Mac Mini As A Streaming Source

I use a Mac Mini as a streamer. Probably USB output would make the most sense since the Mark Levinson accepts USB input, and a new Mac Mini has no other built-in digital audio output capability except HDMI, which I don’t see listed as an input option for the Levinson.

If you get an older Mac Mini it might still have optical digital audio output through the headphone jack. In that case you could try it as well and compare it to the USB output.

 

Thanks!  How do you control it?

Also, can I just use my phone (latest android running apple music and Tital) or ipad as my digital source and connect the USB C output to the USB-B input on my amp's DAC?

Yech.

And don’t worry about playing SACD. Much easier to play ripped files.

And you can’t be seriously considering tethering your phone for some more bad SQ.

???

Ahhh the old Apple lock in at play.

People have success with Mac Mini’s.

 

Personally I would not run a Roon core on a Mac Mini. Not after having experience with it. I switched off a Mac Mini to a Small Green Computer ST with a Bryston Pi endpoint. You could get a SGC ST with a Sonore endpoint to run the Roon core and play ripped files. especially the optical Rendu

The boat anchor is the Apple Music. Maybe do a trial run with Qobuz or Tidal music service and see if there classical offerings have your content. Here is a link to how Roon manages Classical, advance to about the 4:10 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N3RZM_JfL0

If you can find a Roon endpoint that uses another of your 6 digital besides USB input you could use a iPAD mini and go USB into your ML.

 

It was a happy day when I said goodby to Apple music and my mini in the chain.

@jbuhl +1

I’ve used mac mini as a streamer for years. I had Roon on it and was streaming Qobuz and local files in AIFF, FLAC, ALAC. Wasn’t a fan.

Both streamers I purchased as upgrade, the Auric Aries G1 and Limin U1 Mini easily beat it on tone, finesse and musicality

I now use my mac mini as a Roon core only. Very happy with.

I would not recommend using it as a Roon core and streamer all at once. If you read up on Roon’s guidelines for core, they don’t recommend using core as a streamer.

I upgraded to an M2 Mac Mini and it works great as a streaming device to my Aqua formula DAC. Roon is quick, much quicker than on the 7-8 year old Mini I was running.

I use a Luna dongle to send video to an iPad so I can run the Mac Mini in headless mode.

I stream from Tidal and Qobuz under Roon. The Mac mini runs my Roon core. 

I’m curious how you would stream from Apple Classical as I thought they only had an iPhone version and not a version for the Mac Mini. If they had a version for the Mac Mini, I would run it.

My dream is that one day the Naxos Music Library will allow themselves to be integrated under Roon but I guess that is unlikely.

I don't know for sure but I think you can connect the phone or iPad directly to the amp via USB. You may also be able to stream the phone through the Mac Mini. 

I control my Mac Mini with a keyboard and mouse, hooked up through my TV so I can see what I'm doing. I don't use Roon or anything like that. Just straight from Apple Music, or Youtube when I'm listening to that. I don't know why a different streamer would make a difference in terms of tone, finesse, and musicality. That's really weird and the causes for why that might be happening have not even been close to reasonably explained but it may be happening with some setups. 

The promise of Apple silicon is to be able to run the same apps across all hardware devices, so, I certainly hope that they will produce a version of the Apple Classical app that runs on the Mac Mini. 

I can't connect my iPhone to the USB input on my DAC, as the Mac Mini is already connected to that input. Besides that, it is awkward to have to connect a phone to my stereo to stream music. The same goes for streaming through the Mac Mini. 

I have a Bluetooth keyboard and Magic trackpad that I can use with the headless Mac Mini. Generally speaking, I don't need to do a lot on the Mac Mini when it is in headless mode. The Roon app running on the iPad does everything I need. 

I could connect it to my TV though, I just haven't done it, Thanks for reminding me. 

There's no easy way to control your Mac Mini for playback.  You can certainly remote into it from another Mac or use a wireless keyboard as someone said above and have the Mac connected to your TV or an external monitor. None of these are pretty.  Look into an Innuos Zen or Zenith. It has built in storage for music and the ability to use Airplay from Apple Music Classical from your phone. Quality won't be tops but it will sound very good. It would make sense for Apple to have other solutions down the road as this seems like just the first step. Sound quality on the Innuos is better than a Mac Mini. As an FYI, Apple has locked down or the chip forces the HDMI output of new Mac Minis to 48 Khz, rather than 44.1, 192, etc.

