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Time to upgrade Mac mini 2014

As the title suggests, I’ve been out of the game a while. I’ve had great success overall using my old Mac mini 2014 through Oppo 205 into Emotiva XMC-2, but it’s time to upgrade the Mac mini. My only requirements are not to downgrade sound quality and KISS. I was an earlier adopter of Roon under the lifetime subscription, and 99% of my music not on the Roon is streamed through Tidal. As the years advance, I’m not chasing SQ upgrades, I’m just looking to update the Mac Mini with as close to plug-n-play as I can without loosing anything. I’ve been out of this space so long I don’t really know what options there are, and I speak ‘car’ not ‘computer’. 
TIA

Aerial 7T

Pass 250.8

Emotiva XMC-2

Oppo UDP205

english210
nmolnar
51 posts
 

Check out Small Green Computer’s sonicTransporter i5 (Gen 3) music server. I’ve been successfully using their products for years. It is a plug & play replacement music server which comes with Roon installed and supports other streaming services including Tidal. For the price of a nice Mac Mini, you have a higher quality dedicated music server which sounds great, is reasonably priced and is a plug and play solution. The owner, Andrew Gillis is a great resource and would be glad to speak with you regarding any questions. See this at:

sonicTransporter i5 (Gen 3) – Small Green Computer

sns
4,218 posts
 

I'll second the sonicTransporter, I've used a number of their products, simple insertion. Unless you have cd rips don't need onboard storage,both Qobuz and Tidal libraries will be integrated into the Roon player on sonic transporter.

english210 OP
180 posts
 

So as I look deeper, the WiiM won’t replace the Mac mini, as it isn’t a server (if I’m reading correctly). The Oppo is Roon ready as well, but the Mac Mini is required to run the Core.

ill look into the SGC options too, thanks!

jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,925 posts
 

get a used sonic transporter, and older gen one will work fine as a roon core machine, then get an ethernet cleanser, like an etherregen or its ilk to make sure the network feed is clean, and then, finally, get a decent cost effective streamer/DAC like a bluesound node or eversolo and you’re off to the races in happy hifi music land

mike4597's avatar
mike4597
309 posts
 

I will echo gkelly's comment.  I have two WiiM Pro Plus units, one in a bedroom system and the other recently replacing my new Mac Mini M4 Pro as a music source.  There was a sound quality increase when I shifted from the Mac Mini to the WiiM Pro Plus, which was VERY easy to set up.  While the Pro Plus has an internal DAC, I am using a Schiit external DAC, which I prefer.  The WiiM products are a great low-cost entry into digital streaming, and as gkelly said, if you are willing to spend more money, there are plenty of options.  I have a new Innuos Stream 1 with LPS1 and Phoenix USB module in my main system, and the sound quality is simply superb--as it should be at the cost.

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