Mac Mini Power Supply

I just saw this post, sorry for the delay in response...

Power supplies can be ordered through Core Audio Technology's website or contact me from there. Plenty of reviews on the Core Forums also.

Yes, I remove the switcher and insert an additional filter inside the mac mini chassis. My power supplies are then run externally.

I buy a stock PS brick, chop off the cable and add the necessary caps and resistors to make it function.

"I buy a stock PS brick, chop off the cable and add the necessary caps and resistors to make it function."

Why do this if you can purchase a new cable?

It's cheaper than buying the cable from MP3car most times.

And I build my cables into a Powercon for my power supplies so I'd have to chop things up a bit anyway. Unfortunately it bricks the brick to do this so it's a bit of a waste, but there aren't many cost effective alternatives for older Mac Minis.

I wasn't able to find a cheap power brick for my Mini, so I bought the MP3car cable. It works fine.

There is more than one wiring diagram around for the connector. The right configuration has the iSense cable running to ground through a 3.3K resistor. A quarter-watt one is fine.

There are a good many aftermarket power supplies around, or were. I chose a 2009 Mini as being the most recent model that still had an external PS. Easier to work on, adequate for the purpose, and probably easier to resell/reuse too.

I did all the software tweaks, maxed the RAM, put in an SSD and found a linear PS for the (external, FireWire 800) music drive. That PS was a 12V Acopian Gold Box model from eBay.

Finding a power supply for the Mini was hard. I didn't want to pay a lot because I had no proof it would really make a difference, aside from the small improvement in clarity and coherence I got when I upgraded the hard drive's PS.

Eventually I found an 18V Acopian Gold Box A with +/- 0.5V adjustable output voltage, at a price I was willing to pay. It was an older unit but Acopian worked very kindly with me to get it running. It needed new filter caps. These were not hard to find.

My total cost was under $150 and the improvement was, IMO, worth while. Timbres are sweeter, highs are cleaner and the music seems more coherent.

@Tobias, thanks for sharing your experience. Seems you found a diamond in the rough with the Acopian; glad you're happy. Would you mind sharing the model number? I also own a 2009 Mac Mini and the thought of a better PS seems interesting.

--Tom in Saxramento