Novice needs Mac Mini and DAC advice

"External power supply as well?"

Absolutely

"Concerning jitter, isn't that the DAC's responsibility to reclock or do you really need the reclocker buffered in between the source and the DAC?"

That would be nice in an ideal world. You need some kind of reclocker or external USB converter. No DAC does a complete job of reducing jitter. The ones that come close don't have great clocks in them anyway, so you are stuck with that SQ. I have auditioned and modded dozens of DACs for customers in the last 10 years.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I'm loving my Metrum Octave. At around $1,150 it's an absolute steal IMO. Beat my Weiss Minerva at 1/5th the cost.

I'll second the Metrum Octave. Drive it with a low-jitter source though.

the Metrum Hex iseven better BTW

The W4S DAC2 is also fabulous,but driven with I2S input.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

So Moonshot, which Bob from Seattle radio are you? I grew up here listening to all the Rock stations and not too many of the Jocks are still around. Hope your doing well in whatever you're doing now, radio seems like a hard core business to me.

Oh, and you are going in the right direction with a macmini and good dac. I'm currently using a M2tech Hiface Evo for conversion into my Havana Dac. It's a wonderful sounding dac that has gotten rave reviews over the last few years. I just ordered the Metrum Octave which has also gotten tons of good press. They are selling them from the factory right now for several hundred dollars under the going rate of $1100.00 dollars until they are gone because the new model just came out. Check out the reviews on this site and others. You have gotten some really good advice on this thread, but the main thing is to enjoy the music and keep rockin.

Take Care,

Greg

Moonshot,

Don't be surprised that people here give a lot of good advice to total strangers - that is what this is all about! Later, also remember to come back and share your knowledge with total strangers :-)

I've been using this forum to learn a bunch as I slowly get into computer audio. Computeraudiophile.com is also a great source.

My first step was getting a Squeezebox Touch, since it was just $300 and I had no dedicated computer. It allowed me to delve into computer audio, and learned how tweaking the Touch improved sonics.The DAC inside the Touch isn't great, though, so eventually was the time for a DAC.

Four months ago I got the Metrum Octave, which I really enjoy. My "strategy" is to work my way upstream: next get a USB to S/PDIF converter, then a computer and playback software, tweaks, etc. but if I stopped now it would still be the best sound I ever had at home. The USB to S/PDIF converter will likely be an Audiophilleo, as it's very highly regarded, runs on Linux (important with the Touch), and also runs in integer mode (important if going down the mini route later on).

BTW, you might want to consider just getting a USB>SPDIF converter and using it with your mini and Musical Fidelity M1 you inherited. Steve continuously says reducing jitter is more important than the DAC you use, and that converter is the one to reduce jitter. An Audiophilleo 2 with PurePower will cost you about $1k, is said to be up there with the best converters, and might be all you need for now. From what I read, getting "bit perfect" data stream out of your computer might be as important, so choosing the right software for your mini might be the second-most important thing to do. And maybe choosing a DAC is third, considering you have one already.

Sorry for the long-winded post. I hope it helps!