I'd love to try one against my SSD'd, tweaked White MacBook, with its slightly noisy fan. Actually, who cares about that? I never play music that quietly ;-)
lol, i must admit, i thought mac mini's where far more expensive , maybe time for me to try a bite at the apple way? something to think about while planning the new system.
Mac minis have got cheaper as Apple has simplified them - there's no optical drive now, f'rinstance.
Actually, I should be able to liberate my wife's 2009 mini with 8GB RAM next year if I upgrade my office iMac as planned. She'll get my current iMac and Fred's yer Aunt!
Hmm. May have to think about it.
From your POV, I'd say a new Mac mini would make a great audio server.
Mac minis have got cheaper as Apple has simplified them - there's no optical drive now, f'rinstance.
Actually, I should be able to liberate my wife's 2009 mini with 8GB RAM next year if I upgrade my office iMac as planned. She'll get my current iMac and Fred's yer Aunt!
Hmm. May have to think about it.
From your POV, I'd say a new Mac mini would make a great audio server.
i am most certainly very open to the idea, i have been reading the many articles on computer audio in the hi fi press lately and i simply cant ignore what is possible , i will always use and love vinyl playback but would like my digital media to sound more inviting over long periods than i have had in the past, when i had the dacmagic it was nice but couldn't match the vinyl for sheer involvement without fatigue, but, when i get a new DAC it would be nice to have a one box storage hub that is dedicated to digital media and utilize the TV as the display , should be able to get a pretty neat install too .the optical drive is no issue as i only own about 100 CD's and they are all on the computer now, i dont intend on buying another silver disc as long as i live. of course i will most likely be hassling you guys if i go to a mac, never used one !
A good computer set-up is easily the equal of vinyl these days - although you are listening to a man who believes there are very few decks that live up to a good digital rig. My mate Jim's Garrard 401 is one of them.
The other good thing with digital is that with a wi-fi network, you can play your music on both systems. But maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves.
If you can use a PC, you can use a Mac. I moved from Windows to a Mac almost totally painlessly a little over three years ago. I'm sure I can sort you out when the time comes.
I jumped ship from a CDX2/XPS2 to a mac-mini/Lavry DAC set up approx 2 years ago.
I had never used Macs & knew very little about computer stored music. I am also a bit of a computer numpty, so I thought I'd have a few teething troubles to say the least.
My findings were that jumping to Mac from PC was very simple. I reckon Macs are computers for idiots! Everything is simple to understand. Nice.
The Mac-mini is virtually silent in operation & so can live in my music room with no fan-noise to worry about.
thanks for the input guys, i think i am sold, would it be worth getting an older second hand mini and adding as much ram as it will take or should i plump for the new one?? cheers, matt
Dunno, but I would say make sure you get one with an Intel core 2 duo processor at least, as 64bit apps and players - not to mention operating systems - will be fine. The earliest Intel equipped macs only support 2gb RAM max, IIRC.
Mine is a 2009 model, 2.27ghz, core 2 duo, now 8gb RAM. It was a 2nd ebay purchase. Like this:
I think I'd go for the new one if I had the funds. I like the design, and I assume it has the latest processor. It should last many years, with any luck. In general, Apple doesn't require hardware upgrades to keep up with OS upgrades as much as the Windows world.
There are a series of Mac Mini articles and reviews in forthcoming issues of HiFi World. Anyone notice that they reviewed the Item DAT1 computer in the same issue, and concluded that it outperformed their reference CD transport?!
I haven't ever read a HiFi rag myself, nut I picked this up for a quick look at the local newsagents just because I recognised the DAT1...
I only read the conclusion which was very favourable indeed - well done!
