UnitiServe with Mac Mini ?

Hi David,

I understand that the Mac Mini into Naim DAC/555PS is a winning formula for several members of his forum. Downside for you would be the considerable cost. 

If I was you I'd just add a PS to your Supernait as planned and sit back and enjoy the music!

Mac Mini is not really a NAS ... well at least I would not relegate it to that role ... you could get the Mac Mini server, but ... no you'd be better off with a Vortexbox. Mac Mini server is if you want to run things like your own secure web server ... you can use it as an iTunes server. A Vortexbox is almost the perfect music server if you have iTunes, Sonos, Naim, Logitech etc. ., 

I use Mac Mini in to DAC/555PS so it replaces a UnitiServe and NAS and it sirs next to the DAC no wired network required - I prefer it because I know my way around it and I think it unlikely I could achieve a better sound than I'm able to with it .... it is so easy to update and it plays any format and Internet things 

However with your set-up you simply don't need it or a Vortexbox unless you get a really good deal .. if you are happy with US SSD then no reason to change in my view ... 

There are lots of ways to get good sound and we both have that, albeit in slightly different ways. 

By the way Mac Mini runs OS X (which is a version of Unix) and it is very different from iOS. It is a highly robust server OS .. more so than Windows for example. However, Apple hides the environment under its user interface so it tends to look a bit like iOS, but OS X is a complete multi-tasking and multi-user system. And so is your iMac - great piece of kit. 

Is there something you wish your US could do that it doesn't .. I can advise based on my experience if a Mac Mini can do this ... but if I had your set-up I'd do exactly as Prubast advised

I think you're kind of set with what you have. The only reason to move to a Mini is if you wanted to use it for video, or some other functionality that only a full-blown computer can bring. For music alone, not worth the change IMO.

I recon on what is said before. Your current set up is more than sufficient unless you want to do more than music streaming (ie video). Also in terms of sound quality the MacMini will deliver a similar performance as your uServe.

cheers,

Iver

I wonder about this. Have you been able to do a side-by-side comparison?

On another note, the UnitiServe can be upgraded by adding a linear power supply. The difference is not subtle.

Jan

Jan, greetings, I never did get back to you with a follow-up question.  Any improvement in sound noted if the linear ps is used in a setup where the uServe is NOT in the same room / on the same circuit as the rest of the hi fi?  Have you tried it that way?

Now that I've got the NDS, I'm not "tied" to keeping the uServe on the hi fi rack, and I've got it 2 floors away right now where the rest of my home network hardware is located.

Meerkat:  In the system as you've got it set up, Mac Mini really would not add anything for networked music replay, at all, I think.  If you were thinking of selling the uServe and buying a Mac Mini, you could do a setup similar to Guy's with the Mac Mini connected directly to the Supernait, but I'd personally not go that direction given what you've got running right now. 

Seriously? What could explain that?

SMPS's are often targets to be avoided/replaced, not just re Naim, based on my perusal of enthusiast message boards.  EMI is often cited. I've not done any side by side listening. 

I'd accept that for a non-Naim unit, but surely Naim would have chosen a PS that didn't pollute the mains or radiate harmful (to SQ) emf for the 'serve?

But what I was mainly getting at whether a better power supply for a fully digital unit like the 'serve could make any difference to the PCM stream. It is a can of worms I perhaps should not have opened. (I also seem to have been "moderated" - but that's another story!)

It's more a question of better regulated power getting into the UnitiServe, I believe, than its SM power supply polluting the mains.

To me it is no different to adding a better power supply to a turntable. In fact, I'm thinking more along these lines these days: the computer (UnitiServe) appearing more and more as the equivalent of the turntable, while the DAC is the equivalent of the phono stage.... OK fire up your flamethrowers.

The idea that the computer in the Unitiserve makes mistakes in calculations because the power supply isn't up to the job is hard for me to fathom.

Hi Winkey,

It's not about the computer making mistakes, more about providing cleaner DC with less high-frequency noise that rides along with the signal. It works for powering the digital (computer) section of DACs. Why should it be any different for the UnitiServe ?

Jan

Hi Bart,

I take it that you mean have I tried using the linear PS with the UnitiServe as a UPnP server? Not yet. My UnitiQute is on loan to my next door neighbour, but I will set up the trial and report back.

