Options to improve digital sound

mac mini is definitely not the best streamer.
if Roon is in the picture here I would keep it simple and run the roon core on mac mini and get a dedicated streamer that’s a roon endpoint. Not a fan of a server/streamer combo and at this price point there’s most likely no solution without a compromise with a one box unit. For Roon endpoint you can try Lumin U2 or Aurender N200 for example. 
Also don’t forget the USB cable makes a pretty significant difference. Good Ethernet cables can also improve sound. 

 

sns

3,887 posts

06-30-2025 at 09:41am 

Adding a quality Endpoint to a stock mini is not the way to go,

Your Core is as important as the Endpoint.

how so? I’m just curious what your experience was. In my mind i can’t figure out why a Roon core would make a difference. Let’s take my use case for example…

I am using a Mac Mini as a Roon core (for years now). It is fed by one of the EERO mesh network nodes in a completely different room. I then have another EERO mesh node in a vicinity of my system feeding the streamer. 
I’d like to understand how in this configuration the Mac Mini is inferior to lets say a Roon Nucleus One or even Roon Nucleus Titan.

Also, a one box solution of Roon Core Streamer at the level of OP’s budget will most likely be a side step. You get all the Roon Core related processing which at times is CPU and memory intensive and at the cost of OP’s budget will be a compromise in my opinion as opposed to getting a dedicated Roon ready streamer. All in one no compromise solution starts at 4-5x the budget….i.e. Grimm MU1 used or MU2. But that’s just my take on it. 
 

But please let me know how the core impacts the sound quality. 

Thanks @sns 

I do realize there’s a lot of irrelevant tasks in the mac mini that can potentially impact sound quality by negatively impacting roon related processing. I’ll be trying a dedicated core soon. Can’t wait to see how it impacts the sound hopefully it’ll be a positive difference. 

 

sns

3,890 posts

06-30-2025 at 10:50pm 

I'm certainly not the first to say this, and surely won't be the last, but the streamer is right up there with the dac in order of importance in streaming chain. I don't care about all the signal and network filters, audiophile switches, lps, etc., these all just band aids if streamer and dac not optimal, the full potential of these devices will only be realized after attending to dac and streamer. 
 

Agreed 100%. Don’t go down the rabbit hole with tweaks. You can’t polish the turd. 

What commercial switch do you recommend @mswale 

Also, processors might not produce physical noise but they emit EMI. The heat from a processor inside the enclosure as well as the emitted EMI impacts other components an in turn adds noise to the output digital signal. Yes for data transfer it doesn’t matter. But it does impact streaming music. 
I just can’t figure out how it could if there is no physical connection between my roon core and my dac. It’s all done using mesh network.