So Itemaudio are modding McMinis now? Have you found a way to get the performance up to where you want it, as I recall you being, well - less than ambivalent, in the past?
thanks for the heads up on the forth coming articles in hi fi world Mark,, i will read with much interest,,
as for the Dat 1 , its certainly an interesting product but, its too big ,ugly, and far too expensive for someone like me to be looking at , add the price of a worthy DAC and i would have to consider what i could do with my vinyl system and a mac mini with all that cash , of course for those with an already good DAC and computer based system it must look very appealing , i also wonder 'in these ever greener times' if computer audio can really be considered more efficient than a humble vinyl system, just how much power does a computer based system actually chew up? computer audio must win over the heart,mind and wallet of potential users and products such as the dat1 simply dont , it beats the reference transport but did it beat the reference vinyl system is what i would have liked to have known , to my ears the reference cd systems are only now starting to catch up to what good vinyl can do and they are about to ditch cd as a main stream media format in favour of computer systems , thus ,at the point where CD may have been about to become what was promised for decades we are to say goodbye!
the beauty of computer audio and the main factor of its appeal for me was that i have a computer(and need a new one anyway!) and using it as a music server is nice and convenient , would i seriously consider a truly dedicated monster of a computer for music as 'a good move' ? hmmm , that would be a no! still interesting though.
Mark, Thanks for the link. The DAT1 looks like an interesting product. Similar in some ways to my NVA TFS, which I absolutely love. Although I have limited experience, computer audio when done well seems to do incredible justice to ripped CD. You must be pleased with the published reviews of your product. :-bd I notice from your website that you've gone down a 'product with add-ons' (choice of onboard DACs, larger SSDs, bluray drive, etc.,...) route which is in contrast to Jason's NVA TFS approach of a single solution music computer. How are customers reacting to these additional prices and complexities?
I did notice that they said the noise from the mini was unmeasurable on the outputs- so no point wasting money on low noise HD cables, external power supplies or any of that other rubbish that seems to be infiltrating much of computer audio at the minute.
Comments
when i get a new DAC it would be nice to have a one box storage hub that is dedicated to digital media and utilize the TV as the display , should be able to get a pretty neat install too .the optical drive is no issue as i only own about 100 CD's and they are all on the computer now, i dont intend on buying another silver disc as long as i live.
of course i will most likely be hassling you guys if i go to a mac, never used one !
I put in lots of RAM, which helped with high rez memory play, and am thinking about an SSD now, which would make it properly quiet.
Does anyone know if putting in an SSD would allow me to remove the fan altogether?
When I am in there, I'll remove the 2p coins from the disk drive...
cheers,
matt
Mine is a 2009 model, 2.27ghz, core 2 duo, now 8gb RAM. It was a 2nd ebay purchase. Like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-Mac-Mini-Intel-Core-2-Duo-2-26GHz-8GB-RAM-160GB-Disk-/360406308889?pt=UK_Computing_Apple_Desktops_CV&hash=item53e9e3d819
I am sure a better deal is available with patience.
Good to see you again.
I haven't ever read a HiFi rag myself, nut I picked this up for a quick look at the local newsagents just because I recognised the DAT1...
I only read the conclusion which was very favourable indeed - well done!
So Itemaudio are modding McMinis now? Have you found a way to get the performance up to where you want it, as I recall you being, well - less than ambivalent, in the past?
Thanks for the link. The DAT1 looks like an interesting product. Similar in some ways to my NVA TFS, which I absolutely love. Although I have limited experience, computer audio when done well seems to do incredible justice to ripped CD. You must be pleased with the published reviews of your product. :-bd
I notice from your website that you've gone down a 'product with add-ons' (choice of onboard DACs, larger SSDs, bluray drive, etc.,...) route which is in contrast to Jason's NVA TFS approach of a single solution music computer. How are customers reacting to these additional prices and complexities?
:-B
Does Si's scope measure in 'loads'...?
EDIT: Oho it works! 'Tis done. Some posts now moved to 'Switching to linear' thread.
(features not present on iPhone)
B-)
(Some posts moved to 'Switching to linear' thread.)