I think I've been down this road before with you, the HDMI road, lol. My DAC does not have an HDMI input, although it has many other inputs. Look up the Aqua Formula. The thing sounds great, by the way. 

Roon does an excellent job of controlling all my playback so I don't have to struggle with apps running on the Mac Mini. 

I can't believe AirPlay provides good quality playback. I tried to stream from a dedicated streaming app for a radio station over AirPlay to the Mac and it dropped all the time so I gave up. 

I use a M1 Mac Mini as a Roon core tied to a home network. I have a Lumin U2 Mini as the streamer. I run the whole thing with my iPad. It works perfectly. No issues streaming Qobuz, Tidal, or accessing all my Ripped files.

I have a separate SACD player to handle all the CDs and SACDs that i still own and purchase. 

I was running Tidal through Audirvana on my MacBook Pro using USB via a Halide Bridge USB to S/PDIF converter.

Had the dilemma of upgrading to a Mac Mini.

Instead switched to Qobuz and USB Hard Drive, and bought a (relatively) cheap Project Stream Box S2 Ultra. Huge improvement.

Now sorting out an Intel Nuc to run Roon.

OP,

Let’s start from scratch here.
 

You have a good piece of high end audio equipment, the Mark Levinsion 585.5. You do not want to be hooking that up with iPads, laptops or PCs. These are very low quality sources and will be reflected in the output you get.

Apple music and others through a phone or iPads are great for travel and headphones.

 

There has been a huge amount of change in the digital arena over the last ten or fifteen years. I have had all sorts of these things along the way.

 

Today, if you were going to assemble a digital system you would buy a streamer and a DAC. No CDs, or SACDs. These players are transports + streamers + DAC.

 

At nearly all price levels a good quality purpose built streamer with Qobuz can sound as good as a vinyl, CD, or SACD system. Buying physical disks with files on them, buying and buying music files have come and gone (lots of folks still do it, but the age has passed). 
 

‘’You can look at my system. I have a top notch vinyl system, and can play CDs. Streaming has the same sound quality, often better, since Qobuz offers over +1/2 million high resolution albums with millions of CD quality for $12/month. 
 

So, you need a high quality streamer. I recommend Aurender. You control it with your iPad. Roon adds another level of complexity and cost. Personally I don’t find it useful. Some streamers support it. Given your system, I recommend investing about $5K in a streamer… although streamers sound better the higher the price. Aurender only produces the streamer and arguably the best high end in the business. There are lots of good ones. I don’t recommend one less that $3.5K… but you must find the right one. 

AirPlay 2 is limited to 24 bit / 48 kHz, so not ideal if you want bit-perfect hi-res playback.

 

I don’t think any third-party software integrates Apple Music so you’ll have to control the Mac if you’re wed to that streaming service.

 

You can enable Screen Sharing on your Mac and use an app like RealVNC to control the Mac from an iPad. The thing to remember with VNC is that you’re using a mouse cursor to interact with the remote desktop. That means you’re dragging your fingertip to move the cursor to the right spot to click a button or select a row, etc.

 

I would use USB to connect the Mac to the ML 585.5.

 

I currently have a Mac mini pulling double duty as music storage and as a streamer for a living room system. I use an Android app called BubbleUPnP to send hi-res audio from my phone to the Mac.

See above… I agree completely.

Mac Mini is a cost savings move, but not a great move for the end product. Unfortunately, quality streamers, DACs are expensive, but it can be an iterative process. I was using a 10th Gen I7 NUC with iFi Zen and this bettered anything done with a Mac, but the Aurender line is in another league regarding the end result. I have Apple Music etc. and use it with my Apple Watch Ultra and Bluetooth AirPod Pro2 and it works great for jogging, walking and working out, but it isn’t “High Resolution/High Bitrate” when using it this way and Apple is a relatively new player to quality streaming. I’m sure in time some streamers will pass Apple Music. I use Qobuz. In fact my whole family streams Qobuz on different devices, including streaming in the car via CarPlay. Pretty easy to transfer playlists to Qobuz and all the streamers will work…great service. For me, I will probably discontinue Apple Music. I can stream via my watch music that I have ripped to my Synology NAS to both my watch and my car.. One less music service to pay for.

