Novice needs Mac Mini and DAC advice

Special thanks to Backgroundblur. And WTF, the Chord... yes... looking at it. You know, in reading reviews there is so much cheerleading going on that you begin to feel like you being spun around inside a tornado of hype and technical intimidation. Hey, I really, really don't get a high from seeing reams of specs - I just want to know that the "thing" does the "deal" real, real well and I want to seamlessly install it and forget it because I just want to enjoy it. And you guys are absolutely talking sense in terms of price range. I mean, come on. How expensive are these things to produce. I've got a Chinese friend who produces speakers and he's telling me that none of these products have more than $100 of electronics in them and more astounding, that the highly touted Saber chips cost about a nickle. Now I don't know if I believe it's that cheap, but it does make one pause, doesn't it? Thanks again.

Hi Moonshot, I am just like you and just went through exactly what you want to go through and learn.

I read everything and did all kinds of research. Steve at Empical Audio has great info and I leaned heavily on his site and posts. Here is what I did and I am amazed at the sound quality and simplicity.

I purchased an April Music Eximus DP 1 dac. It has a killer volume that is much better then the Wyred. The dac is also much better then the Wyred which is very good.

This dac has all you need to go into computer audio with ease and will best the sound of any CD player/transport combo I have heard to date.

I purchased a 2009 Mac Mini as my server. I did this per Steve's advice. My Mini has a large 256mb SSD hard drive per Steve's advice. Paid $500 for the Mini and $2300 for the dac used. I go from the Mini to my Eximus dac with a Cardas Clear USB cable for $150. I use Amarra and the version that Steve suggests on his site and in his posts as it sounds spectacular. This will cost you $140 with 15% off.

Buy a $5 book from the UltraFi website that shows how to optimize your Mini for best sound. Well worth the $5. Use your iPad or iPhone as a remote by downloading the free Splashtop app. This allows you to,use the iPad as the Mini's monitor. You can download Amarra and do all you need with this neat app. I also use my iPad as my remote for playing music in my iTunes files.

Rip non-compressed AIFF for best sound . Use the free xld program to rip.

The Eximus dac will drive your speakers with its internal volume and that is it.

This sounds wonderful. I have 400 cd's on my SSD drive and they sound killer. I play right from the SSD drive on my Mini. My Mini also has a cd drive so I use it to rip cd's. The newer Mini's lost this feature.

I purchased an upgraded linear power supply from Mojo Audio replacing the switching power supply on the Mini. You can do this later on if you want. No rush.

All right, Grannyring! Thanks for the kind consideration and time you spent laying all that out for. It is much appreciated. Now just give me the time to go over that one more time.

I just bought my mini and haven't set it up yet. I sort of inherited a Musical Fidelity M1 Async and haven't even plugged it in yet. My assumption was that it simply wasn't all that good but... like I said, I'm feeling my way. Maybe what I need to do is get the system up and running, play with it and learn my way around in the dark.

Honestly, and I think like a lot more people than would be willing to admit, all this technology is new to me and a bit confusing and it can be a bit intimidating to read the complex configurations and nearly logrythmic details that some people go into.

I just want it to sound good.

Oh, Rhanson 739 (Rob). No. I'm not that Moonshot. I'm Apollo 13.

Oh, my pleasure! I hope it helped.

And, being in camera sales, trust me, I understand how daunting and overwhelming it can be going in with little to no knowledge, and being overwhelmed and even intimidated by the atmosphere, the choices, the sales people. I get it from customers a lot. But, customers know more than they think. So, I usually ask them two questions to get started.

1. What is your price point?
2. What features are you looking for?

Number one is most important. That the one where I won't even show a customer a camera unless they give me a slightly specific idea of that. Too many times, a customer has said 'I want a really good camera!', so I'll pull down a 600 dollar Canon Rebel, and tell them the price, and they reply in horror 'I can't afford that!'. Now, they get to leave, feeling that anything I show them from that point on, no matter how good, is a consolation prize.

Number two is almost as important. What features do you want. Obviously 'good sound' is the main one, like 'good photos' would be for anyone buying a camera, but aside from that, you mentioned built in volume control. Do you want balanced outputs? Do you need multiple inputs for other digital sources? How high a sample rate do you want? 24/96 enough, or do you need 24/192? Does DSD playback matter much to you?

Number two should be more a priority list, rather than a check list. You might give up a feature or two that might be 'kinda cool' to have, in the name of more performance, or preferential sound.

Then, just start hitting your local brick and mortars, bring a good mix cd of your own music...he'll, bring a laptop with your music on it, tell them your price point, what features you really need, then listen. Any salesman who actually knows how to sell will keep you within 25% of your budget, be gracious with their time and knowledge, and not make you feel like they're slumming it with you because 1500 or 2000 is your budget. If they do, or spout nonsense like 'well, to get really good, you need to spend (insert much larger number than you want to spend here), just leave. They're idiots, and not representing their moderately priced gear with the enthusiasm it deserves.

Honestly, though, most will be happy to help and keep you within the ballpark of your budget.

Aside from that, have fun, go with what sounds best to your ears with the music you like, and take it home, plug it in, and just start enjoying it.

Let us know what you end up with, and how it turns out for you!

Jason