headless mac mini

 i appreciate all help - I've managed to set vac and remote to control it all and that works and comes out

 the audio midi panel looks like this

http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/...:Audio_MIDI_shot.jpg

but mine says 44.1000

tho theres an icon in midi devices that says new audio device - when i click on that icon there are possible options/boxes in properties to tick to do with midi beat clock

i appreciate all help - I've managed to set vnc viewer  and remote to control it all and that works so there is progress!

It would be great if someone could post some screen shots of how it should be set that would be brilliant

I seem to have spent ages googling etc trying to get this sorted .... i can't sadly afford the ndac and Cambridge have no phone number /no clear instructions on how to connect a mac and a rather nonresponse email support system...

With lots of people using macs for music I would have thought it would all have been a lot easier!

cheers

You don't need the Midi part of Audio Midi Setup, all you need is in the Audio Devices window.

There is no communication over optical, so your Mini does not know what is on the other side. Use built-in output, it is automatically switched to digital output if an optical cable is used.

If you connect using USB it will show up in that same list in the Audio Devices window, you can the right-click the two output options and select what sounds you want to use them for.

Standard settings for CD sourced music is 44.1 and 24bit (24 instead of 16 for optimal quality volume control on the Mac)

--

If your window looks like the benchmark screeny you've got an older version of OSX by the way, so instead of the right click thing you have the two options: default output and system output. 

default output is for music, system output for warning sounds.

update 

well it all works and thanks to all . inevitably i guess the music from the Cd5xs still sounds way better but  the convenience is all the music accessible via the iPad rather than finding a specific cd

(the cd5xs still has a fuller sound and especially on the bass)

A general better presence with the mac mini direct into the dac than over the airport express

but the library of albums and then its operation on the iPad seems much slower than when the music came from the airport express via the same optical cable - `i tried it back the original way to gets it wasn't my imagination and it wasn't

soundquality issues are mainly DacMagic vs CD5XS related, not necessarily CD vs Streaming. If you have ripped to lossless files of course, otherwise: do so! FLAC, ALAC is what it's all about.

Changing the DAC to something better may improve this later.

With slower, you mean navigation on iPad vs iTunes? This is logical since the iPad loads through WiFi. It takes a while to load the images in a list but my experience is that it works great. 

> Sound quality issues are mainly Dac Magic vs CD5XS related

+1 

Naim DACs whether they are buried away in the Naim CD players or in their streaming devices or the stand alone DAC are very special and only a few come close to their magical SQ. 

Nonetheless, it is great that you got your system up and running and you still still be able to enjoy good quality with your DAC Magic. 

I use an iPad and it is fairly fast. The speed will depend on your wireless network. 

A clarification request: when you say 'headless Mac Mini', does this mean a mac mini that is connected, with or without wires, to a uniti type device, and without a monitor attached? 

I ask because I was thinking that a mac mini, could be placed beside a uniti and used to hold the music (maybe that's what a 'server' is). Then there would be no UPnP issues, and one would need only to move the mini back to the main mac to to update the iTunes library, or whatever one is using. 

Not that I'm trying to avoid Naim gear, only that I'm trying to understand this whole system before I start suggesting massive audio expenditures around the dinner table. 

Presumably N-stream would on an iPad/ phone/ touch would talk to the mini and make the music go. 

'Headless' means no monitor. If you need to 'see' what is going on with the Mini you can connect it to another Mac wirelessly using the 'screen sharing' facility (allows you to see the Mini 'screen' on the Mac screen - wifi must be on the Mini). Use something like a HiFace to connect to naim amp to avoid uPnP. No need to move the Mini to update, DropBox are iCloud could help you do this or just allow them to share the Music folder.

Apple's free 'Remote' app is all you need. It is what n-Stream could be.

'It just works'. Wonderfully.

Neil

Excellent, thanks. I'm likely going to get a uniti qute, and it will not be adjacent to our iMac. So, if a mac mini can be the music server, then that is great. True enough, the mini could be controlled from the iMac with iCloud or dropbox.

What is a HiFace? Is that a cable? I'm thinking that the mini and the Qute would be connected with ethernet or toslink. 

I have used Remote with an airport express, and it is excellent. 

Finally, are we saying that a mini is doing what a Naim UnitiServe does? 

Sorry to pepper you with more questions, but I do appreciate the help. 

Google is your friend Damon.

Indeed. I generally do check there first; did not do so on the HiFace. But understand that this thread has wandered (which is fine), and many items mentioned here are often specific to this topic and Naim equipment.

M2Tech HiFace is a USB/SPDIF converter. In other words it converts the signal from a USB output on the Mini to a useable digital input on the UQ. It is like a slightly larger USB drive that plugs into a USB slot in the back of the Mini and then a digital coax cable connects to the UQ. Easy and better SQ then using the 3.5mm jack of the Mini.

Sort of like a UnitiServe but can do more as you will be able to use Spotify and iPlayer etc.

The Mac Mini is the hub of all my music.

Neil

Your Nait doesn't have a digital input so Toslink is not the answer - the inbuilt DAC in the Mac Mini is not great, but if you're happy it with (subjective really) then you could just go for the audio out to your Nait.