I had used an Apple computer in the distant past as a music server but changed over to a dedicated audio streamer mostly because I believed that a home computer is a device designed to do many things well, including acting as a music source but a dedicated audio streamer is a device designed to do this one thing. It made more sense to choose a music server. Nowadays with better software and chips, I don't know if that argument still holds true??? 

I believe JRiver Media Center for MAC and JRemote (iOS) will do what you want to do. You can try JRiver Media Center free of charge for 30 days. JRemote (iOS) would cost you $9.99. In any case, it wouldn't cost much to try it out. It would take some effort to get it running correctly.

So much bad info here. I’ve been using a Mac mini since 2005 as a music server. From 2012, as a headless music server. 
Most people buy music servers (macs, pcs, Aurender, innuos,Auralic or any other computer based server, yes, all of these servers are pcs underneath running a proprietary OS) and then run them on the same rack with your audio gear then using usb to hook them up to a dac. This is the worst possible setup you can do for sq (ok maybe toslink is worse just because toslink snot rate is sub par).

Yes, up until 2016/2017, I used my Mac in my audio room plugged into my dac using usb. I decided to get a dedicated music server so I auditioned the best models at the time and the best sounding with the best software was the Auralic Aries. I used the Aries to stream my ripped music to my external dac using usb. It was a little better than the Mac setup but convoluted because I had to run minimserver and upnp on the Mac to have Auralic connect to the macs hard disks where the music resided.

After a couple of years with this setup along with trying out all the gimmicks/tweaks to get usb to sound better, I sold all of this and went back and I a headless Mac mini running audirvana (then eventually Roon) connected by Ethernet to the dac (bought the best dac at the time with Ethernet and i2s inputs) and the sound quality was much better. The Mac resides in another room outside of my dedicated audio room so I don’t have to worry about computer noise or the need for any of the usb gimmicks.

Today, m1 Mac mini running Roon to 6 endpoints (1 of them being my dac in my audio room) all controlled by my iPad or iPhone. Even my volume level is controlled by my iPad using roon. The m1 Mac is 1 of the fastest computers on the market only beaten by the newer m2 and the upcoming m3 macs.

I ran Roon on a $50k enterprise Linux server using 256g and f ram and all enterprise class solid state storage (pcie, nvme, and SSD’s) running Linux and the sound quality was no different than the Mac mini.

IMO, the sound quality of a music server boils down to the software you run to retrieve the music, not the hardware and especially not the hardware when using Ethernet to the dac and having the server isolated in another room. I’ve used apples iTunes 18 years ago, then amarra, pure music, audirvana, Auralic lightning DS and Lumins software running the Auralic Aries, and now Roon. I have played with some of the latest versions of audirvana which might be possibly better sounding than Roon but the graphical UI is pretty bad. 
 

As for sound quality, I sold my $14k vinyl equipment, phono preamp, cleaning crap, and all my hundreds of vinyl albums 4 years ago and haven’t missed it for a second. Hires/MQA/DSD sounds better and more enjoyable to use than vinyl.

 

Computers also introduce noise into your system. You got all the stuff running in the background with a computer, while a dedicated streamer is clean. I ran Mac mini for a time, with audrvarna, then switched to a dedicated streamer with Qobuz. Much higher res, and can play dsd.files.

In the past I have used a 2014 Mac Mini, usually running headless, to run Roon Core and other music-related processes (including HQ Player, BAACH4Mac, and the HD Tracks downloader).  I currently have Roon Core running on a dedicated music server (the sonicTransporter i9).

I have tried running Roon Core both from a separate room (with a WiFi backhaul) and co-located in the same cabinet with all my other HiFi gear.  Either way makes little or no difference to sound quality, but I prefer to avoid the WiFi backhaul.  If I had ethernet cable (or optical fiber)  lines throughout my house, I'd probably put my server in a separate room, just to make my HiFi cabinet a little less crowded.  However, I never notice the sound of the Mac Mini's fan even if it is within 10 ft of my listening position, and especially not with music playing.   

