Which Mac mini?

Good ups getting the paradesea+! I've read about it...very cool! Some guy on Audioasylum actually wrote that he prefers the paradesea+ to a Wavelength Cosecant, which is now sold. I noticed you also have, or had, an Opus 21 -- also very cool! I used that player for awhile and really loved it.

Anyway, I've used a couple of different Macbooks as music servers and I think a good rule of thumb is to get as much processor, along with the most memory you can afford. Aftermarket memory is your best bet for Apple.

I don't think it takes alot of computing power to stream the music, but once the system actually starts dealing with a huge music library, you can have slow downs and hiccups.

If it was me, and I might be getting a Mini here soon to replace the Macbook, I'd get at least an Intel Core Duo 1.8ghz with 1 GB of memory minimum with plans to go to 4gb eventually.

Let us know how you like the DAC once you get up and running...I'm very interested! Cheers!

go look for a older g4 mac mini. around $300-$400. you don't need an intel proc for itunes, nor do you need to run windows on it. if you do want to run a pc program, then you will need an intel proc mac mini. i used a duo core 1.66ghz mac mini as my personal computer and running the music server on it, with processing power to spare. you don't need a dedicated mac for your music server. i now use a new imac 24" screen running vmware for windows, mac applications, and itunes music server. i would recommend that you don't use a macbook or laptop for a machine that has to stay up 24 hrs a day. they get warm (hot) whereas the imac or mac mini run cool.

Thanks guys. Would i be able to use the itouch to control the older g4 ? Or would i need bluetooth capabilities?

the touch works with any computer with leopard installed.

I have both a PowerPc version and a Intel dual core. Both are fine for playback, the real issue comes down to ripping and multitasking. The Power PC version is slower to rip, and makes more fan noise than the power pc version. Plus, the Intel version lets you run Windows if you want, which opens up more playback options if you prefer a windows player.

I have 512 mb on the Power Pc, and 1 gb on the Intel.