Mac Mini vs. Macbook Pro as a server

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Soundhouse,

You talk about the sound of the Mini vs. the servers but don't mention your DAC. You say the Olive sounds better than the Mini but aren't you really saying it sounds better than whatever DAC you are using?

I have developed a battery for my battery powered Mac Mini

Could you talk a little more about the mystery battery and how it is connected since the Mini has a built in supply?

Thanks

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I don't buy the argument that the mac is limited in audio because it does other things. There is no reason for that to be true.

So you compare the mac usb to the others doing spdif or ??? If so your conclusion that the mac is not world class is invalid. A single DAC that might not be optimized for usb compared to other sources with a different interface and cables and you make a definitive conclusion?

Too many variables to conclude much of anything.
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You have so much stuff going on in a computer that you cannot see. All that stuff running down in the operating system uses resources that take away from the sound.

That is typical audiophile nervosa. It sounds logical but you have no idea if it is correct because you have no way to test it.

How do you know that DAC is so good with USB? Sounds like it may not be if the others are feeding it spdif and they sound better, and I don't think the Mini optical is a fair comparison.

There are too many of us that are getting world class performance with the Mini and Pro and other DACs. I have no doubt you like the other servers feeding the DACs you tried but there are too many other possible ways to do it to make a definitive conclusion based on your limited experiments.

A few months ago you said your Mac Mini was almost the equal of your vinyl. Now it is getting bested by servers.

It has come very close to my turntable. I cannot convey how deep and wide the soundstage has gotten,how perfect the tonal balance and did I mention the detail stuff I have never heard in the digital domain

That's a bit different than today when you say

The Mac Mini is very good but it is not world class like my Turntable or the other music servers I have tried as of recent.

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No, not attached to anything except my speakers because I built them in the room and they are too big to get through the door. I've only ripped a few records. The main reason I use Pure Vinyl is because I'm triamping with amps connected directly to the drivers. I modded my RME to bypass the output opamps and built my own 6 channel amp. PV allows me to do the crossover digitally before the amps and to time align the woofer. There are very few options for getting that done. From the output of the DAC chip I have only a transformer, 2 stages of triode amplification directly coupled, and the output transformer direct to the spekaer.

I am interested in the modified Mini but not convinced it is worth the extra $$. If you are moving on perhaps you could send it over so I could try it out :>)

Yes sir, things do advance but I don't think there has been a huge leap in the past few months that surpasses what you can do with a computer (not just the mini) and a DAC that mates well with one.

Glad to hear you are making progress and pleased with it.
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For someone who has only been in it for a short time it is amazing that you have reached such definitive conclusions against when so many of us are getting excellent results. With limited experience one can only conclude that your conclusion is based on what others have told you, not what you have found out for yourself. I encourage you to keep an open mind, not everything you hear or read on the internet is true.

Have you actually used the server you say is really good? Why should it be better than a PC or Mac if all are properly set up? It is after all just another computer. In fact, it is just an "optimized" windows based computer which is exactly what you just told us was inferior.

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Point taken, but I believe if you would take the time to do a little research you would find there are just as many people if not more who advocate the opposite. They believe the definitive solution IS a PC or Mac based system.

A lot of them hang out over here

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/pcaudio/bbs.html

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I have a question about "stripped of internal power supply"

Correct me if I'm wrong but the supply is a single DC voltage. Doesn't that mean there are some DC-DC converters to supply the 5V for USB and Firewire, I imagine the processor runs off a lower voltage, and I don't know what else. Doesn't seem likely they would just use some inefficient linear regulators. How can it help to replace the supply if it has converters after it anyway?

AND do you have a link to how it is done, what voltage to feed it, and what type of connector is needed in case one wanted to try it?

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