Any concerns about computer system "noise" are overblown, IMO.  However, processes such as Time Machine may hog computing resources and interfere with music playback, so you may want to shut them off if or when you're using the Mini for that purpose.   If you run Roon Core on the Mini, it's easy to control it from an iOS device.  You also can use Screen Sharing to control a headless Mini from another MacOS device.  

Using the sonicTransporter vs the Mini for Roon Core has little or no impact on sound quality, as far as I can tell. Nor does the choice of ethernet vs. USB, per se.  Currently, I run both Roon Core and HQ Player on the sonicTransporter, mainly because it has a faster processor than my aging Mini.  I also prefer a USB connection to ethernet, because I can only use HQ Player with USB.  This pathway allows higher upsampling rates (up to DSD 512) than I can get with Roon via an ethernet connection. 

If I were starting over from scratch and buying all new equipment, I'd seriously consider a new M2 Mac Mini rather than a dedicated music server plus a Mini.  In any case, I wouldn't want to do without the Mini because it is useful for so many music-related tasks.  Also, the Mini tends to be much less expensive than a dedicated server.  Controlling it remotely is pretty easy.  For a simple setup, I suppose you could just connect a Mini via USB to your HiFi rig then play Apple Music using the iTunes Remote app from one or more other devices (though I've never tried exactly this setup myself).  Personally, I like Roon, but you have other options such as Audirvana. Tidal and Qobuz subscription services work beautifully with Roon.  Apple Music does not integrate directly with Roon. Roon can index  and play music from stored files in your iTunes Library, but cannot directly access Apple Music servers for real time playback.  

I use Apple Music as my streaming source.  I use AirPlay from my iPad or Chromecast from my Android phone.  Chromecast sounds better.  My streamer is Cambridge Audio CXN 60.

  I didn’t get what amp the OP is using.  For silver disc replay connect the disc spinner to the same DAC you use with the streamer, or else just run it directly into the amp, if you prefer the internet DAC of the disk spinner.

  I didn’t address Roon here, because I don’t use it.  Frankly, Apple has co-opted so many of the Roon features, I think Roon is a waste, and you may lose access to some of the Apple Spatial Audio offerings.  If Roon is essential, then get a streamer that handles it.

  You can use a Mini for all of this, but a dedicated streamer will sound better and leave you less at the Mercy of Apple updates, which tend to to mess up interfaces with non Apple equipment 

Mercy of Apple updates? Come on, you can do better than this. You don’t need to apple any OS update if you don’t want to. How about updates to the proprietary OS running in the Auralic/Aurender streamers? You trust these updates that might have had a few people test them out compared to the thousands of testers of any Apple update?

If you are running Roon on a Mac and concerned about running Time Machine or any other process while playing Roon/audirvana, then turn those processes off. For over a dozen years if not longer, I have turned Time Machine off and I run a schedule for time finder to run when I’m not playing music. Not a big deal. Same for other processes.

Maybe a lot of these posters are new to computers/streamers, but every 1 of these devices perform millions of instructions per second/minute or many more. If you think running a process adds noise, then every streamer would be sounding like a jet engine.

If vendors claim they limit processes because of generating noise, ask for specifics on how much noise will be eliminated by not running a certain process especially if the computer resides in another room.

If you think that your computer is taxed resource wise by running extra processes, have you ever looked at the computer stats while running Roon/audirvana? Try it, using a newer Mac especially with apple M series processors, roon/audirvana take up very little computer resources. 

As for dacs with usb, some of the best dacs don’t even include usb anymore. I2s and Ethernet perform better. Why do you think there are tens maybe hundreds of usb tweaks/gimmicks to try to get usb to sound better? How many tweaks do you find for bettering i2s and Ethernet besides getting the best cable you can afford?

I invested in a Apple Mac Mini Reference Upgrade from Mojo Audio about 5 years ago. They installed Solid State Drives, removed internal power supplies, added their Illuminatti External Power Supply and Uptone Audio External Clock. I use WyWires Platnum USB cables. I have it connected up to a Wadia DAC and use  Audirvana. I don't use it very often so might consider unloading it. This approach was the best streamer set up I have experienced and is very impressive with the addition of a refrence level Power Cable.

