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Damn Apple..a fence sitter's dilemma

Almost ready to make the'move'...Buy the Mac mini, go with a firewire dac (seems to make more sense to my computer illiterate brain), decided on a simplified Raid backup, still worrying over format to rip cd's....And now Apple introduces a new connectivity mode : Thunderbolt. A zillion times faster than USB 2 and Firewire 800, single connectivity with audio, video, data, etc., and a whole lot of other things I don't understand.
Sure, it's only in the MBP's introduced this week, not the Mini; but trickle down is their modus operondi. Sure, I should get off the fence and make a move 'cause there will always be the next great thing coming down the pipe, but I sure hate to spend my pennies and be obsolete in 16 months. Whaddya' think?
farmdoc

Showing 2 responses by magfan

magfan
1,583 posts
 
Look at some other 'wars' which have been waged over tech.
VHS handily beat BETA and now both are in museums. CDs killed 8trk and cassette while eventually being seen to be at the end of THEIR life cycle. I suspect that like Vinyl, CD will always have some fans.

USB? FireWire? Maybe....but maybe the new protocol will NOT replace them. Sounds like the new protocol is aimed directly at HT integration.
Unless you worry about the video stuff, don't worry about it now. Support for the new connector? near ZERO and likely to stay that way for a couple years. I still have trouble finding FireWire stuff. The overwhelming majority of outboard drives are USB.

The real question? Why in the heck would anyone consider RAID? Even Raid 5 is obsolete as are all the rest. You might as well be looking for a SCCI drive! Get a couple outboard drives, do regular backups and keep one off-site. OR try online storage.
magfan
1,583 posts
 
BOTH Apple Lossless (ALAC) and FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) can reconstruct a bit-accurate copy of the original file....so in that sense there should be no difference between them.
Decoding / CPU overhead? Perhaps an un accounted for factor.

My I-Mac sending Lossless thru an Airport Express makes good music. No Wires! Yeah!

Hi-Fi is one of those areas where fact and opinion mix and in some cases are interchangeable. 'In My System' has become code for IMO (In My Opinion). It is a pure opinion zone where few absolutes exist.
Even talking about how much power speakers like my Maggies take is grounds for feverish debate. MORE! shouts one group. Tubes! shouts another. Less is MORE! yells somebody else. Every possible variety, combination and permutation of gear has its fans.

IOW (In Other Words) take everyones advice, except mine, of course, with a grain or so of salt. Find out whatever actual facts are out there and try to winnow thru the reams of opinion to find the germ of truth you can make work in YOUR system.

Your original combo? Mac Mini and Firewire DAC? Sounds fine in concept to me. But what do I know? Later, if you get the urge to add Video, shell out a few more bucks for an APPLE TV. This'll give you the video option and also be wireless.

Thinking forward is always a good idea, but in this case, I've never even heard of this new interface and am certain almost nothing exists to service it....let alone audiophile grade equipment and some of the 'fringe' stuff it'll take a couple years or so to get thru the pipe.
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