@verdantaudio Interesting, I've never heard of such issues. I'm in IT and I've got lots of Mac endpoints out there. First option should be static IP addresses, next...dhcp reservations.
It's unfortunate that Apple ditched the SP/DIF optical output years ago. We're now forced to deal with USB/C and all the baggage that comes with it.
The new Mini M1 is an amazing computer in of itself. I've played around with it to explore its potential as a streamer. I enjoyed using Audirvana Studio and a trial of Roon. Ultimately I didn't spend too much time on it to wring out its best sound quality.....but it did sound good, not great.
As an office streamer I think it has great potential with USB conditioning. What I tried to do was dead-head it (no monitor, keyboard or mouse) in my stereo rack. I'd remote into it to launch the mentioned software and use the IOS app to control it. That's what I found frustrating. Roon was pretty good, Audirvana not so much.