I put my ear up against the M2 Mini and I cannot hear the fan at all. I don’t think the processor is under much load when it is streaming audio.

Of course, there is ambient noise in the room. None of us have silent rooms, unless we live in the world’s quietest room which measures -20dB, yes, negative 20dB.

I’m willing to consider that the addition of the Aqua Linq to my Formula may improve the sound quality but I wonder by how much. I could still run my Roon Core on the Mac Mini in another room or run the Roon core on my Mac Studio, which certainly would not be taxed it.

Are there any places that sell the Aqua Linq and allow a return within a short period of time?

This isn't how I would go, necessarily but it's not bad.  The biggest issue with PC's and laptops especially, is the amount of AC noise they put back into the wiring, not to mention potential for ground loops, which can be severe with USB, depending on whether your DAC is USB isolated or not.

Try listening with your power supply unplugged and see if it sounds better.  If it does you may need a linear or low-noise supply.

Also, consider an inexpensive USB isolator.  $50 or less.

 

https://amzn.to/435o6wH

I transitioned from a MacBook to a MiniMac running Audirvāna to a dedicated server.  I chose Aurender running QoBuz over Conductor.  Personal preference. You must audition and use the Apps and make your own choice.  Using the dedicated server removed a high frequency glare that improved timbre, peesented a blacker background that improved detail and opened the stage with denser, more organic images.  
 

If you must stay with a computer run a music server program.  My choice was Audirvāna but again you must listen and play to make the choice.  I did have occasional but rare in frequency dropouts with Audirvāna that I could never solve.  
 

No matter which way you go a high quality USB and power cord or power supply is required (power cord or supply if you go with a server, not MiniMac unless you mod). I use WyWires Platinum with the Aurender.   A good value if they are still running their sale. Also in my system, vibration isolation on digital equipment has positive effects but not so much on downstream amplification.  I use Symposium platforms and RollerBlock Jrs.  My strong recommendation strong is a dedicated server.  Let you ears and software preferences make they choice.  Many good server recommendations from other members above. 

I transitioned from a MacBook to a MiniMac running Audirvāna to a dedicated server.  I chose Aurender running QoBuz over Conductor.  Personal preference. You must audition and use the Apps and make your own choice.  Using the dedicated server removed a high frequency glare that improved timbre, peesented a blacker background that improved detail and opened the stage with denser, more organic images.  
 

If you must stay with a computer run a music server program.  My choice was Audirvāna but again you must listen and play to make the choice.  I did have occasional but rare in frequency dropouts with Audirvāna that I could never solve.  
 

No matter which way you go a high quality USB and power cord or power supply is required (power cord or supply if you go with a server, not MiniMac unless you mod). I use WyWires Platinum with the Aurender.   A good value if they are still running their sale. Also in my system, vibration isolation on digital equipment has positive effects but not so much on downstream amplification.  I use Symposium platforms and RollerBlock Jrs.  My strong recommendation strong is a dedicated server.  Let you ears and software preferences make they choice.  Many good server recommendations from other members above. 

I transitioned from a MacBook to a MiniMac running Audirvāna to a dedicated server.  I chose Aurender running QoBuz over Conductor.  Personal preference. You must audition and use the Apps and make your own choice.  Using the dedicated server removed a high frequency glare that improved timbre, peesented a blacker background that improved detail and opened the stage with denser, more organic images.  
 

If you must stay with a computer run a music server program.  My choice was Audirvāna but again you must listen and play to make the choice.  I did have occasional but rare in frequency dropouts with Audirvāna that I could never solve.  
 

No matter which way you go a high quality USB and power cord or power supply is required (power cord or supply if you go with a server, not MiniMac unless you mod). I use WyWires Platinum with the Aurender.   A good value if they are still running their sale. Also in my system, vibration isolation on digital equipment has positive effects but not so much on downstream amplification.  I use Symposium platforms and RollerBlock Jrs.  My strong recommendation strong is a dedicated server.  Let you ears and software preferences make they choice.  Many good server recommendations from other members above. 

