advertisement


Mac mini vs streamers / servers?

N

novak

pfm Member
Hello all,

I was talking to a dealer today and he recommended I try a dedicated music server / streamer vs my Mac Mini. He believes the Mac is not designed for high quality music playback.

I have read (and believed for years) that it wouldn’t make any difference as it’s the DAC that does all the work. I have heard the Mac is more than capable, and Naim (or similar) servers / streamers are a waste of money.

However, I have no first hand experience. I have always used a Mac into a DAC as a source.

My system is:
- Mac Mini with a lossless flac library in iTunes, and Spotify for new discoveries and background music.
- Chord Qutest DAC
- Jadis Orchestra Ref SE amplifier
- Harbeth P3ESR speakers

Any thoughts? Worth a try, or stick to the Mac?
 
novak said:
Hello all,

I was talking to a dealer today and he recommended I try a dedicated music server / streamer vs my Mac Mini. He believes the Mac is not designed for high quality music playback.

I have read (and believed for years) that it wouldn’t make any difference as it’s the DAC that does all the work. I have heard the Mac is more than capable, and Naim (or similar) servers / streamers are a waste of money.

However, I have no first hand experience. I have always used a Mac into a DAC as a source.

My system is:
- Mac Mini with a lossless flac library in iTunes, and Spotify for new discoveries and background music.
- Chord Qutest DAC
- Jadis Orchestra Ref SE amplifier
- Harbeth P3ESR speakers

Any thoughts? Worth a try, or stick to the Mac?
Click to expand...
So take him up on the offer and report back
 
In my experience, and I still run a 2010 mini, there's an element of truth in there. If you can shut off the bluetooth and the Wifi for example it does help...
 
I‘de be happy to try out anything the dealer recommends at my home, as long as I am not required to pay for it (in advance).

Maybe that does not include 500 quid silver Cat 7 or USB cables though, there is only so much a man can take...
 
novak said:
Hello all,

I was talking to a dealer today and he recommended I try a dedicated music server / streamer vs my Mac Mini. He believes the Mac is not designed for high quality music playback.

I have read (and believed for years) that it wouldn’t make any difference as it’s the DAC that does all the work. I have heard the Mac is more than capable, and Naim (or similar) servers / streamers are a waste of money.

However, I have no first hand experience. I have always used a Mac into a DAC as a source.

My system is:
- Mac Mini with a lossless flac library in iTunes, and Spotify for new discoveries and background music.
- Chord Qutest DAC
- Jadis Orchestra Ref SE amplifier
- Harbeth P3ESR speakers

Any thoughts? Worth a try, or stick to the Mac?
Click to expand...

Find a new dealer as he doesn't know what he is talking about. What do the pro recording engineers that make our records/CDs use? Here is an example of whats on offer http://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/products/software.html

I would say that the weakest link in your setup is iTunes. Chuck it and get some proper music player software. You can get free trials so you have nowt to lose.

Cheers,

DV
 
I agree with DV. I’d trial Audirvana+ and set it to ‘Extreme’. Doing this more or less turns the Mini in to a dedicated music streamer/server. If you then think the Mini is putting a load of noise through USB, get a Schiit Eitr and run it through one of your Qutest coax inputs.

As I’ve said before, if I didn’t already have a Mini I’d look at a dedicated server but since I do, and you do too, I’d improve what you have and spend a lot less.
 
I'm using a late 2014 Mac Mini. Most of my listening is through iTunes, either streaming, purchased or ripped from CD. Audrivana Plus runs in the background all the time or is used to play flac or DSD files.

A computer or streamer needs to provide bit-perfect output without noise being introduced into the DAC section if present in a streamer or to an external DAC. If the digital output is bit-perfect (which implies no drop-outs) any noise can be largely eliminated by galvanic isolation of the USB output port. I occasionally use Spotify but its SQ is noticeably poorer than the Premium version. I also used a 3 month trial of Tidal. I gave up with Tidal simply because its SQ was worse than iTunes - much to my surprise. iTunes is deeply unfashionable but I don't have a problem with its SQ. I have access to DSD as mentioned but find most music delivery SQ is down to mastering quality & little to do with bit depth. In other words, I'm utterly unconvinced by hi-res which often uses better mastering than the otherwise same version on non-hi-res so of course they sometimes sound better!

