@treynolds155 I hope Apple has improved the Mini and these weird issues go away with it. That said, when I have a customer who tells me a network device doesn’t work, first question is do they have a Mac Mini on the network? If the answer is yes, whether part of audio chain or not, turn it off and then start the device.
Should I upgrade from a Mac Mini to a dedicated server or should I upgrade my dac?
Hello!
I would like to upgrade my digital audio and I have had some interesting discussions on the matter. I mostly use Roon with Qobuz and Tidal via Mac Mini to a Moon 280D with Mind2 as a Roon endpoint (so I am using Ethernet rather than USB which was one of my 1st upgrade paths); I have been told that to get a significant improvement in sound I should upgrade from the Mac Mini to a Roon Nucleus or Small Green Computer etc before upgrading the dac. The dac would be the following step.
I think this is an interesting thought that I had not considered- I always assumed the most critical component would be a better a dac, I am curious about your opinions on this.
System
Source (analog): VPI Aries 1, Lyra. Etna, PS Audio Stellar phono; Amplification: Vinnie Rossi LIO Preamp, Pass Labs XA60.5; Speakers:AvantGarde Duo's, Thiel 3.7; Cables: Nordost Heimdall II.
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@verdantaudio that’s strange. I’ve been using Mac Mini in my system since 2008. First one died after 11 years of pretty much non stop service. The 2018 version is still going strong and is being used only as Roon core. I never ran into network problems with it. Other issues like Mac OS upgrade induced Roon bugs yes, could be annoying. What you’re describing sounds like some sort of a firewall and or compatibility problem with ISP, DACs etc |
@audphile1 That is what makes this even worse. It is only some mac mini's that have this issue. But here is the thing, it does not need to be part of the audio chain to create the problem. I have no good explanation for why or how this happens. Just a good thing to know from a troubleshooting perspective. |
I like audphile1 have used different iterations of mini for years without issue. Also been used in various network setups, I experiment a lot. Whenever mini has disappeared has been network issue, my streaming setups can become pretty complex, many causes for various issues, never mini. Whenever I see any disappearing server issues, and this with any brand server, nearly always network issues, lots of computer network novices are getting into streaming, steep learning curve!
And I agree, the mini can be pretty nice as server alone, forget about using it for rendering/streaming. Run dual ethernet ports on it avoids complexity and rendering, lps cleans up noise, optimize OS, again lowers noise, disable system integrity protection (SIP) same benefit as optimizing OS. Get I7 processor model, run PCIe SSD instead of sata, add all above nice little server. |
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