The Apple Remote app is just a remote. It's displaying what is happening in iTunes playing on the Mini. The music is not being routed through the Remote app.
iPad "Remote" App for iTunes
Introduced to me by Mezmo, this free Apple app looks through the iPad to iTunes and all the music on my Mac Mini.
Therefore, from the comfort of a chair across the room, one can browse the entire selection of music, see all the cover art AND adjust the volume.
Although I am not yet sure how this affects the sound - particularly the use of the volume control - this has otherwise solved my Mac to DAC to amp problem, where for this one source, I no longer need a preamp, nor a DAC with an attenuator.
For comparison's sake, I have ordered an Antelope Zodiac + DAC (with attenuator) and will report back with any interesting findings.
For general use, surfing an iTunes collection, the remote app seems useful for anyone who also has an iPad.