Mac Mini vs Squeezebox

Posted by: Wazza69 on 14 October 2009

Hi,

I am considering a Naim DAC/XS/FC2X system and am thinking of what I should have at the front end. I can’t afford a HDX so my options are a Mac Mini or Squeezebox. I am not really into PCs.

The Mac mini is attractive as both my partner and I have iPhones so it would provide a great interface and supports files up to 192k. However, it wouldn’t allow me to easily have music in other rooms or have internet radio etc easily.

The Squeezebox is attractive as it allows music in each room and internet radio etc and allows me to use a more versatile NAS in the loft. However, I am worried about the overall quality of the Squeezebox in terms of sound quality through the digital out.

Has anyone done a comparison of a Mini and a Squeezebox into a DAC? Is the output of the Squeezebox of high enough quality for a relatively high end DAC? Anyone tried any of the iPhone apps for the Squeezebox? I read the various versions of the Squeezebox firmware affect sound quality, does this only relate to the use of the internal DAC? Finally, has anyone tried getting Squeezeserver to work on a QNAP NAS?

I have tried a Transporter and didn’t really like the sound. I owned a Linn Majik DS which I quite liked but didn’t think gelled well with Naim and the interface was appalling!

Any help much appreciated

Wayne

Posted on: 18 October 2009 by Audio Visionary

In North America, the Squeezebox Touch is not yet released. About 4 more weeks before we are able to place an order.
Best,
Bryan
The Gramophone Inc

Posted on: 20 October 2009 by Sandy8

Looks like the new Mac Mini was released today!

Glad i decided to wait instead of buying one last weekend...

Sandy

Posted on: 20 October 2009 by winkyincanada

quote:
Originally posted by Sandy8:
Looks like the new Mac Mini was released today!

Glad i decided to wait instead of buying one last weekend...

Sandy

Doh! Just had mine for a few weeks. Oh well. The dual 500GB looks the business, especially if you want to use it for HD video.

Posted on: 21 October 2009 by Sandy8

I Feel your pain Winky. I bought a Macbook Pro 6 weeks before a new one was released.

Think the 320GB version will be enough for me. It will mainly be used as a music server.

Sandy

Posted on: 21 October 2009 by winkyincanada

quote:
Originally posted by Sandy8:
I Feel your pain Winky. I bought a Macbook Pro 6 weeks before a new one was released.

Think the 320GB version will be enough for me. It will mainly be used as a music server.

Sandy

It works a treat. I'm very happy with mine.

Posted on: 21 October 2009 by garyi

Its only a minor processor bump, nothing to get upset over. I have never successfully purchased a mac that was not updated a month later.

Posted on: 30 October 2009 by OscillateWildly

Hello winkyincanada and garyi,

Sorry if you already know this - worth checking the MacRumors and AppleInsider sites before purchasing Apple gear.

Cheers,
OW

Posted on: 31 October 2009 by winkyincanada

quote:
Originally posted by OscillateWildly:
Hello winkyincanada and garyi,

Sorry if you already know this - worth checking the MacRumors and AppleInsider sites before purchasing Apple gear.

Cheers,
OW

Good point. The Mini I have is more than adequate for the job, though. I have no complaints.

On another note, I did see the new 27-inch iMac yesterday. Very nice indeed. A stunning screen. The new mouse is also very cool. Not really like anything else out there. Just bring on the tablet!

Posted on: 01 November 2009 by Wazza69

Thanks all. Still on the fence but will decide shortly when the Naim DAC and the SB Touch are available

Stupid question, can the SBs only be used with playlists? i.e. do you have to add a song to the playlist to play it like uPnP/Linn DS or can you just select a track and it will take over what is currently playing? i.e. iTunes

Thanks

Posted on: 01 November 2009 by DaveBk

SBs are pretty flexible - you can either add new tracks to the end of the current playlist or just select a new track or album and it will replace the current playlist and start playing immediately. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch get iPeng - a really great way to control everything.

Posted on: 02 November 2009 by Wazza69

If anyone is interested I decided to take a sharp left turn and ordered a Sonos ZP90 which I got a great deal on and will use with an Apple Time Capsule and our iPhones. Basically I just want something that works well and is easy to setup. I am an IT Project Manager so capable of setting up a mega NAS and Squeezebox with loads of plugins etc but really don’t have the time and inclination to bother when all I want is easy access to my tunes for me and the missus.

Only downer is that it doesn’t support HiRes files and is limited to 65,000 files but I’m not too worried and these may be upgraded in future editions of the H/W and software. I can always use the ZP90 for the kitchen etc

Any thoughts and hints and tips from Sonos users are most welcome!

Thanks

Posted on: 02 November 2009 by T38.45

Hi, go for a Linn Sneaky...digi out and with ipod a fantastic GUI

Posted on: 02 November 2009 by Guido Fawkes

quote:
I am an IT Project Manager so capable of setting up a mega NAS and Squeezebox

You're a lot cleverer than any of the PMs I work with.

Enjoy your Sonos.

Posted on: 02 November 2009 by Graham Russell

I use a ZP90 into a Lavry DAC, with a Mark Grant cardas XLR->din cable. This combo sounds great and runs the CD555 very close.

I really like the user interface and ease of use. It's great to be able to preview tunes on Napster, then play my own music, then switch to an internet radio station etc. All with a few mouse clicks. I have a Sonos remote, as it's more wife friendly, but I generally use the PC interface on whichever laptop is nearest.