I’ve been a Mac fan since the late 80s. However, are extremely noisy!

As I find Roon by far the best user interface for playing music, I went from discarded pc to Mac laptop to usb stick stuck into my Synology NAS as Roon core. Then I got an Ayre Codex as DAC,  which predates Roon, so I got the Nucleus both to feed the Codex and run the core. The noise floor is much lower with the purpose built Nucleus. The only better streamers I’ve heard are the Aurenders and the best, the DCS Network Bridge. (Discontinued, but represented in the Bartók, Rossini and Vivaldi). The new HIFI Rose streamers are very good, and the RS250A has a decent DAC. That is what I’d choose if starting now, though I’d not give up the Codex, the network transport is very good - RS250A into Codex is far better than other digital front ends I’ve heard in the under $5k category.

Sorry everyone.  I got 3 errors indicating my response did not post.  Apparently it posted multiple times.  

Alot of incorectt information here pcs are not the same thing as a server mostservers are designed to preserve data by eliminating radiated noise

 

a pc is not built for music quality solely.

 

we import the 432evo music servers into the us.

 

we just sold one to a client running a mac and he was pleasently surpriseed how much better his system now sounds he will be posting a gull review in a few weeks

 

our servers are designed to totally isolate the data

first we use a very low noise cpu then th cpu is shielded by a custom designed cooper shield the ssd is mechanically isolated on a spring suspension as well

 

We employ two external linear power supplies on most models the flagship Master has three independent power supplies in one external chassis

then the clock and usb cards are electrically separated from the cpu

this is a huge improvement over other designs

even roon is run differently we use one cpu core to run roon

 

another core runs other processes.

while another core caches music files.

 

the results of this incredible dedication to eliminate noise is a sound closer to analog playback.

with digital implementation is everything.

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect nj

USimporters 432evo music servers.

OK, seems to be a lot of inconsistent info here.

I am only transporting the digital "1s" and "zeros" from the computer to the DAC.  I don't understand how electronic "noise" can be introduced at this step, as this is a purely digital process.  Are people saying that "noise" alters the 1s and 0s?  What in the digital circuitry affects the 1s and 0s?  

I understand how "noise" is e a concern in the DAC process as it might affect the analog signal resulting from the conversion, but I don't see how  that applies upstream from the DAC in the pure digital realm.  So, the comments that computers as digital sources, fed to a DAC, do not sound different make some sense.  In fact, every digital streaming device uses a computer on the "digital" side (such as an internal raspberry pi).

It seems the main issue is in the DAC itself, and this is where the sound can vary depending on the quality of the components, power supplies, shielding, circuit design etc.

But is there any need to invest in a hyper expensive computer on the digital side?  How would that process the 1s and 0s differently?

Help me understand. . . .

@gwhphoto

 

Are people saying that "noise" alters the 1s and 0s?

yep. It causes errors.

 

My first MacIntosh experience was in 1984 with the Apple Classic and external floppy disc drive! I was building from sine waves, attack rate, fall rate, percussion rate, etc… and interfacing them with polyphonic and monophonic keyboards such as the MOOG. Apple was great for that and I’ve been a loyal Mac customer ever since. So it pains me a little to say this but I would try finding a dedicated renderer over using a Mac Mini. Also in my opinion, a lap top running off of a battery while using Audirvāna is better than using a Mac Mini. When I bought my first DAC in 2011, I used a Mac Mini with Audirvāna and it sounded excellent but when I bought my first renderer, I got spoiled. I went from the Bryston BDP Pi, which sounded really good to their flagship BDP 3 which is reference quality and far better than anything I used in the past. I prefer using the native to Bryston Manic Moose software over using ROON, because it sounds so much better. However, if you have to use a Mac Mini, Uptone Audio offers a Mac Mini modification with upgraded power supply for about $600.00 and that may be perfectly fine. I’ve never heard it but I use their ISO Regen reclocker and Linear Power Supply to great satisfaction so it might be worth the six hundred dollars to try. Anyway, good luck!

Gwhphoto,

I will only speak for my experience. I tried streaming using a laptop, and tried a lot of recommendations from here to improve the SQ…..ultimately I was never satisfied. Full transparency, I am adequate with computers, but by no means an expert.