If you asking about the effect of the UnitiServe's SMPS when that is plugged into a different circuit from the hifi, I have tested it and found no effect on the SQ.

Regards,

Jan 

But how does HF noise ride along an optical SPDIF connection?

I'm getting out of my depth here, but I would surmise that it's imprinted on the S/PDIF signal, whether that signal travels by optical or electrical connection.

Whatever... it certainly sounds better to me, as going back to the SMPS power supply clearly shows.

Hopefully, someone more technical can provide a better explanation...

Jan

Hello Jan 

I think your US will put the correct bitstream to your DAC through S/PDIF irrespective of power supply - my guess is that your linear power supply is not polluting the mains in the way a SMPS might. You can prove this by capturing the output on a CD recorder or a computer with digital in. 

My Mac Min injects no electrical noise in to my DAC because it is optical. However, it might be having an adverse affect on the mains. Not easy for me to test though. Sounds fine so I'm not going to try too many experiments ... just in case.

The early HDX certainly affected SQ when it was switched on ... i.e. something sharing the amp would sound better with HDX off than on. I thought Naim had solved this, but .... 

All the best, Guy 

Hi Guy,

I had thought, as you suggest, that the SMPS might be polluting the mains, so I checked this by leaving it plugged in (to the mains) while the U/S is on the linear PS.  Same results, so my conclusion is that the linear supply is improving the sound by what it is providing - or rather, not providing, if we think of residual AC ripple - into the UnitiServe.

It really sounds wonderful, as significant an upgrade as a HiCap on a preamp.  I kid you not.

Jan

As ever, you need to listen and decide. A while back; I convinced myself that a MacMini and a competent DAC could form another high quality source component in my system. I was wrong - it simply didn't cut it for me, and I don't see how a domestic computer can.

A MacMini can act as a very acceptable source component - and seems to satisfy several people on the forum, but it simply didn't sound good enough for me, and I'm an devoted Apple aficionado.

Dedicated Hi-Fi streaming kit sounds obviously better to me and the UnitiServe and NDS in particular are clearly capable of delivering superb sound quality.

John.

Blimey, I opened a can of worms on this one!

Thank's very much to you all, for your advice and comments...In a word, I'll stick with what I have, and just add a HiCap

Cheers

David

> Blimey, I opened a can of worms on this one!

Not really just a different point of view ... even the Mac Mini has its oddities - for instance I found changing from a Chord Optichord to Wireworld Supernova 6 made a big difference ... I cannot understand why it should. The other thing I use is bit perfect which makes sure the Mac is set up correctly. However I'm delighted with it and the Naim DAC/555PS.

Probably the best CD replay I have ever heard was a Meridian G08.2 transport into the Naim DAC/555PS

One thing about the MM is the way I can update it ... it is just a tap on the iPad and entering my pass phrase. Apple Remote has recently lost some of its functionality though so nothing is perfect. 

Although I don't understand Jan's results - it is certainly worth trying what he suggests - some of these things defy explanation. I think you have made the right decision to stay with your US. 

All the best, Guy 

Yeah I have been following the suggestion from Guido, and so far using my maxed out Mac Mini optical out using Wireworld Supernova 6 has yielded very satisfying result. The only difference in my source configuration is I am running nDAC bare, still can't afford even an XPS yet......sad.

Nevertheless nDAC is powerlined and sound very good indeed.

Just building a system at present, have quad 2805's and quad amplification, qc24/909 and a nait 5i-2 and nvi

I have just purchased NAIM Dac and a MAC Mini as the NAS and effective US equivalent for streaming and I am trying to understand the recommended options of connectivity between MAC Mini and the nDAC, so as I understand it from reading previous posts, 3 possible options :-

1/ MAC Mini > ( 3 interface/cables )

Wireworld ultra violet USB > MF V Link > Wireworld Super Nova Glass Optical

> nDAC

2/ MAC Mini > (1 interface/cable)

Wireworld Super Nova 6 Optical Interconnect ? (Question Is this Toslink to Mini Toslink, so only one link/cable required) i.e.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wire...;hash=item43b57b2ce5

> nDAC

3/ MAC Mini > (2 interface/cables)

HiFace > Chord BNC-BNC

>nDAC

If anyone has tested the above configurations and can advise which is the recommended approach I should be most grateful.

Many Thanks

rael