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Mac Mini As A Streaming Source

I have been looking to add a digital streaming source to my sound system and so am VERY new to this process.  But, from what I see the variety is mind boggling and there is no complete device out there that would do CD/SACD playback, plus all available music streaming apps, plus Roon.

I use apple music for high res/lossless streaming on my phone, especially their new classical service as that is my primary listening, so compatibility with this app is mandatory.  This, however, seems to eliminate every single digital streamer out there.  But, am I missing something?

So, what are the thoughts on using a mac mini for a dedicated source, linked to a DAC?  I can put all of the streaming apps there, and install Roon there, and put my existing CD ripped files on the hard drive. Connect to the internet over wifi.

What output cable would I use to connect to the internal DAC on my Mark Levinsion 585.5?

Could everything be operated with an Ipad running Roon, without the need for keyboards?

The only thing missing would be CD playback, but could that be accomplished using  a DVD/Blu Ray reader attached to the Mac?

Any help on this would be appreciated!

gwhphoto
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,537 posts
 

“What do people think about the workaround for Roon using HQPlayer which is used in the LinQ?”

@larrykell 

You can buy and download the HQPlayer license ($299) on your Mac Mini. As you may know, Roon can be configured to implement HQPlayer into a Zone. Once you do that, HQPlayer becomes the Audio Engine and Roon is just passing along a stream of bits from your local media files / Streaming services as Qobuz and Tidal. This allows you to enjoy the benefits of HQPlayer amazing SQ and the library management capabilities of Roon at the same time.

I just bought the HQPlayer license recently and I am amazed by the improvement. To my ears, it’s worth the upgrade over Roon audio engine which is pretty decent but HQPlayer is whole another level. 

As far as LinQ goes, only your ears can decide if it’s worth the upgrade over Mac Mini, once you’re ready to audition. That’s the only way to know. If I were in your shoes and owned AQUA DAC, I would wanna audition LinQ at some point. 

 

tk21
238 posts
 

If you do decide to try HQPlayer, the Roon community forum is a good resource for setup and configuration. In fact, whenever I need support, I rarely go directly to the HQP site, I go to the Roon forum (https://community.roonlabs.com/)  Many participants use the Mac Mini (or have used it in the past) to run Roon Core, HQPlayer desktop, or both. 

larrykell
122 posts
 

Thanks a lot @lalitk and @tk21 !

Funny enough, yesterday, I read a page on how to configure HQPlayer as a zone in Roon. I’m going to do that in order to see what kind of improvement I hear over the Roon engine. 

$299 is pretty cheap compared the cost of the LinQ, lol.

At some point, I will try to audition the LinQ to see how much of a difference it makes in my system. 

First, I need to get my monster amp back from the shop. The sound quality just isn’t the same without Class A.

larrykell
122 posts
 

Well, I think I just wasted $299.

I purchased a copy of HQPlayer for my Mac Mini, set it up, picked CoreAudio output and connected the USB output to my Aqua Formula. 

Well, it fights with the Aqua Formula device I had set up so I disabled that device. Still, no sound. The Aqua Formula supports CoreAudio so I think it should work but perhaps I am mistaken. 

I will head to the Roon forum but any thoughts?
 

 

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,537 posts
 

What device you’re referring to? Your AQUA USB port accepts PCM 24 bit / 768kHz – DSD64, DSD128, DSD256, DSD512 resolution formats. I would check again the settings in Roon / Mac Mini.

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