonFly Red > JBL LSR305 Mobile: iPhone 6S > AudioQuest DragonFly Black > JH Audio JH5 Link to comment
Timinla Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 Thanks for all the good ideas and counsel. Now, if I might, may I ask for a translation? I know what PCM and DSD are, but what is DoP? Tim Link to comment
kumakuma Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Thanks for all the good ideas and counsel. Now, if I might, may I ask for a translation? I know what PCM and DSD are, but what is DoP? Tim DoP (DSD over PCM) encapsulates DSD in a container that makes it look like PCM for the purposes of streaming it. Here is more information: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/DSD#DSD_over_PCM_.28DoP.29 Sometimes it's like someone took a knife, baby Edgy and dull and cut a six inch valley Through the middle of my skull Link to comment
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