Mac Mini tips and tricks?

Network Audio
61

If anyone owns or is thinking about buying a Mac mini to serve as a digital frontend to their HiFi, I’ll vouch that you can pull through a quite lovely signal to your DAC of choice if you do the following.

  1. Replace the power supply with a linear kit and a reputable linear external supply.

  2. Get something like the Matrix X-SPDIF 2 to sit between the mini and DAC. Going this route means you should also consider another external power supply for it.

  3. Perform at least the Mojo tweaks referenced in this thread. If you have expert knowledge of Mac OS, also consider removing unnecessary applications.

  4. Consider using a program like Bitperfect depending on which other applications you intend to use for playback.

  5. Don’t skimp on cabling. Cables matter.

  6. Max out your RAM if your model mini allows for upgrades.

  7. Isolate the Mini with Sorbothane, spikes, springs, whatever you like.

  8. Galvanically isolate your Ethernet with media converters. Or a GigaFOIL.

If there are other tweaks that can be applied to a Mac mini, I haven’t yet found them but always interested in crowd sourced ideas.

My next step will be a Windows 10 build, Femto USB or I2S, linear power, more RAM than mini, maybe Femto Ethernet, silent, and likely a full round of ‘optimizer’ software.

For me, this kind of frontend vs Aurrender, Innuos, etc, provides

  1. Ability to view through my TV mounted above the system. I don’t care for tablet based control. I’d much rather be able to have friends over and share playlist info, lookup lyrics, AllMusic, etc with everyone in the room, not just the person hunched over the iPad. For me, it makes the event more inclusive.

  2. There is no streamable content it can’t connect to and play. And file based playback is only limited to USB throughput limits.

  3. There are no proprietary components for a PC build, so I can upgrade or repair myself. I can also start with more modest specs and build it up over time. I have many good software options and can also switch players when I want. It runs nearly anything.

Yeah, great. But the Zenith Mk III will sound better.

Really?? How much better?

1 Like
62

Considering the costs of upgrading a Mac Mini, that upgrading the power supply in more recent versions is more difficullt, and that there are a multitude of after market options to customize one comparison may not be totally meaningful.

That said the Auralic, Aurrender, Lumin and Innuos all better a standard Mac Mini. At this time customizing a Mac Mini seems to be a ill informed. Using a Mac Mini if you already own it, applying the Mojo recommended app clean-up, and installing Bit Perfect make sense. YMMV.

63

OP wanted to understand what others have done to get the most out of a mini. Putting in the time and effort to work through the 8 items I listed isn’t everyone’s idea of a fun Saturday afternoon. But it will bring the stock mini to another level and is as complete a list as I can find. I don’t consider a modded Mac to be an endgame device, but mine sounds as good to me as anything I’ve heard around $2k.

Buying a $4k streamer may get others where they need to go faster, easier. I can totally see that working for many in our hobby and delivering great sound. I’d be proud to own one myself if any could match the all around flexibility and utility of a PC.

I guess my purpose here is not to suggest that higher end devices don’t deliver what they claim to but rather offer up my research and experience in trying to get there another way.

64

OP here.

Great info in this thread, whether one decides to pursue any of it.

I think the law of diminishing returns comes into play, as far as how much you want to pour into a Mac Mini to tweak it into the perfect music server.

For me, the question, beyond budget, is: what’s the rest of your system, and will the tweaks matter to any reasonable degree?

If I had an (for lack of a better term) “esoteric” audiophile system, I don’t think I’d use the Mac Mini. But I don’t. I have a couple of nice-sounding 2-channel systems on which I run Roon/Tidal/Qobuz, and the Mini plays extremely well with them.

One is a multi-room deal with an NAD integrated amp and PSB speakers that plays throughtout the main part of the house; the other is a smaller system in my den with an older Audiolab Integrated amp and a set of small monitors.

The Mac Mini setup is PERFECT for me.

My mac’s don’t run any other office-oriented productivity software, or anything. There are unrelated apps that live on the boot drive, but they aren’t accessed/running. I doubt i’d put a bunch of money into an external DC power supply.

I think I mentioned at some point in this thread (or a different one), that the biggest improvement was by using HQPlayer. I was amazed at the difference for $100 or whatever it was. Much more definition in the SQ. Deeper, crisper bass. Just more depth all around. I’ve tried a few of the different filters, and I will be honest, I’m not hearing too much difference, but the default/recommended one really works well.

I haven’t tried Bit-Perfect, but not sure if that is superfluous if I’m already running HQPlayer.

Anyway, carry on.

EDIT: Looks like bitPerfect is to be run in conjunction with iTunes, which I don’t use.

1 Like
65

Clearly you enjoy doing-it-yourself, and having the flexibility and upgradeability. That’s great.

My question/thoughts would be (regarding the lists in the earlier post):

When you do all of those mods in the first list - (leaving your time and effort out of it) what would all of that cost? In the second post you mention a $4k streamer. Mine was under $2,500.

2nd list:

  1. Not wanting tablet control is probably not typical. I could display my iPad through the TV if I wanted a TV on while listening to music, but I prefer not. I don’t look at the iPad a lot once I’ve selected something to listen to, and you can then hand it to someone else to browse or make a selection or add to a playlist. For that matter, they can download the free app on their phone and run it themselves without my iPad - or play tunes from their own device via bluetooth.

  2. My streamer plays whatever I want to play. Not sure if it plays absolutely everything, but so far I haven’t run into that problem.

  3. Part of the reason I got this was that after years of noodling, and having seen several companies go through several years and generations of making well-regarded streamer systems, I was ready to leave it to those who know more about it than me. Very glad I did. But I completely understand enjoying noodling with it. I started out with Squeezeboxes around 17 years ago (running off a Mini). So I had actually been using some form of Mini-based system all that time.

1 Like
66

Good question. Until now, I didn’t see this as a cost control exercise so I never figured it out. I just looked around and saw that the dedicated streamer market didn’t provide what I’m looking for, and maybe never will. So I went the PC route and started researching audio mods. I’m all in, roughly, for $1500. And that’s everything, my second hand 2014 mini along with cables (some new some used), Matrix (new), linear supply (new), media converters (new), some of which I would have bought regardless what device I ended up with. The cost equation changes quite a bit when people insist on buying the mini new with top shelf specs. I don’t believe an i7 is needed, but, hey, go for it.

On the other topics

  1. Yeah, I’m clear that my requirements aren’t mainstream and I shouldn’t moan about being overlooked in the marketplace. But more importantly, the best times I have in front of my system are with friends and those gatherings are more enjoyable when everyone can see the playlist on a big TV. If someone has a song recommendation, knows the artist but forgets the album except “it had mostly green cover art”, I can scroll through and everyone can play along. That alone is probably why I remain a PC person.

  2. Your streamer plays everything you want it to play but not everything there is to stream. There is no list of compatible services and file types you should carefully review before buying a PC. But again, 90% have their subscription service of choice and their file trove, change infrequently and want things simple. Nothing wrong with that.

  3. I had a love hate relationship with my Squeezebox through the early 2000’s. Pairing it with my laptop while my buddies were chuckling was some of the hardest, profanity laced work I’ve ever done behind a keyboard. Why aren’t there more VU meters in the world? I noodle and love it but I also don’t have Rube Goldberg machines making my toast and eggs in the morning. Since I know PCs from the 80s I’m comfortable in that space. But if it sounded like junk I would ditch it.