MacRumor's Buyer's Guide. Tells you where a Mac product is in it's cycle and if now is a good time to buy.
Damn Apple..a fence sitter's dilemma
Almost ready to make the'move'...Buy the Mac mini, go with a firewire dac (seems to make more sense to my computer illiterate brain), decided on a simplified Raid backup, still worrying over format to rip cd's....And now Apple introduces a new connectivity mode : Thunderbolt. A zillion times faster than USB 2 and Firewire 800, single connectivity with audio, video, data, etc., and a whole lot of other things I don't understand.
Sure, it's only in the MBP's introduced this week, not the Mini; but trickle down is their modus operondi. Sure, I should get off the fence and make a move 'cause there will always be the next great thing coming down the pipe, but I sure hate to spend my pennies and be obsolete in 16 months. Whaddya' think?
Sure, it's only in the MBP's introduced this week, not the Mini; but trickle down is their modus operondi. Sure, I should get off the fence and make a move 'cause there will always be the next great thing coming down the pipe, but I sure hate to spend my pennies and be obsolete in 16 months. Whaddya' think?
- ...
- 30 posts total
Here is how to plan for a timeless system. Buy: Fantastic Tube Preamp Fantastic Tube Amp Great Vinyl setup High efficiency speakers All you will ever have to upgrade is your SECONDARY source, be it a CD player, DAC, whatever, the other elements if they are good, will not be obsolete any time soon. Apple has also introduced Airplay which is very cool. But again as long as the above list is good, you will never need radical system changes... What is the rest of your system?? |
This article provides a good overview of the background and prospects for Thunderbolt. The bottom line: It will not be obsoleting anything in the foreseeable future. Regards, -- Al |
It will be a while before Thunderbolt becomes a reality. For that matter it may not become any more widely used than Firewire. But then something will replace Thunderbolt after that. So you should probably just give up, since anything you buy will eventually become out of date. ;) I'm sure I'm going to catch a lot of flak for this next part from Mini owners and Mac lovers. The Mac mini is a pretty limiting option (but is also cheap). I have done a lot of testing and a correctly optimized PC sounds better and more dynamic than a properly optimized mini. I suspect a big part of that is better player options. If it were my $ I'd look at a PC or an Apple desktop so that future upgrades can accommodate new technology. |
Leskem, remainder of system (primary) Sony SCD-1 modded Van Alstine Ultra Dac Hovland hp-100 Bel 1001 Mk. V x2 in mono Meadowlark Blue Heron II floorstanders Audience Au 24e IC's; Zu Mission speaker cable Hesson11....As you saw later MBP is MacBook Pro. Two further ??'s: Do the users think that changing a Mac Mini HD to SS hard drive is audibly beneficial? What format seems best to rip CD's at this time (Probably using Amarro or Pure Music with Itunes)? Thanks for link, Almarg |
- 30 posts total