 I bought and installed a Bluesound Node 130 $599, and that did yield positive improvement. I upgraded the USB cable $180, and that helped even more. I then installed an LHY linear power supply $279, and that was even better. Ultimately bought and installed a Denafrips Iris DDC $500, and output I2S to a Denafrips Pontus II DAC), and I now have what I feel is a really good set up for $1,500.

That being said I am saving up for a new streamer from the usual suspects (Aurender, Innuous, Lumin, maybe test a Eversolo DMP-A6), and will replace the current set up at some point. That however will be a $5,000 to $7,000 upgrade, unless the Eversolo somehow punched WAY above it’s weight 

That’s the thing, how much are we comfortable spending in order to gain an increase in sound quality?

I spent about $8k the Aqua Formula DAC and love it. It really sounds great. Now, people tell me I should not stream from a Mac Mini but have a dedicated streamer.

Maybe they’re right, I don’t know. I’d like to be able to trial the LinQ streamer.

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

larrykell,

I don't think anyone is telling you what you should do, I think we are sharing our experiences, the ultimate decision is what you think sounds best. Truthfully I could probably be happy with my current Node 130 set up for a long time, however I have the means to improve my system over time.....and am always searching for better sound.

@vthokie83 Improving sound over time, is for me what this hobby is all about. It’s definitely a marathon and not a sprint. Given that we’re currently living in a digital renaissance and digital technology is changing so rapidly, we all have to adjust to change. I will say that price point seems to be all over the place. Good value is out there but in a sea of marketing where companies foremost strive to maximize their dividends. For this reason, I look for improvements that provide high end results at affordable prices given the possibility that what I buy today could become antiquated five years from now. I’m just surprised that no one has yet engineered a way to make personal computers compete with the best streamers/renderers when it comes to sound quality.

Is there anyone here who has never watched a movie on a computer?  Does computer "noise" ruin the movie-watching experience?  Did you feel the need to install special power-conditioning components to clean up the signal? 

There are good reasons to prefer a TV over a computer for video.  Avoiding electrical noise isn't one of them.  Why would music be any different?

 

I will say that digital audio is such a mess and I’m in tech. I’m amazed it works at all. I’d actually like to spend most of my time listening to music and not messing around configuring a device.

Roon has worked well for me for years. It’s pretty easy to set up, the apps keep getting better, it streams from multiple providers and to multiple devices. It’s pretty cool. 

It is funny to hear so many different takes on streaming digital audio.

I don’t expect anyone to tell me what to and everyone has a different opinion on what to do.
I’ve always operated under the assumption that I should improve my amp, preamp, and speakers first in order to achieve large improvements in sound quality.

 

I have used 3 successive Mac Minis for dedicated music servers. They have been pretty trouble free and easy to operate.

Currently:

Mac Mini M1>iFi Zen Signature V2>Linn Akurate Kontrol>Linn AV5125 Aktiv>Linn Keilidhs

I use Roon, Qobuz, Apple Music and Spotify.

I control Roon through an iPhone, iPad or MacBook Pro. The interface is clean and easy to use.

You will need a keyboard, mouse and monitor to set the Mini up, but then will be able to go headless after you have installed your source preferences.

The ambient noise level in my living/listening room hovers around 28 dB, so any “dirty” computer noise is certainly below my threshold. Roon accesses all of my legacy iTunes library, which is a mix of CD burns, HD tracks downloads, mp3s and more than a few experimental LP>digital transcriptions before I got tired of that process. 
 

The Mini is connected by Ethernet to my router, and all three that I have used have been really reliable.
 

You must understand that all of the opinions in play here exhibit a bias of one sort or another, Apple-haters, NUC-ers, golden ears, etc. 

The streaming part of my set-up cost approximately $600. It takes a little time to disable some of the background programs in the Mini, but it works.

Opinions should be treated "as another way of doing things". This is a forum where we share ideas. I think there is bias, yes. I also think there is bone headed arrogance and rudeness. But in the end, it's like a wise person said once, " You do you, boo." Just enjoy the ride and experiment if it strikes your fancy. Here people share different ways to get music into your life.

“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. 

 

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. 

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.

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?