New Mac Mini, version to choose?

The base i5 model is all you will need - just slip in more RAM.

Tog

Does anyone know whether the new Mac Mini is still low jitter like the previous (mid 2011- late 2012) one?

Get the quad core!  Why not?  And definitely get 8gb RAM of 1600 RAM.

-Patrick

I bought the server version because I wanted the bigger hard-drives. But really, any version will do just fine. Storage and backup can be in external drives as required.

does more RAM really improve the sound?

No. Audio is trivial for modern computers.

You just saved me $100

The thing is most 3rd party music players such as Bit Perfect, Audirvana, Amarra, Pure Music etc all preload tracks into memory to play. Hence, it is critical to get the largest RAM you can afford with 8GB as minimum. Many has encountered software crash due to insufficient RAM.

I reiterate that even with using players that utilise RAM buffers, audio is absolutely trivial for modern computers. They can deal with the data rates to read and reload buffers in their sleep. It really doesn't matter. A whole CD is 650MB, or less than 1GB. The audio players that run from RAM buffers keep much, much less than that into memory (typically, a few seconds of audio). In any case, they could load a whole CD's worth of music from hard-drive into memory in seconds without breaking a sweat.

Any modern computer (i.e. one that is less than 20 years old) will run audio with no problems whatsoever. A total waste of money to spend extra on RAM if all you do is run audio.

Oh.... I didn't know the OP was using it for audio ONLY.

That said, I couldn't play 24/96 without occasional drops and clicks on my old (2007) Pentium 4 PC with 4gb RAM.  My buddy's 2010 Mac mini with 3 GB RAM cant handle 24/96 nor even full 720p without lots of swirling beach ball.  So the "20 year" quote above is BS.

Much of this has some to do with RAM and some to do with power and graphics.  But a boxed up factory made computer is going to have higher spec'd everything with the higher RAM and internal SSD models.

-p

Fair cop. There is always more to it. My Mini actually shows BitPerfect using 600MB-800MB of memory (same whether playing redbook or hi-res) which seems a LOT more than the few seconds I claimed above. I have a 8GB of RAM, though, so no problems there.  iTunes itself uses only about 200MB. Each application uses less than 1% of CPU, though.

Thanks everyone. I will check the RAM issue by the shop. I have read RAM makes a big difference, but that might be in a non audio setting. This one will be dedicated to music only. I changed RAM in my current Mini from 2 to 4G and it has worked fine.

It may be the four- Core version with 8GB RAM/ 1T disk for me then.

Exactly,  you can get RAM for much less if it is easy to get into the mini's guts.  Make sure you use two sticks of the same size, make and model.  My buddy had bad results mixing and matching.

Also, DO NOT use a hybrid drive.  Those things are a POS. Get a 256GB SSD and keep all media files on externals or a NAS.  The SSD side of the hybrids are not big enough for the OS and ALL program files... it is wonky tech.

In the end, why not get the best proc you can afford while considering the upgrade cost of the RAM and an SSD.  It is always nice to have spare room regarding power.  If you decide you want to use the Mini for video or photo editing, or godforbid video conferencing, etc, you will be in a good space.

-Patrick

8GB of RAM - Current models still low jitter - for audiophile use don't use it for anything else and strip out all the essential programs. The speed of the CPU is only useful as a bragging aide down the pub in this context and has no discernible impact. Use a good external drive for music or use a NAS.

As an aside they really are flexible - one of mine is used solely as a Plex Server to stream and play HD video via DLNA or HDMI - this one is a mid 2012 base model with extra RAM and it never misses a beat. Remote control via Iphone - brilliant. 

Tog

Exactly..... this is why I would suggest anything else than a mac Mini for audio only.  It is complete overkill as far as budget is concerned... and underkill for anything else.

-p

pcstockton - what would you suggest for audio only use? I'm after a fanless windows machine to run JRiver on - see my thread in HiFi corner.

If you're after a bargain you can often pick these up, fully warranted from the "Apple Certified Refurbished" store (there's a link from the Apple Store homepage).

Peter (no affiliation to Apple)

Im not sure how to do a fanless PC without going WAY overboard.  Maybe one of those ASUS deals that are about as big as a modem?

That said, my ASRock mini PC is quieter than I require with two fans (case and proc).  Quieter than my $1500 SSD only i5 Ultrabook.

Useful thread. I'm seriously considering using a mac mini too, the NDS unfortunately is not on the cards at the moment. This might be a really stupid question but if I plan on buying just a Mac Mini box  (for audio purposes) how do I configure it if I don't buy a screen? I have a  Mac book at home can I use that?

Renz

It has been covered before, but basically, you need a screen to set-up initially (use a TV and a borrowed USB keyboard and mouse). Once set-up, you turn on screen sharing and control it with your Macbook.

Once set-up, my experience is that a hard reset of the Mini will get things working again if you have any communications issues with the laptop (yes, it does happen with Macs!) so you shouldn't need to use the TV again. (We leave ours connected to the TV for Netflix etc anyway.)

Thank you very much for covering this.

Renz

My mini is currently maxing out all 8 processor cores compressing video, and is playing music as well. I can'y say I notice any impact on SQ compared to it playing solo. (Fan is running, though!).

My theory remains that a modern computer does audio in its sleep.