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Sonos or Mac Mini?

Hello all,

Fed up with the controller Kinsky, I've decided to sell my Linn Majik DSI. I want a stable and reactive control software. Sonos with reclocker and good DAC seems the way to go but is is possible to get better sound from a Mac Mini without losing on the ergonomics? I don't want to wait everytime I want to change the music that the system scans the network or whatever. Is is also possible to embed services like Spotify as with Sonos?
Thank you for your inputs!
abolive
rhanson739
269 posts
 
Mac Mini user, here. Love it, and I am still boosting performance where I can.

Like mitch2, above, I went for the Mojo upgrade. Just received it yesterday, in fact, and even at this early stage, it was a vast improvement. I expect it will get even better after 200 hours.

Mac Mojo Mini with 4TB AV drive external, SSD internal, USB out to Emperical Audio Off Ramp 5 with Short Block filter, I2S out to PS Audio Perfectwave DAC II, XLR out straight to a Spectron Musician III MK2 amp, driving Magnepan 3.7 speakers.

I run the Mini headless, and use Screen Sharing from any Mac in the house to control the Mini. Remote app works on iPad, too.

Yeah... I could recommend this setup.
beewax
173 posts
 
I also have both and compared them frequently. Apple Mac Mini music SSD server with Asyn Dac to Amarra and Sonos to Asyn Zdac with MOG (Beats). I found that Sonos sounds in between my VPI turntable and Apple music server.
beewax
173 posts
 
"But I’ve yet to find a good solution for controlling Pandora, Spotify or other browser-based internet radio stations. Are there any?"

Yes, you can pay $9.90/month to any streaming station and you can fully control your music with Sonos on ipad.

I highly recommend both system to enjoy world class music going forward with less than $2,000 invested.
audiolabyrinth's avatar
audiolabyrinth
4,555 posts
 
There is a new kid on the block that I believe is better than whats mentioned here for the use at hand, The nexus 7 google tablet will astound you for all your needs, it has better specs than all the tablets here,I just bought one, I am very pleased of the speed and specs to use for High-end audio.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Reclocking a Sonos with Synchro-Mesh is excellent(particularly with Dynamo power supply and my BNC-BNC cable), but it is edged-out by the Off-Ramp 5 driven from a Mac Mini with good playback software on it.

The Mac approach is a lot more work however. You must invest more time and money, but the payoff is big.

If you want the same or even better result than the Mac Mini and your budget can withstand it, the Antipodes server driving an Off-Ramp 5 is easy and killer SQ.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
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