Experience with Mach2 Music Server?

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.

A friend of mine uses a 2010 Mini in his system. We're going to do a comparison sometime soon and I'll report back.

Tvad, thank you for a great forum and as usual, your opinion is strait down to the point and very valuable. You explained what actually going in with a computer based set-up very well. I’m just starting to think about the computer front end but obviously now days it is not yet as simple as putting CD in a tray of the CD player and press a play button. Those little networking and computer tweaking details and settings that may make a set-up problematic and may be easy only for mac an pc savy people – those details are missing from many forums and sales pitches and on a paper everything loooks like plug and play.

Also another important point that I could not get a clear answer yet, how does the computer based set-up (lets say all key aspects of it like best async USB, best ripping and playing software, solid state HD and great DAC are there) compared with playing the same cd thru the same DAC+ CD transport or the CD player with equal quality DAC that have that async USB? Did you try to do any A/B testing?
Any comments of yours will be very appreciated.

SInce they adjust or disable some of the software that comes on a Mac Mini, I'm curious to know what happens with Software Update. Are you able to do updates, including to the OS, without screwing up theMach2 optimizations? what happens at the next major release of OSX?

The Mach2 guys graciously provided a unit for my system at 2010 RMAF. Tried it on Saturday and it made such a difference over my stock Mini that we had to use it on Sunday. Our room got best sound, cost no object from TAS, although that reviewer heard it on Saturday. Wish he had heard it on Sunday. Sunday is always the best sound in all of the rooms.

BTW, I use Amarra 1.2 (not 2.1 or 2.1.1) and they set it up just like on my stock Mini. Also used some Amarra EQ. Highly recommended.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio