Mac Mini As A Streaming Source

@vthokie83 Improving sound over time, is for me what this hobby is all about. It’s definitely a marathon and not a sprint. Given that we’re currently living in a digital renaissance and digital technology is changing so rapidly, we all have to adjust to change. I will say that price point seems to be all over the place. Good value is out there but in a sea of marketing where companies foremost strive to maximize their dividends. For this reason, I look for improvements that provide high end results at affordable prices given the possibility that what I buy today could become antiquated five years from now. I’m just surprised that no one has yet engineered a way to make personal computers compete with the best streamers/renderers when it comes to sound quality.

Is there anyone here who has never watched a movie on a computer?  Does computer "noise" ruin the movie-watching experience?  Did you feel the need to install special power-conditioning components to clean up the signal? 

There are good reasons to prefer a TV over a computer for video.  Avoiding electrical noise isn't one of them.  Why would music be any different?

I will say that digital audio is such a mess and I’m in tech. I’m amazed it works at all. I’d actually like to spend most of my time listening to music and not messing around configuring a device.

Roon has worked well for me for years. It’s pretty easy to set up, the apps keep getting better, it streams from multiple providers and to multiple devices. It’s pretty cool. 

It is funny to hear so many different takes on streaming digital audio.

I don’t expect anyone to tell me what to and everyone has a different opinion on what to do.
I’ve always operated under the assumption that I should improve my amp, preamp, and speakers first in order to achieve large improvements in sound quality.

I have used 3 successive Mac Minis for dedicated music servers. They have been pretty trouble free and easy to operate.

Currently:

Mac Mini M1>iFi Zen Signature V2>Linn Akurate Kontrol>Linn AV5125 Aktiv>Linn Keilidhs

I use Roon, Qobuz, Apple Music and Spotify.

I control Roon through an iPhone, iPad or MacBook Pro. The interface is clean and easy to use.

You will need a keyboard, mouse and monitor to set the Mini up, but then will be able to go headless after you have installed your source preferences.

The ambient noise level in my living/listening room hovers around 28 dB, so any “dirty” computer noise is certainly below my threshold. Roon accesses all of my legacy iTunes library, which is a mix of CD burns, HD tracks downloads, mp3s and more than a few experimental LP>digital transcriptions before I got tired of that process. 
 

The Mini is connected by Ethernet to my router, and all three that I have used have been really reliable.
 

You must understand that all of the opinions in play here exhibit a bias of one sort or another, Apple-haters, NUC-ers, golden ears, etc. 

The streaming part of my set-up cost approximately $600. It takes a little time to disable some of the background programs in the Mini, but it works.

Opinions should be treated "as another way of doing things". This is a forum where we share ideas. I think there is bias, yes. I also think there is bone headed arrogance and rudeness. But in the end, it's like a wise person said once, " You do you, boo." Just enjoy the ride and experiment if it strikes your fancy. Here people share different ways to get music into your life.