My Mac Mini does not introduce any obvious noise but a Sony Vaio laptop when powered from the mains did produce very loud mush that may have been removed by galvanic isolation. My Mac Mini is also connected to my TV so I can easily see what the hell is playing without squinting at a tiny display 10' away or play music not available anywhere else apart from YouTube, especially stuff that never made onto digital.
 
The only streaming devices you want to be careful of are those that use server software that transcodes (eg most Plex clients, the Kodi Plex plugin is the only one I've found that doesn't), or use proprietary sharing protocols (effectively the same as transcoding, eg. iTunes sharing) or apply some sort of eq mediation, eg iTunes, that cannot be disabled. If you're direct playing files or streamed content on a device that operates solely in the digital domain connected to a DAC, then there's no difference between using a Pi with a SPDIF Hat and a Linn DS, other than the £££££ and the UI.

You would, of course, have to have cloth ears not to tell the difference between the DAC in a Linn DS and a HiFiBerry.

I moved away from a MacMini mainly because of the eternity player software lagged behind every OS update and because it seemed an expensive piece of kit to tie up as an A/V streamer when a Pi was just as good and had a CEC interface.

I currently use a Pi and a CCA with a Linn Akurate Kontrol/0. They both sound fab.
 
Thanks, seems like a sensible option is to try some software upgrades and Mac tweaks first.

I generally don’t mind trying stuff from the dealer to compare, it’s just the hassle of driving around every week, swapping gear!
 
Last edited:
Audirvana is far better sounding than iTunes, and will allow you to keep your files in the iTunes library if you prefer that interface.

It's also worth checking out John Kenny's ISO-HUB to go between the Mini and your DAC, i found it a significant upgrade. He offers a 30 day trial too.
 
Dealers do talk a lot of bullshit. " Mac mini not designed for music" FFS. What does he think albums are made on? - the answer is mac with protools hanging off it in most cases - a well respected engineer friend of mine uses a a mac laptop between studios, totally up to the job.
 
Considering that the usb input is vastly superior in most modern dacs, I'd say the Mac mini is easily the winner..
 
Please don't laugh (well maybe a little). I have a spare Mac mini collecting dust, and several questions spring to mind:

do you connect to amp using mini jack to two phono? If not how?
do you use a monitor (or could I use an iPhone linked to the Mac to get a display/selection of track or radio stations )?

As you may be able to tell, I'm a complete numpty in these matters.
 
guydarryl said:
Please don't laugh (well maybe a little). I have a spare Mac mini collecting dust, and several questions spring to mind:

do you connect to amp using mini jack to two phono? If not how?
do you use a monitor (or could I use an iPhone linked to the Mac to get a display/selection of track or radio stations )?

As you may be able to tell, I'm a complete numpty in these matters.
Click to expand...

Yes.

.......and yes you can control your mini from your iPhone. Firstly connect a keyboard/mouse and screen to your mini and configure screen sharing. Then on your iPhone go to the Apple store and download (free) VNC client. Your iPhone will then act as a keyboard/mouse and screen for the mini. I originally used an iPod touch but as my eyes got older now use an iPad.

Cheers,

DV
 
You CAN connect as you describe. That would be a pure analogue connection using whatever decoding is built in to the Mac Mini.

Better to use an external DAC. The simplest would an Audioquest Dragonfly, just plugs into USB port and then use your mini-jack to phono to connect to Amplifier, or headphones direct.

From there you can choose any DAC you like, all the way to say, a Chord Dave - costing as much as a nice car.
 
novak said:
Any thoughts? Worth a try, or stick to the Mac?
Click to expand...

Worth a try, although it seems to me the onus is clearly on the dealer to prove his point. The other factor of course is value.

I've owned a dedicated music server, which in absolute terms did outperform a Mac mini, but for my needs fell short in other areas. But then for me file-based replay is a second source, since neither Mac nor server sounds as good as my CD transport.

If I were to use file-based replay as my primary source then I probably would be investigating newer server options, albeit with the caveat that some prices look they're taking the piss, hence my comment re value for money.

I'd agree with the suggestion to use Audirvana (my preference in recent times but there are alternatives) which is capable of better sound quality than 'vanilla' iTunes, particularly on a Mac which can be dedicated solely to music playback.
 
Thanks, im giving Audirvana a try. I have not had a critical listening session, but i like what I hear so far.

The downside is I cannot play Spotify whilst Audirvana is open (despite not playing) as it overrides the system? Bit of a pain as I have to switch it off on a screen share in another room. With plain old itunes i can use my phone as a remote and flip to spotify conveniently. Maybe I’m missing a trick here?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top