DBTom2 - no HDMI on the SSP-600, the SSP-800 has them, but mine's an older model. Music is a collection of CDs burned as AAC files and the stuff I bought on iTunes was downloaded as iTunes PLUS format (256).
mb1audio02 - I see that some of the higher-end cable-makers (Wireworld for example) sell a cord with mini-optical to toslink ... I actually haven't bought the mini yet - wanted to make sure I could make it work first. Right now all my music is on my MacBook Pro, but I wanted something cleaner and dedicated that I can drive with an iPad or iPhone remotely. I may decide to re-record the CDs to the Mini rather than defer, though I guess a USB to USB or even thunderbolt xfer would work well.
There's a lot of negative feedback on the Mac Mini as a computer, but I've not heard any negative on using it as a dedicated music server. PSAudio did a decent "how to" write up here, but it left the DAC questions unanswered. http://www.psaudio.com/ps_how/how-to-build-a-music-server-2/
Thanks for responses - additional commentary is welcome - this is new ground for me.
mb1audio02 - I see that some of the higher-end cable-makers (Wireworld for example) sell a cord with mini-optical to toslink ... I actually haven't bought the mini yet - wanted to make sure I could make it work first. Right now all my music is on my MacBook Pro, but I wanted something cleaner and dedicated that I can drive with an iPad or iPhone remotely. I may decide to re-record the CDs to the Mini rather than defer, though I guess a USB to USB or even thunderbolt xfer would work well.
There's a lot of negative feedback on the Mac Mini as a computer, but I've not heard any negative on using it as a dedicated music server. PSAudio did a decent "how to" write up here, but it left the DAC questions unanswered. http://www.psaudio.com/ps_how/how-to-build-a-music-server-2/
Thanks for responses - additional commentary is welcome - this is new ground for me.