Best Media Player

The Antipodes DX blew away a fully modded Mac mini here.
I still own the mini, which is a late 2012 model, the most desirable to use as a music server because of the cache. It has an internal SS drive, and Mojo Audio mods including a linear power supply, filter, outboard AV drive that is powered by the linear supply and connected by a special firewire cable, and the mini-dedicated Atomic platform. I ran the USB from the mini into an ifi Power to provide galvanic isolation from the mini power supply and was able to run the ifi Gemini dual cable unpowered into my DAC. With that set-up the mini sounded great but once I hooked up the Antipodes DX, I knew there would be no going back (although I tried once).

There is a well-read ongoing thread here where the OP recently tried a DX in his very high end system and liked his modded mini better, but that is not my experience. You may also want to read the Antipodes DX reviews on Audiostream, DAR, Positive Feedback and a new Stereophile review.

In John Darko's review of the Aurender N100H he made this comparison with the Antipodes DX;

Emerging from its box, the Aurender is a two-hand lift and beautifully finished. Fully engraved brand naming means the N100H has considerably less of Antipodes Audio�s homebrew PC vibe whose top-shelf DX (US$6500) remains this commentators pick of the bunch when assessed on sonics alone. The DX has an uncanny knack of wiping away that last hint of glare affixed to the lip of cymbals and hi-hats when listening via the N100H. This vanishingly small delta is what separates the N100H from more-than-twice-as-expensive competition on sonics. The Antipodes also has the disc-ripping advantage. There�s no optical drive to be found on the Aurender. But stay focussed dear reader because the Aurender unit is MUCH closer to the DX�s audible prowess than it is a tricked-out Mac Mini.

John Atkinson concluded his Stereophile review with;

My frugal persona wants to say that, at one-eighth the price, my plain-Jane Mac mini was fully competitive in sound quality with the Antipodes DX Reference. But it wasn't. My audiophile persona felt that, with the DX, there was a greater sense of ease, of you-know-whatability to the imaging, of involvement with the overall sound. And that's what it's all about, even without taking into consideration the DX's ease of setup and use. Highly recommended. I said highly.

The Antipodes DX blew away a fully modded Mac mini here.
I still own the mini, which is a late 2012 model, and the most desirable to use as a music server because of the cache. It has an internal SS drive, and Mojo Audio mods including an outboard linear power supply, filter, outboard AV drive that is powered by the linear supply and connected by a special firewire cable, and the mini-dedicated Atomic platform. I ran the USB from the mini into an ifi Power to provide galvanic isolation from the mini power supply and was able to run the ifi Gemini dual cable unpowered into my DAC. With that set-up the mini sounded great but once I hooked up the Antipodes DX, I knew there would be no going back (although I tried once just to be sure).

Don't just take my word for it, look at the Antipodes DX reviews on Audiostream, DAR, Positive Feedback, HiFi+ and a new Stereophile review.

In John Darko's review of the Aurender N100H he made this comparison with the Antipodes DX, and his Mac mini;

Emerging from its box, the Aurender is a two-hand lift and beautifully finished. Fully engraved brand naming means the N100H has considerably less of Antipodes Audio�s homebrew PC vibe whose top-shelf DX (US$6500) remains this commentators pick of the bunch when assessed on sonics alone. The DX has an uncanny knack of wiping away that last hint of glare affixed to the lip of cymbals and hi-hats when listening via the N100H. This vanishingly small delta is what separates the N100H from more-than-twice-as-expensive competition on sonics. The Antipodes also has the disc-ripping advantage. There�s no optical drive to be found on the Aurender. But stay focussed dear reader because the Aurender unit is MUCH closer to the DX�s audible prowess than it is a tricked-out Mac Mini.

John Atkinson concluded his Stereophile review with;

My frugal persona wants to say that, at one-eighth the price, my plain-Jane Mac mini was fully competitive in sound quality with the Antipodes DX Reference. But it wasn't. My audiophile persona felt that, with the DX, there was a greater sense of ease, of you-know-whatability to the imaging, of involvement with the overall sound. And that's what it's all about, even without taking into consideration the DX's ease of setup and use. Highly recommended. I said highly.

Although I have not heard a variety of servers, outside of my upgraded mini, I can share that adding the DX was the best improvement to digital playback ever in my system and much better than upgrading the mini, changing player sofware, playing with EQ or cables, filters and supports. I understand everybody doesn't hear the same things but, in this case, I agree with the reviewers who uniformily call the DX the best sounding server they have heard in their systems and much preferable to even the best set-up Macs.

The Antipodes DX blew away a fully modded Mac mini here.
I still own the mini, which is a late 2012 model, and the most desirable to use as a music server because of the cache. It has an internal SS drive, and Mojo Audio mods including an outboard linear power supply, filter, outboard AV drive that is powered by the linear supply and connected by a special firewire cable, and the mini-dedicated Atomic platform. I ran the USB from the mini into an ifi Power to provide galvanic isolation from the mini power supply and was able to run the ifi Gemini dual cable unpowered into my DAC. With that set-up the mini sounded great but once I hooked up the Antipodes DX, I knew there would be no going back (although I tried once just to be sure).

Don't just take my word for it, look at the Antipodes DX reviews on Audiostream, DAR, Positive Feedback, and a new Stereophile review.

In John Darko's review of the Aurender N100H he made this comparison with the Antipodes DX, and his Mac mini;

Emerging from its box, the Aurender is a two-hand lift and beautifully finished. Fully engraved brand naming means the N100H has considerably less of Antipodes Audio’s homebrew PC vibe whose top-shelf DX (US$6500) remains this commentators pick of the bunch when assessed on sonics alone. The DX has an uncanny knack of wiping away that last hint of glare affixed to the lip of cymbals and hi-hats when listening via the N100H. This vanishingly small delta is what separates the N100H from more-than-twice-as-expensive competition on sonics. The Antipodes also has the disc-ripping advantage. There’s no optical drive to be found on the Aurender. But stay focussed dear reader because the Aurender unit is MUCH closer to the DX’s audible prowess than it is a tricked-out Mac Mini.

John Atkinson concluded his Stereophile review with;

My frugal persona wants to say that, at one-eighth the price, my plain-Jane Mac mini was fully competitive in sound quality with the Antipodes DX Reference. But it wasn't. My audiophile persona felt that, with the DX, there was a greater sense of ease, of you-know-whatability to the imaging, of involvement with the overall sound. And that's what it's all about, even without taking into consideration the DX's ease of setup and use. Highly recommended. I said highly.

Although I have not heard a variety of servers, outside of my upgraded mini, I can share that adding the DX was the best improvement to digital playback ever in my system and much better than upgrading the mini, changing player sofware, playing with EQ or cables, filters and supports. I understand everybody doesn't hear the same things but, in this case, I agree with the reviewers who call the DX the best sounding server they have heard in their systems and much preferable to even the best set-up Macs.