Does anybody use a mac mini II for a server?

RogerD

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May 23, 2010
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BiggestLittleCity
Last edited:

Legolas

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I use a Mac Mini and it can be modded quite cheaply to be a great music server. Shopping list is as follows:

1. Mac Mini with at least i5 processor post 2015 are best (or new)
2. Int SSD
3. 8 gig RAM
4. Uptone Audio Mod for 12V supply
5. HDPlex LPS 150W
6. Ethernet bridge to SPDIF (I use the Rednet 3)

This will get you are great sound to compete with the better pre-built servers and allow your own updates for the system.
I control it by screen sharing to my iMac, or you can use an iPad.

Software I use is Audirvana+ or HQP.

Good luck.
 

RogerD

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May 23, 2010
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BiggestLittleCity
I use a Mac Mini and it can be modded quite cheaply to be a great music server. Shopping list is as follows:

1. Mac Mini with at least i5 processor post 2015 are best (or new)
2. Int SSD
3. 8 gig RAM
4. Uptone Audio Mod for 12V supply
5. HDPlex LPS 150W
6. Ethernet bridge to SPDIF (I use the Rednet 3)

This will get you are great sound to compete with the better pre-built servers and allow your own updates for the system.
I control it by screen sharing to my iMac, or you can use an iPad.

Software I use is Audirvana+ or HQP.

Good luck.

Hi Audirvana,

Thanks for sharing that info!
 

morricab

Well-Known Member
Apr 25, 2014
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I will be adding a server soon and since I use a Monarchy NM24 modded I came across these articles on the Monarchy page. Does anybody use a similar setup not including the Monarchy DAC. If so what was your experience? Any comments on improving this or say I have a budget of 2K? any better options? Thanks

http://www.monarchy-audio.com/Monarchy_Music_Server.htm

http://co-bw.com/Audio_OSX_Optimal_Audio.htm

If you don't have a Monarchy DIP and a Monarchy Power regenerator you should get both. I have an M24 (original with BBPCM63s) and use both and it makes a huge improvement in background and soundstage.
 

tdimler

Member
Jul 4, 2016
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I've used a Mac Mini server for several years with great results....configured similar to what astrostar posted.

There are a few caveats though. One depends on what the source for your music is.

My music is sourced exclusively from CD rips, which I used the mini and XLD to accomplish. The problem is running the mini headless from an ipad...the interface is tedious and buggy. Until very recently I used a Glyph drive connected via firewire to store my music. This worked good but the drive had fans which were a bit noisy.

To improve all this I ran network cable to my audio rack, and now have eliminated the problem areas with the mini in two ways.....for one my music is not stored on a NAS drive in my office where my iMac is...so that got rid of the noisy Glyph drive....and I now can do my CD ripping and music management at my iMac and avoid the cumbersome process of ripping via the mini and screen sharing app.

Audirvana is a great piece of software and has a VERY nice app to control via iOS.

One other option I would look at if your budget is in the 2K range is the new NAIM UnitiCore. It is an all-in-one solution including a CD ripper. I set one up for a friend and it was a breeze to set up and works great. Naim also has a great control app. The UnitiCore is very flexible, and gives the ability store music on a NAS and serve to the NAIM via ethernet, or you can also pop a hard drive into the NAIM and store directly on the drive. There is also great USB connectivity for thumb drives as well as backup.

I would give the NAIM serious consideration over the Mac Mini.
 

Legolas

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Dec 27, 2015
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I would give the NAIM serious consideration over the Mac Mini.

Agree in part. The BIG boost to the Mac Mini taking it into the 'big league' was two things:

1. Uptone Audio MMK board kit to allow feeding 12V DC via an LPS.
Big change here, much smoother and 3D sound, incredible really how much noise in a typical computer power source.

2. Ditching USB and feeding your DAC via Ethernet.
Again massive change, The sound lost any vestige of digital now, so smooth and liquid. I used the Rednet 3 to accomplish this.

I would say, any server solution, pre-built or otherwise that is stuck on USB output and / or has a poor power supply will not sound at it's best IMO. The little Mac Mini is beating my previous 3K CEC CDP with ease and other more pricy units I have demo'd since I sold the CEC.

I control it via screen share on my iMac, works great.
 

tdimler

Member
Jul 4, 2016
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Agree in part. The BIG boost to the Mac Mini taking it into the 'big league' was two things:

2. Ditching USB and feeding your DAC via Ethernet.
Again massive change, The sound lost any vestige of digital now, so smooth and liquid. I used the Rednet 3 to accomplish this.

Could you elaborate on this?
 

Legolas

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Dec 27, 2015
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Rednet 3

Could you elaborate on this?

I use the Rednet 3 DAW Ethernet network device. It is really designed for pro studio networking, but allows you to feed it via your 1000 Base~T Ethernet out of the Mac Mini to the Rednet, then using Dante software in both the Mac and Rednet it sends it out as reclocked S/PDIF or AES output. One word, awesome. The reduction in noise and any digital 'glare' is gone. I put it down to dropping out USB which always in my previous DACs and convertors was never quite right to me, too raw and edgy. The Rednet 3 is 900 USD from Sweetwater. A bargain IMO. Yes big red box, but only needs the 2 connections to it, input then output.

You can then max out the Rednet 3 further by replacing the internal PS with a nice LPS. I got one for 135 USD on Ebay and fitted it myself, really easy. The difference then , wow, so liquid, super smooth, amazing detail and depth, totally unruffled delivery no matter how complex the music.

The only downside I see of this is the limit to S/PDIF or AES of 192K data stream, but I don't upsample or use DSD, as my DAC is an NOS unit.

PM me if you want for info. I dig these cost effective solutions. It really isn't required IM findings to spend 15K on a pre-built server. It is possible to get an amazing digital drive for 4K IMO or less.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/images/smilies/eek.png
 

dctom

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Jan 28, 2015
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www.davidcthomas.co.uk
I had an old mac mini I used successfully, ssd, but it struggled with DSD upsampling. Reconfigured it with linux and it ran faster and sounded better.
On the strength of that built a fanless, i5, linux mini computer which sounds great, doesn't produce any noise over usb.
 

Legolas

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Dec 27, 2015
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I had an old mac mini I used successfully, ssd, but it struggled with DSD upsampling. Reconfigured it with linux and it ran faster and sounded better.
On the strength of that built a fanless, i5, linux mini computer which sounds great, doesn't produce any noise over usb.

It is not the operating system that produces PS noise down USB, it is the computer hardware and the way USB works out of a PC.
 

dctom

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Jan 28, 2015
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www.davidcthomas.co.uk
I am not saying it is the os that is making the machine quiet, just that the linux sounded better than OSx on the mac mini. I built the the mini pc box to be quiet and kept the linux os as it runs efficiently and sounds good.
 

Legolas

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Dec 27, 2015
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I am not saying it is the os that is making the machine quiet, just that the linux sounded better than OSx on the mac mini. I built the the mini pc box to be quiet and kept the linux os as it runs efficiently and sounds good.

Interesting. What software player do you use on Linux?
 

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