Experience with Mach2 Music Server?

My iPod Touch allows only one app to run at a time. It does not allow for multi tasking (having more than one app running at once).

In any case, the iPod Touch is terrible for using as a device to manipulate a remote computer using screen sharing or VNC. The screen is way too small and the constant scrolling, enlarging, shifting right and left of the screen and tapping is slow, annoying and cumbersome. So, battery life on the iPod Touch becomes a non-issue.

Update:

Got my 2010 Mac Mini yesterday (very nice built, I must say). Thanks to some very generous advices from people reading this thread, I did some OS X tweaks and installed the latest Pure Music version (set for purity, which means no DSP effects and no volume control enabled + device exclusive access, “Hog” mode, etc.).

I have 8GB mem on order and other tweaks to do but, so far, with my system and to my ears, my Toshiba Core i3/HM55/4GB + 1GB dedicated for ATI video laptop, with Win7 64bit + JRiver and ASIO4ALL is far superior to the Mac Mini with PM v1.74, sorry to say.

In both cases my highly hot-rodded M2tech hiFace was used (clocks and data path tweaks + ultra-low-noise MOSFET linear power). Please don’t get me wrong; the Mac sounds good, but it fatigues me over short period of time in comparison.

Of course, this is preliminary, so there is still hope, and still more to come, so stay tuned!

I will be also loading Win 7 (64bit) to the Mac Mini using bootcamp, so we can compare apples to apples. I am also thinking about “borrowing” some local San Francisco Bay Area Audiophile “golden ears” for a blind A-B testing. Volunteers are greatly appreciated, as always!

BTW, if someone here has experience with a better/purer sounding playback soft than PM, I’d be more than happy to try it too.

Best,
Alex Peychev

So any conclusions yet on Mac as a music server/transport running OSX or W7 vs. PC running W7?

Has no one compared the internal HDD vs replacing it with a SSD??

So any conclusions yet on Mac as a music server/transport running OSX or W7 vs. PC running W7?

Well, I installed Win7 (x64) on the MacMini and setup everything exactly the same as with my Toshiba Satellite Core i3 laptop.

Though MacMini got a lot closer, it is still not up to the Toshiba, sorry to say, IMO!

Difference is not "huge", but the MacMini does not have as deep bass, there is a fatiguing glare in the midrange and highs. Piano notes (for example) sound somewhat colored/metallic and with less air/decay. The difference is (to an extent) comparable with CD vs. SACD, especially when it comes to ambience micro-detail information retrieval and tonality/naturalness. Overall, to my ears, the Toshiba sounds more natural and relaxed, while the MacMini fatigues me after short period of time.

After spending so much money, time and effort, I am not sure whether I will try removing the cheap LiteON switching power supply from the MacMini and use external low-noise linear power (or battery), because this will be its last chance, really! Will see!

Best,
Alex Peychev