I am also awaiting a high-res box, but the ZP90 works just great in the meantime.

The new all-in-one box due this month looks like a very attractive addition for the kitchen and/or conservatory.

Posted on: 03 November 2009 by Wazza69

quote:
Originally posted by Graham Russell:
I use a ZP90 into a Lavry DAC, with a Mark Grant cardas XLR->din cable. This combo sounds great and runs the CD555 very close.

I really like the user interface and ease of use. It's great to be able to preview tunes on Napster, then play my own music, then switch to an internet radio station etc. All with a few mouse clicks. I have a Sonos remote, as it's more wife friendly, but I generally use the PC interface on whichever laptop is nearest.

I am also awaiting a high-res box, but the ZP90 works just great in the meantime.

The new all-in-one box due this month looks like a very attractive addition for the kitchen and/or conservatory.

Thanks Graham. I have read in some of your other posts that the Sonos is degredated using certain compression levels for FLAC. I dont want to use WAV due to the lack of tagging so what FLAC compression level do you use? Did you really find a big difference between the standard level and what you use and WAV?

Thanks again

Waz

Posted on: 03 November 2009 by Graham Russell

Waz,

I use Flac compression level 1. This is the lowest compression level and produces the largest files.

The default compression with EAC is 5. I have noticed a significant difference between level 5 and level 1 playing back on the ZP90. There seems to be performance limitations with the decoding hardware.

I use WAV for normal playback as I've structured by folder hierarchy by artist and album so it's very quick to locate an album I want to play.

I hope that helps
Graham

Posted on: 03 November 2009 by Wazza69

quote:
Originally posted by Graham Russell:
Waz,

I use Flac compression level 1. This is the lowest compression level and produces the largest files.

The default compression with EAC is 5. I have noticed a significant difference between level 5 and level 1 playing back on the ZP90. There seems to be performance limitations with the decoding hardware.

I use WAV for normal playback as I've structured by folder hierarchy by artist and album so it's very quick to locate an album I want to play.

I hope that helps
Graham

Thanks Graham.

In my situation where I definitely want metadata and are Mac based then perhaps AIFF is the way forward. Has anyone done the comparison to WAV and FLAC on a Sonos?

Also, I already have 200gig odd of FLAC files at level 5. Does anyone know if I can batch convert them to Flac Level 1 or AIFF and retain them as bit perfect?

Thanks,
Waz

Posted on: 03 November 2009 by Aleg

quote:
Originally posted by Wazza69:
quote:
Originally posted by Graham Russell:
Waz,

I use Flac compression level 1. This is the lowest compression level and produces the largest files.

The default compression with EAC is 5. I have noticed a significant difference between level 5 and level 1 playing back on the ZP90. There seems to be performance limitations with the decoding hardware.

I use WAV for normal playback as I've structured by folder hierarchy by artist and album so it's very quick to locate an album I want to play.

I hope that helps
Graham

Thanks Graham.

In my situation where I definitely want metadata and are Mac based then perhaps AIFF is the way forward. Has anyone done the comparison to WAV and FLAC on a Sonos?

Also, I already have 200gig odd of FLAC files at level 5. Does anyone know if I can batch convert them to Flac Level 1 or AIFF and retain them as bit perfect?

Thanks,
Waz

FLAC is always bit-perfect, regardless of the compression level.
dbPoweramp can (re)convert in batch-mode to a different level or different format if you want to.

Personally I keep all my rips on level 8 compression without any negative consequences, so I don't see any need to go back to level 1.

-
aleg

Posted on: 04 November 2009 by Graham Russell

quote:
Originally posted by Wazza69:
quote:
Originally posted by Graham Russell:
Waz,

I use Flac compression level 1. This is the lowest compression level and produces the largest files.

The default compression with EAC is 5. I have noticed a significant difference between level 5 and level 1 playing back on the ZP90. There seems to be performance limitations with the decoding hardware.

I use WAV for normal playback as I've structured by folder hierarchy by artist and album so it's very quick to locate an album I want to play.

I hope that helps
Graham

Thanks Graham.

In my situation where I definitely want metadata and are Mac based then perhaps AIFF is the way forward. Has anyone done the comparison to WAV and FLAC on a Sonos?

Also, I already have 200gig odd of FLAC files at level 5. Does anyone know if I can batch convert them to Flac Level 1 or AIFF and retain them as bit perfect?

Thanks,
Waz

The stored data files are lossless and can be batch converted to WAV or other Flac compression levels without losing any data.

Posted on: 04 November 2009 by Wazza69

Thanks Graham. Will just need to do the AIFF vs FLAC Level 0 vs FLAC Level 5 shoot out when my Sonos arrives and then get converting/ripping!

Posted on: 04 November 2009 by naimfad

I have recently bought an i-pod touch together with an apple tv. I've connected the apple tv to my system (CDX;XPS;Nac252;supercap;NAP 180;B&W Nautilus 804) The result was awesome; the apple tv equals the CDX/XPS combination.
I can't wait to audition the DAC. As far as internetradio is concerned, I've just downloaded an update for my apple tv and now Í'm able to listen to hundreds of radiostations
Hans

Posted on: 05 November 2009 by winkyincanada

quote:
Originally posted by naimfad:
the apple tv equals the CDX/XPS combination.
I can't wait to audition the DAC.
Hans

What DAC are you currently using? Surely not the one built into in the ATV?!

Welcome to the forum.