However, this sounds like a job for Devil Sound (now renamed the Halide DAC) - just stick this cable between the USB port and the inputs on your Nait XS and dance to the music .... 

Original Devil Sound 

The alternative is to get a DAC such as the Chord Peach, but you said you didn't want another box. 

Neil & Guido,

Thanks for the extra info. Really helpful. I'm getting a used UnitiQute, and I'm thinking that an attached music storage device is the clean way to go. So, the cabling info is great.

BTW I thought I replied to this thread already, but it hasn't shown up. Apologies if two appear.

Wonder if you are getting my old Qute! Is James helping you out?

Neil

The iMac you already have could serve as a music server, you don't need an extra Mini for that. Another better option (with the Qute) is a NAS drive filled with your music files to make full use of the Qutes functions, then you don't need a Mac at all.

The MacMini is normally used with a DAC in the same way that a UnitiQute is used on it's own.

Yes - there is more than one way to use the UQ.

A Mac Mini (new version) with good quality optical cable in to a UQ gives superb results. 

I don't know if the iMac's S-PDIF out can match this, but using a Musical Fidelity V-Link should cure most of the jitter problems (I prefer the V-Link to most USB to S-PDIF because it just works with no drivers required), if it can't. UPnP from a NAS works too, but my UQ is fussy about the files it will play - FLAC works fine though from a Vortexbox. 

paaj,

I've just hooked things up, using n-stream (UPnP) & Remote to an airport express to the mini jack on the front of the UQ. Remote is much better than n-stream; artwork and so much faster and more responsive.

My thinking, however, is to get a box (a server, I guess) next to the UQ, to avoid the wireless situation. My iMac is not close to the UQ; about 24' and it would be real work to run any sort of wire between the two.

So far, the sound quality varies tremendously, and I'm trying to get clear on which files sound better than others. I may also try using the UQ as a preamp to my Nait 3, just to see if there is a sound difference.

So the stupid question here is: is a Mac Mini not a NAS? I presume the Nait UnitiServe is just such a thing, but I don't know what other types of devices do the same job of storing music files. I recognize that the unitiserve has an optical drive and so does more than just hold music files.

I love Nait gear, but based on my very brief experience, I would rather use Remote than n-stream.

Since I bought a used item, I do not feel as though I should expect free help from the dealer, though I like them very much and have bought all my current gear from them. And yes, I understand that I am holding my hat out for free advice here; I expect that I will be able to contribute as well once I get things figured out.

Neil, I bought the UQ on Canuck Audio Mart; it came from Toronto. Just wish the volume control on the remote worked. It seems to be purely for show.

Guido,

Thanks for the comments RE UQ & a mini. It seems to be a simple, familiar way to get into high quality digital. I want to understand it before I mortgage the house.

Thanks to All,

Maybe I am missing something from above but why not just use ethernet???  No need for a "streamer" per se.  How about a simple switch?

There are UPNP servers for your Mac.  I think people like Asset or Twonky or something.  There is one that works well with iTunes.... i think.

Then no need to mess around with any kind of cables other than cheap ol' ethernet.

No offense but, Mac>Airport>MiniJack on Front seems to be maybe the best scenario for the absolute worst possible sound quality.

-Patrick

You could just use an external HDD with your music files if you want to keep it very simple, just unplug it and move it to the iMac to add more music. 

Sound quality variation can be either ALAC/FLAC (lossless codecs: CD quality) vs MP3/AAC (lossy: less than CD) or variations in recording. If you rip your own CD's, make sure you do it lossless! If you do download, make sure it's lossless too... FLAC is the way to go with your Qute.

Recording variances you'll just have to live with.

The MacMini could act as a NAS (network attached storage), but would be way overpriced. A 'simple' NAS (I use a D-Link DNS-323, but there are many more) is just like an external HDD, but connected to your network instead of a computer. It's a storage space you can reach from all devices in your system. Most have a built-in UPnP media server that your Qute will reach directly. You can put this in another room (HDD are noisy!) and connect the Qute to your network (cable preferred as it's easier, but WiFi is possible too if reception is good) to reach it.

BIG plus of a NAS with more HDD's is that it has the capability to automatically back-up using a RAID system. I just found myself very lucky when my 200+GB music drive crashed!

The big sellingpoint of the Qute, other than being small, is the built-in network player. Don't waste your money on something that will double that... though a Mini may be cheap in Naim terms, it's a waste to just use it as NAS...

probably a few terms Google will help you make sense of

Thanks for all the contributions. 

Guido: the Musical Fidelity V-Link is something that I will look into. I've searched the Vortexbox and it too looks like the sort of thing that would work. 

Patrick: you're not missing anything; I had assumed, or hoped, that ethernet would work, but that very simple solution has not had much ink here. I'm glad you mentioned it. 

RE airport and front jack- no offence taken. That was just one of the connection methods I've tried. I did not think it would be a good solution in terms of sound quality. 

paaj: thanks for the info. I think that I'm beginning to understand that a hard drive attached to the UQ will do the job as long as it has software on it that allows the UQ to see it/ talk to it and access the music files. 

Believe me, I've googled all sorts of terms and techniques. But the results are kind of like finding a sandwich on the sidewalk; it might be good, or it might not be. Sometimes the hits are questionable. Besides, the good hits bring me back here.