Mac mini?
Posted by: MangoMonkey on 26 November 2011
I don't know if Kent can prove it, but it should sound perfectly fine. And oc course with a mini you could get a USB dac for further improvements if thats your bag.
MangoMonkey,
Are you comparing Macmini vs STouch as dig-out, or nDAC vs STouch as dac?
Garyi,
It depends on the USB dac. There are also very bad USB dacs around. I wouldn't assume it would be better than nDAC.
In the mean time, I use the discontinued M-Audio FireWire Audiophile, and love the way it sounds in general direct into AUX1 on my 112, especially for the price. It is good enough that I am seriously considering upgrading the 112 before adding the nDAC.
PureMusic adds FLAC capabilities to iTunes. Info on the PureMusic (Channel-D) site advocates using separate busses for external hard disks and signal processing, FWIW.
I personally found this easier to set up than a SBTouch plus the server app. Still, some may find the configuration activities a barrier. PureMusic upsampling to 9600, using Memory Play, and set up in a dedicated "quiet" user profile, out to my M-Audio sounds better to my ears than my SBTouch, but I am still optimizing the latter.
Nick
Was supposed to read as an improvement, and not prove Kent.
Nick,
Do you have any experience running the mac mini as a transport without a keyboard, mouse monitor etc, maybe controlled remotely through an iPad.
On second thoughts I should just get the nd5xs.
I run a headless Mini to a SuperUniti (Qute before that) without any problems. Screen Sharing allows you to see what the Mini is up to. Stream to your renderer or use the dig out/USB to go to your DAC. This connection allows you to Spotify/iPlayer from the Mini.
Regards
Neil
badlyread--
With apologies for going slightly off-topic, how would you compare the Qute to the SuperUniti? Besides having more power, does the SQ of the streaming seem better, for example?
I guess i meant usb interface?
garyi, I should have thought that you were mentioning using a USB-to-SPDIF Converter, which would be the recommendation of quite many forum members.
Not sure if you are pulling my leg or not, but here goes. . .
USB and FireWire etc are interfaces themselves, relative to the CPU. My M-Audio DAC is an additional interface, giving me the option to output analog or spdif. Using the latter bypasses the on board DAC, leaving the digital signal in tact to pass to e.g. an nDAC.
Nick
For a while i had a usb dac. At least that what i think it was called. It was hi def device, usb input from computer and the output was spdif or bnc. Ths went to a dac. It wasnot up to much anyhow.
So i guess i meant interface or convertir, not dac in this instance.
PureMusic adds FLAC capabilities to iTunes. Info on the PureMusic (Channel-D) site advocates using separate busses for external hard disks and signal processing, FWIW.
......
Nick
Hi Nick
Don't think this matters in your case as you are using Firewire. If you were using USB for audio then the PM suggestion would be worth investigating. I see no advantage of the Weiss over the M-Audio as FW/S-PDIF converter, not sure about the Weiss DAC, but I would think M-Audio/Naim DAC would sound much better, but of course I've not tried this. The Weiss kit I heard was OK (not something I'd buy personally), but it is not Naim. The best non-Naim DACs I've heard are the Chord and BAD Alpha. I could easily live with the BAD Alpha if Naim didn't make DACs.
The M-Audio is gem of a product though and I'm npt surprised you are enjoying it.
All the best, Guy
aht
Not possible to say as the Qute could not stream ALAC and was transcoded to another format (I forget which). So I can only comment in terms of power and control of which there there is plenty. The Qute is a very, very good piece of kit and I thought that was where I was going to stop (done the CDX2/HiCap/Napsc/202/200 to Nait2/Transporter) as I want a single solution, but the SuperUniti is another beast all together (as you would expect with the price difference).
Regards
Neil
Neil,
Thanks for the report. I've been very impressed with the Qute, especially with external sources (CD player, phono stage), and would like another analog input or two.
The SuperUniti will not go back to the shop if you home demo it! Plenty of inputs and some dealers will px the Qute.
Neil
MangoMonkey: You OP is a good question. My impression is most who spring for the nDAC add a HiFace etc before they get around to testing against the SB.
Hi, Mohit: VNC and/or Apple Remote Access in some combination have worked for me as I tested my MBPro with the lid closed. I do not remember the details, but the POC is good enough to convince me that I want to pursue the Mini. Sonos is simpler, but I enjoy the options the Mini adds, and I don't mind the added complexities.
Guy: Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Weiss. I have not heard it, so should not have cited it. Its pedigree and price seemed to rank it above my M-Audio piece. One thing to know about PureMusic: no network sources; they recommend a separate physical local drive for your music library, hence the discussion about using dedicated busses.
Nick