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Advice on best upgrade path for a Mac Mini setup

Hi all,

My beloved PWT transport was shipped out for service last week, so in the mean time I decided to experiment with the Mac Mini which usually resides in my 2nd system. It was no surprise that it doesn't even come close to the PWT, but it sounds OK, and now i'm curious as of what I can achieve with it without spending another $2K.

It's a stock Mac Mini about 2 years old with an SSD drive.
I'm using it to stream TIDAL Hi-Fi.
I have it hooked up to a Schiit Wyrd USB re-generator via a Pangea silver USB 2 cable, which in turn is feeding my DSD via a WireWorld Starlight 7 USB 2 cable.
My thinking was that the Mac-to-Schiit path will be less critical in terms of cables, as it gets regenerated anyway, but I'm open to listen and learn...
That "Wyrd Schiit" re-generator did make quite a noticeable positive impact when I hooked it up in my 2nd system.

My question is - what will be the best bang-for-the-buck upgrades? 

I guess the switching power supply is a weak link so I looked at Mojo Audio stuff and those prices seem unreasonable - they want more for their power supply than what I paid for my PWT (including its superb power supply).
Any other recommended power supply upgrade kits?
I'm good with DIY and can probably do the upgrade myself.

Perhaps go with much better cables? Better isolation? Better re-generator?
What did you guys try that proved to really do the "magic" for similar setups?
Perhaps it is a 'losing battle' and it will never sound nearly as good as my PWT without spending $2K in upgrades?

Thanks for your advice!

Ami

128x128ami
knypersley
3 posts
 
I have a mac mini running roon server, files on external hard drive, roon database and os on SSD with a microrendu.
The setup is straight forward, plug the cat5 connection into your router / network, usb output to your dac and you tell the roon server that the microrendu is the output device.
Full info here:- http://www.sonore.us/microRendu.html 
The device can also be set up using other protocols, I have had mine for a short while and I am delighted with it, hasn't missed a beat.
I have in the past used a Naim NDS setup and Aurender S10, I would have to say this little box of tricks gives them a hell of a run for their money.
In the UK they are just over £600.00 if you live in the US they are around $600.00 which makes them a real bargin.
I was a bit sceptical as there is a bit of hype surrounding these but I am not aware of another device that can have such an impact at this price point.
For the record I would consider myself a voracious consumer of audio equipment!
Matthew Lewis
dctom
110 posts
 
I found the most  improvement in my, quite old mac mini (approx 8yr), was to replace the hd with a ssd loaded with linux. the sound quality was probably 25% better. Subjective I know - however I compared it directly with the dell lap top I previously used, which has been on a par with the original mac mini, no contest.
gimpinchair
4 posts
 
@erik_squires 

"For around $600 you could build a very nice Linux based music server with Android and iPhone app support and 2 TB of storage. "

Could you please expound a bit on the android apps (which apps) and how one would use them with linux?

Thanks 
ami's avatar
ami OP
63 posts
 
Thanks again all,

Has anyone here directly compared the MicroRendu to the PS Audio bridge 2 or the PS Audio LANRover?
i know they are not exactly direct functionality-wise competitors, but all are valid Mac-to-DAC paths that I would like to explore.
FYI- PS audio offer 30 day return "buy and try-at-home" option. 
Do you know if MicroRendu offers something similar?
It will be an interesting tri-audition.

Ami
erik_squires
16,051 posts
 
Hi GIC,

I wrote a blog about it actually. The short answer is, you use Ubuntu with Logitech Media Server.  The complementary Android app I use is Squeezer but I believe there are others as well.

 http://inatinear.blogspot.com/2016/08/ubuntu-mytek-brooklyn-dsd-setup-guide.html

Best!

Erik


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