Streamer vs. new mac mini for 2 channel system


Hi audio friends,

I LOVE the functionality of my mac mini with my 2 channel system: Exasound 62e DAC, Modwright ls100 pre, Coda continuum 8 power amp and Wilson Sabrina speakers.  Being able to navigate with mouse and keyboard from my listening position is infinitely better than using a tablet or some mickey mouse app with my phone.  

The issue is the mac mini.  Clearly this is not the best transport, however I want to use my 2 channel system for more than just streaming roon.  I listen to soundcloud a lot to learn about new music and when I watch tv I want to utilize the stereo for netflix, crave etc.  My Dac has only 1 usb in and obviously an optical + s/pdif, but the fidelity is just not as good with the other inputs.  

I almost pulled the trigger on a Lumin U1 mini, but again I do not see how this transport will improve fidelity, without limiting overall functionality.  How do I bring a new mac mini to a place where it can compete with a dedicated transport like the lumin, or is this even a reasonable suggestion?  

Looking to optimize the system in the most efficient way.
Confused - any suggestions would be much appreciated.

cshadow

Showing 2 responses by yyzsantabarbara

I tried to make my MacMini work with ROON Core (could not install properly) then regular ROON server and client which did install. The crap MAC OS was crashing regularly. I was not sure if it was ROON taking it down or just the OS itself. I removed the MacMini from audio server duties and put my ROON Core onto a DELL mini computer. The DELL is a bit nosier than the MacMini. So I keep the DELL in the closet of another room. I have Ethernet wired streaming using Sonore Rendu products.

I do not recommend MACs for anything other than consumer grade computing tasks.

Fidelity is improved greatly by removing the computer from the DAC. Both my MacMini and DELL never touch the DAC(s) directly. The streamers from Sonore convert from Ethernet-to-USB. Now if you want the best option use fibre optical streaming. It is not too difficult and cheaper than the costly audio optimized music servers. 

BTW - I can use a tablet, phone, and computer for my streaming. I normally use the computer. I use ROON but you could leverage something like Remote Desktop (RDP) to use cheaper software options.
My MacMini 2012 model (with 4 cores) regularly crashed with ROON. Now I was also running Convolution filters at that time on ROON. So maybe my extra requirements was the cause of all the crashes. I switched to a noisier DELL mini computer but put that on in another room.

I also have Fibre Optical streaming to USB. So my computer noise does not get into my DACs.