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Anyone using the mini as music server + desktop ?

L

larryposh

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 27, 2011
20
0
I have been reading that disabling many of the 'unnecessary ' peripherals and services on your mini gives the best sonics if you are into music ...

but I am thinking that if a guy did that it would not make the best experience if you use it as a desktop ( all other comp stuff )
perhaps better if you had an older mini dedicated to the music and another unit for day to day work ?

would appreciate to hear your thoughts ...thanks !
 
larryposh said:
I have been reading that disabling many of the 'unnecessary ' peripherals and services on your mini gives the best sonics if you are into music ...

but I am thinking that if a guy did that it would not make the best experience if you use it as a desktop ( all other comp stuff )
perhaps better if you had an older mini dedicated to the music and another unit for day to day work ?

would appreciate to hear your thoughts ...thanks !
Click to expand...

yes you could get a 2009 model with the power brick.

a 2.26 is good enough you could use all ssds.

there is a seller on ebay with low noise power bricks for mac minis. I will look for a link


http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOW-NOISE-L...e_Desktops&hash=item4ab180ea02#ht_1152wt_1165


I am not saying you should go this route or that the seller is any good. I use a nice dac myself:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/MUSILAND-MD...ltDomain_0&hash=item3ef4bcdbd7#ht_1588wt_1398



this seems to be good .

I am a big music guy. I like my tunes but so what . picking higher end gear for music is filled with choices and opinions
 
thanks for the ideas Philip
I looked at the newer ( 09-10) Mini's but they seem to really hold value and prices , right now a guy can PU an i5 2.3 refurb for 520 ,
I was thinking of perhaps even older , like an 07 core2duo 1.83 or so if it could be had for 300 or so ..?

are you using yours just for the music ? is it close to your hifi ...or wirelessly sent from another location ?
do you have your music files on an SSD or external HD or ??

how do you like that Musiland DAC ? my friend has a Beresford that he has modded heavily and sounds pretty good , he feeds it optically from an Airport base

I have an ACK DAC on my music system that I modded to the 9th degree it sounds great from the transport but has only S/PDIF so I will be in the DAC market before too long

a DIY brick might be a good project if a good design is available
cheers !
 
larryposh said:
I have been reading that disabling many of the 'unnecessary ' peripherals and services on your mini gives the best sonics if you are into music ...
Click to expand...

Don't believe everything you read. Most of those people wouldn't know good sound if they tripped over it. I've been a high end audiophile for 30 years and I can tell you on good authority that most audiophiles don't have a clue and are gullible as heck.
 
nice collection of spkrs Philip and excellent that you have a big group of guys around to bounce ideas & projects etc , unfortunately here its a small town and a bit of a wasteland in that regard ..I like to build as well alas only solo , now working on a pair of DIY gunned maggies ....

I understand about 'audiophoolery' and how some get bitten big time by the merchants of snake oil
I just want to put together some good comp audio and need some solid advice
could you tell me more about your mini and how you serve up tunes ?
thanks !
 
simple 2011 mini to dac about 18000 songs all apple lossless the mini is in my ht behind a glass door.

dac feeds a parasound preamp to a diy ska-audio amp to a pair of large diy focal speakers. most important gear for sound = good speakers.

this is my primary system.
 
thanks Philip
probably a pretty nice system I agree spkrs are where the music comes from
they are usually pricey so its a great challenge to DIY .... very satisfying when it all clicks
can I ask what you use for desktop ? another Mac or ?
 
any thoughts about streaming wirelessly vs. hard wire ?
I am sure the latter is better but is the former acceptable do you think ?
 
larryposh said:
any thoughts about streaming wirelessly vs. hard wire ?
I am sure the latter is better but is the former acceptable do you think ?
Click to expand...

wireless can be great.


In my area it is terrible.

I have 5 military bases less then 20 miles from my house. Mcquire and Lakehurst put many military jets over head and a few dozen of these each week. The photo is the closest I can find to what circles my area for hours on end. When it does a loop of 20 miles or so every 10 minutes I drop wireless. From 2001 to 2006 it was really bad but it is still too much So I do not bother with wireless.
 

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wow ...I hear you ,insurmountable
my location not too much air traffic , I would use hard wire but no chance the WAF is zero for wires all over ....so will try the wifi and see what happens
once again thanks for your input ...
I will probably be back once I get the chance to get my hands dirty with it all
 
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