Tvad - no need for a monitor and keyboard to control the Mini. Just switch the Mini on and then control it via screen sharing with the Macbook Pro - this is what I do in my system, and it's easy as pie. Far more enjoyable IMO than using an iPod Touch, iPhone, etc. |
Tvad - I assume you mean USB to s/pdif - I haven't heard the M2Tech HiFace, although I know they it appeared to have some performance issues when it was initially rolled out. I've heard very good things about the Blue Circle USB Thingee when used as a USB-to-spdif converter. A pricier option would be the Bel Canto 24/95 USB link. |
Tvad - there's no reason you should be having to re-enter passwords every time the Mini goes to sleep, that's simply a matter of changing your network settings. Also no reason for playback to stop after the first song - a matter of iTunes settings. Darrell could likely take you through the process to fix those issues. I have a headless Mini with no keyboard or mouse that i control wirelessly with my MacBook Pro, and have neither of those issues.
If you prefer to enable the sleep function on the Mini, I find it's easiest to wake it up by pressing the start button on the back of the unit. If this is impractical with your configuration, consider that most folks simply leave theirs on all the time. I myself tend to turn it on and off once a day. Hope this helps - no reason you should be experiencing the hassles you describe - this setup is VERY plug and play! |
Tvad - go to Network Preferences and hit advanced and see whether the box "remember networks this computer has joined" is checked. If it isn't checked, check it and see whether that fixes your problem. To answer your question, my network is password protected and yet I don't have your issue. I hope this fixes it for you.
As for the iTunes playback issue, I imagine there are a couple of settings you need to fiddle with on iTunes, and I'd guess that a kid at Apple tech support should be able to help you fix that pretty easily. |
Tvad - you shouldn't need to re-enter a password to reconnect to screen sharing, either. Have you checked the status of your Mini's preferences under "sharing"? Again, one would theoretically hope Apple tech support could help with this. |
Tvad - you're quite right, of course, and I have no interest in an argument here. My plug and play comment was more in reference to the experience of using the setup once the kinks are all worked out. But IMHO, all the pain in suffering of dealing with Apple tech support and whatnot is worth it - once properly configured, I think the experience is a lot easier than using a CD player in many key respects.
I think you may be correct about VNC viewing - I tried it briefly a while ago and found it cumbersome. I'm sorry I'm not able to tell you precisely how I arrived in my current state of password-free, screen-sharing bliss - I'm no techie and got help getting there and it has been a while since I fiddled with it. That said, I would urge you to check the preference settings for Sharing and Network for both your Mini and your MacBook Pro. At any rate, I can testify that there is an a better way - I hope that being able to tell you that at least gives some hope. If all else fails, I would encourage you to gather your resolve and dial 800-MY-APPLE. |
Tvad - I don't ever open the Screen Sharing application, clicking "New" or any of that - I follow the latter procedure, going to Finder and clicking on the Mini under the shared heading and then clicking on Share Screen in the upper right, as you say. Just a few clicks - no typing of passwords or host names involved, and I find the process pretty painless, but I guess YMMV.
Sorry to hear the setup isn't floating your boat. Sounds like you're a man who doesn't have a whole lot of romance with the Apple scene and whatnot, and I can certainly synpathize and respect that. |
Tvad - fair enough, and I agree that getting the whole thing set up was somewhat painful - in addition to all the geek stuff, there's the initial process of ripping one's CD collection, which can easily take a week if one does nothing else.
On the flip side, I also have mixed emotions about how scandalously easy it is now to navigate my entire CD collection, scrolling and clicking on an album in an instant, as opposed to scanning my racks of CD spines, searching for a misplaced title - a relatively "old-school" ritual that was the best I had after giving away all my vinyl years ago... Not that I don't dig my Mini setup at the end of the day, but I do think I'll be in the market for a turntable again soon... |
Indeed, I think your own striking testimony comparing the Mach2 server to a $10k Esoteric component speaks volumes... I just can't conceive of investing in a CD player at this point - soundwise, it simply doesn't offer the bang for the buck you can get with a computer-based setup, and the thought of investing in some kind of overbuilt CD transport seems not only anachronistic but extravagant. From the perspective of my own budget and priorities, it's a bit of an unaffordable luxury to entertain concerns about plug and play.
My own USB DAC can't quite do some of the things that my old vinyl rig could, which is partly why I think I'm going to dabble with vinyl again. But the DAC coupled with the Mini does a lot of things amazingly well, close to vinyl and far better than any CD player in my budget, and I am also excited to hear what the future brings. |
Drubin - curious where you've read the mixed opinions about the 2010 Mac Mini vs the 2009? Would be nice to think that the 2009 has a fighting chance, because that's what I have, and all I've read and heard is that the 2010 blows it away! Indeed, it has been my understanding that, despite the on-board power supply, the 2010 Mini manages to be much quieter than the previous models. |
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Drubin - to my own chagrin as a 2009 Mac Mini owner, my conversations with people who have heard both models have yielded a consensus that indeed, the 2010 Mac Mini sounds a lot better "serving up the music" - bigger soundstage, more refined in the upper registers, lower noise floor, etc. Of course, I've also heard that it makes a pretty big difference hot-rodding it out with vibration treatments, solid-state drive, etc., although that's also true with the earlier models. |
Alex, you're depressing the hell out of me. |
Alex, I've tried the MacBook Pro in my system and the Mini sounds better. Now, the last thing I need is some junky Toshiba laptop running Windows making me feel insecure about my sleek, Apple-based audio setup.
In all seriousness, I wonder whether there's some kind of issue with the Mini and the Hiface. I think my Mini paired with a USB DAC sounds pretty good. |
