Trick out a MacBook and save around £1000!

uglymusic

I’ve been playing around with three Macs - a Mac mini G4, a three-year-old White MacBook and a current-generation MacBook Air - at the head of my system. In terms of sound quality, that’s the order, too, with the Air sounding just a bit better than the White.

I use the Air for my business and at about a grand, I don’t really really want to buy another one for the hi-fi. So I’ve decided to trick out the White.

So far I’ve reinstalled the O/S and just installed Audiophile apps. I have also installled Sleepless so I can play the thing without having the lid open.

I’ve turned off Spotlight and have bookmarked some other O/S tweaks.

I’ve discovered I don’t need a new PSU as the MacBook sounds exactly the same if it’s running off batteries as when it’s plugged into the mains.

I have an SSD ready to swap in, and I’ve got a set of Herbie’s Big Tall Tenderfeet to help isolate it and promote cooling (I want to stop the MacBook’s fan from kicking in).

The question is, what else can or should I do to trick out the White MacBook?

Uzinusa

Dave,

? Use discrete busses?:  I have my music on a fanless, bus-powered (no external PSU) external drive, through Firewire 800 and my DAC on the USB output. I heard that it was better to use a different bus but didn't test it.  

? Max out the RAM: I've not, but have 4GB, 3 of which is given over to PureMusic.

? What's your music backup strategy?

I'm surprised the mini didn't do as good a job as the Air and I doubt I'd want to use my MacBook as a music server.

Andy

uglymusic

Dave,

? Use discrete busses?:  I have my music on a fanless, bus-powered (no external PSU) external drive, through Firewire 800 and my DAC on the USB output. I heard that it was better to use a different bus but didn't test it.  

? Max out the RAM: I've not, but have 4GB, 3 of which is given over to PureMusic.

? What's your music backup strategy?

I'm surprised the mini didn't do as good a job as the Air and I doubt I'd want to use my MacBook as a music server.

Andy

Thanks Andy. I think I have most of that covered off. Here goes:

• My music is on a NAS, connected to my router. At the moment, the connection is via wi-fi, but I'm going to see if switching off wi-fi and using Ethernet makes any difference to the sound quality. So only the DAC is on the USB bus
• RAM already maxed out to 4GB
• Backup strategy: to create multiple copies internally and externally. Rip a FLAC archive at the same time as the live AIFF copy. Copies of both on the Firewire Drobo attached to the office iMac. A copy of the FLAC archive is on the 1TB drive in the iMac. Live AIFF files are on the NAS (as above). The FLAC archive is backed up online to a BackBlaze account, and to a local USB drive using TimeMachine. Local mirroring using Chronosync. Offsite aspects still need tightening up - I'll probably buy a couple of USB drives for my wife to place alternately in the drawer at work. There are a few more wrinkles that I have up my sleeve which are more to do with management than backup.

The mini was a G4, so it couldn't run 10.6. Both of the Intel machines running 10.6 sounded far better than the mini running 10.4. The Air has only one small moving part - a fan that I've never heard spinning, so on the face of it, it's an ideal music server.

The White MacBook sounded better than I expected from the start, so I've kept it rather than eBaying it, which got me on to this track of seeing how much I could get out of it sound quality-wise.

sq225917

I use my MB-pro as my music server, bit of  a waste, but hey.

Uzinusa

Easy come, easy go :-)

uglymusic

I use my MB-pro as my music server, bit of  a waste, but hey.

I wonder if the structural rigidity of an aluminium unibody Mac helps. The Air is a nice stiff unibody (oo-er missus!) while the White MacBook is distinctly less rigid.

RobHolt

I use my MB-pro as my music server, bit of  a waste, but hey.

Same here.

The 'sleepless' ap looks useful though. Will be downloading that later.

uglymusic

Yeah. Give it a go.

I find mine does go to sleep after a couple of hours of inactivity, though. But just opening the lid for a couple of seconds wakes it up, and you can close the lid again.

RobHolt

I use my MB-pro as my music server, bit of  a waste, but hey.

I wonder if the structural rigidity of an aluminium unibody Mac helps. The Air is a nice stiff unibody (oo-er missus!) while the White MacBook is distinctly less rigid.

Must assist the cooling and therefore reduce fan use.

The processor type is also important. I have two MBPs - one is three years old 15" with 2.16 core 2 duo and the other is 9 month old 13" unibody with a 2.26 chip. The latter runs far cooler despite having  a slightly faster CPU and smaller format.

uglymusic

The fan use is proving to be the biggest issue with the White.

The best cure is often a simple reboot.

uglymusic

Just found this guide to disassembling the MacBook and removing the fan.

I think I'll have a go sometime and make sure mine isn't crammed full of three years of dust and yuck.

uglymusic

A long story involving HD problems, an SSD that got physically stuck during installation, and not having a good enough tool set to remove tiny screws has been running today. So a trip into Maplins in Brighton got me a nice screwdriver set and a can of pressurised air.

I ended up taking the machine apart, taking the SSD out and plugging it in while the chassis was bared, then cleaning out the fan.

Taking the MacBook apart was probably simpler that doing the same to a Mac mini, although there are many more screws!

Alan

That sound like quite an odyssey - has it all gone together all-right? Does it sound good?

uglymusic

It was! But at least I have a decent set of small screwdrivers now. I wasted more time trying to remove some screws using the cheap set of 'jewellers' screwdrivers I had.

It's all gone together as good as new. 

I think it sounds better, but I'm not in a position to A/B it :-) The real win has been the quieter fan, though.

ItemAudio

Unbox it to separate the monitor from the mobo?
Add shielding + EM absorption - particularly 5/3.3V switching components?
Convert for passive cooling?
Physically remove bluetooth/wireless modules and antennae?
Cryo treat?
Shorten digital cable runs?

uglymusic

Thanks for that Mark. I was hoping someone would come up with some suggestions like that.

I have some thoughts and questions:

I run the MacBook with the monitor off.

How would I add the shielding?

Similarly, with the passive cooling.

What advantage does removing the BT and Wi-Fi modules have? I've switched both off, so they shouldn't be interfering with anything.

I suppose I could have it cryo treated. I really hadn't thought of that. I guess I'd have to remove the mobo?

Again, I hadn't considered shortening cable runs. I guess I'd need to get hold of two different lengths of identical USB.

ItemAudio

We recently tried to test the '1.5m reflection theory' with similar coaxials, but ultimately, I think we were just hearing 'shorter is better'. This seems particularly to be true with USB, and, of course - much more so, I2S.

The shielding and passive cooling would require re-boxing the components, but you can add Stillpoints fabric, and copper spray and tape beneficially to many points inside the existing casework. I normally remove the cards and antennae as belt and braces: they consume juice, if nothing else, and wires designed to carry radio signals onto the motherboard can't be helpful to our requirements.

Among hardcore video gamers, cryo-treatment of the cards is sometimes undertaken: it can reduce power consumption by 20%. And I've yet to hear a cable, wire, valve socket or connector that doesn't sound better after treatment. You may find the CPU runs cooler, too.

Uzinusa

Surely cryo = BS of the first order in hifi terms?  (EDIT: I always feel this soft of stuff is a bit fooey.)  However, if you want I'll cool at 1oC per minute anything you send me to -196oC.

Andy

ItemAudio

Cryo-treatment seems to be quite surprisingly endorsed by the most knowledgeable people I've spoken to about it. And, audibly, it works. Because of its reputation, some manufacturers who cryo-treat components for their high-end products don't say so. They do it nonetheless!

Uzinusa

OK.