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Novice needs Mac Mini and DAC advice

Stereo Boys, I really really need some advice. In the past 18 months, I've loaded all in on this hobby and in that short time span have gone from birth to a full blown, fairly high end system and now I'm integrating a Mac Mini server into the mix. My mind is blown with too much information and I'm losing it over which DAC will give me the best bang with a budget anywhere from $800 to $4000. I'm told that the Ayre and Wavelength don't really outperform the lower cost DACs by a huge margin. I need a shot of the truth. And I'm looking for plug and play. I'm not that conversant with all the technical science involved in all of this. I just want a clean, high res sound. Please help!!
moonshot
jdodmead
241 posts
 
I just bought a Mac Mini and an Ipad, because of this and numerous other threads. My Mini only has usb, but I have 12 gig of memory. I tried the Splashtop app to try and go headless, but when I play something off itunes, the music comes through the Ipad instead of through the stereo. I am currently using the hdmi out to an Anthem AVM-50 until I get a usb dac(still searching)
I have 3 questions
Should I be using something different than Itunes to manage my music?(ripping and playback)
Should I be getting external memory to store all the music on to start with?(I have approx. 1,000 cd's)
What's the best app to operate headless? I'm in the same room and the same network, just don't want to continue using my plasma for a monitor.
I'm Mac and Computer Audio stupid, so be easy on me.
Thanks
Jeff
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Should I be using something different than Itunes to manage my music?(ripping and playback)

Absolutely. Amarra for playback and XLD for ripping - see my site for links.

Should I be getting external memory to store all the music on to start with?(I have approx. 1,000 cd's)

I would recommend an external 1-2TB drive with firewire connection to the Mac. RAID1 is best with 2 drives.

Also, put a SSD from otherworldcomputing.com in the Mini.

What's the best app to operate headless?

Remote.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
abruce's avatar
abruce
233 posts
 
Remote is fine if you don't want to use Amarra's playlist
I think playlist is worth the extra work, something like Pocket Cloud or Splashtop work well
jdodmead
241 posts
 
Thank you Steve, I was able to install Remote and it works exactly like I was wanting. Baby steps, now I have to work on the memory, dac and media player. Something's wrong with the Amarra site right now, I will check again tomorrow.
Thanks
Jeff
jdodmead
241 posts
 
Thank you Steve, I was able to install Remote and it works exactly like I was wanting. Baby steps, now I have to work on the memory, dac and media player. Something's wrong with the Amarra site right now, I will check again tomorrow.
Thanks
Jeff
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