I have been using a Mac Mini since 2010 for playing audio on my system and use TosLink since everything I have is from CD and is 44100 samples/sec stereo 16-bit. I am one who can't hear the difference in 256 MP3 and the original WAV and I guess that is a blessing. My main system in the living room is a Rotel RSX-1560 Receiver from 2009 (which replaced a Yamaha DSP-A1 integrated amp from 1998 that started flaking out) with JPL HP-520 speakers as my mains. This system works well for me for 2 channel stereo (with the surrounds off) and for home theatre as well.
@@chaeyoungshi right. I thought I was that kind of listener but once I have entered in the hi-fi realm, it was a game changer. The lossy files still sounded crisp and clear BUT totally bidimensional. No Soundstage at all. With a CD if I closed my eyes I could feel the sound to be holographic.
I have worn out 2 Mac Mini's listening to music. I have to confess the iTunes low quality 128kbps podcasts still sounded really really fantastic with my upsampling DacMagic and tube amp. It's great listening to music just alone on the couch without the lights on in the middle of the night... after smoking a joint.
I use Mac Mini and Audirvana as well (with Tidal), with an iPad mini as remote, but the Mac/Audirvana combo is a DLNA server to the SoTM sMS-200 ultra neo streamer, in turn connected to the DAC via USB. This is a huge improvement over running USB from the Mac.
Bitperfect hasn't been updated in five years and in buggy as hell on newer macs. Audirvana has now switched to a subscription model which I won't even consider. For those reasons, both are now non starters for me.
iTunes used to be great, I used it with Audio Hijack as it captured the audio as it came in (not how Windows does it) but when Apple went to become a music 'service' company iTunes is no longer simple to use. Sad.
Audirvana is a good product and great to hear Paul and PS Audio recommend the software's use via USB. Regretfully Audirvana's UPnP/DLNA feature does not function properly with PS Audio's Bridge II. A great shame for those who have invested in the Bridge II card which is sonically better than USB. Given PS Audio has recommended and promoted Audirvana, it would be greatly appreciated if Audirvana and PS audio collaborated to make the UPnP/DLNA function work properly with the Bridge II. So come Paul and Audirvana - please work together and sort out the UPnP/DLNA functionality!!!
Can I ask question about your workflow.... How do you manage playlists? If you have all of your music on a main computer, how do you keep in sync with the mac mini? Ready to make the move, Just not sure the best method for music management.
Steve Jordan hey there - I don’t have all my music stored elsewhere - I stream from Tidal using the Mac mini - that’s it. I could store locally, or on a NAS etc if I needed to but Tidal is doing the trick right now.
I used to run a Mac laptop plus Audirvana direct into my dac via USB and it sounded dull and lacked dynamics. I had given up on computer audio until a friend put me onto what I now do. I now run an ethernet cable from my PC running Roon to a Sonore microrendu (plus linear power supply) and then connect via USB to my dac. The sound is now in another league.
@@michaell2444 / Because the sound is in another leaugue. Check out the Hans Beekhuyzen channel and search for his review of the Sonore Microrendu. You don't need a streamer so very cost effective.
Checklist: Audirvana 👍🏽 Curious cable 👍🏽 Qobuz 👍🏽 I have a 2015 MacBook Pro with maximum ram too At least I’m doing a few things right. I have moved on to Allo DigiOne streamer via a coax cable, the electrical noise which I didn’t notice before has gone! The sound is much cleaner
BigDak I expect Paul plays larger DSD files and complex passages could require more memory, but I wouldn’t expect significant amounts of memory to used. Perhaps it is a headroom thing. I do trust Paul, if he says extra memory then I’ll except his judgement even though I don’t understand it. It’s not like he is trying to sell us a BHK :-)
Adding a solid state drive is important if you’re going to run the MacMini as a Roon server. Makes it much faster, especially when updating the database which happens often.
I swear I’ll never catch up to all the content you’ve put out. Thank you Paul. I hope someday real soon to visit you, your company and those awesome speakers. 🤝👏👌
I wish someone would do a fast turorial on all of these streaming components, from start to finnish that is. there are loads and loads of tutorials on youtube that focus on single components or just software, and they tend to be lengthy videos containing lots of rambeling. I mean jeez, I am just 42 years old and I feel that i´m falling behind in this area.
Paul, if you opted for Mac mini with maximum RAM possible, you surely have not paid "a little more" for the upgrade. RAM and storage upgrade cost an arm and a leg on any Mac. Only the base models Mac computers could be considered a great value. It has always been like that on Apple computers, regardless of the generation. And if you use it for playing music only, you most likely did not need that RAM upgrade. BTW: I really like your videos😁
Wow. I didnt understand anything he said. I just wanted to know where do I connect my speakers in the new macmini, since some people are mentioning that the new macmini doesnt have good audio quality like the older ones. Maybe Im the one who does not know what is high end audio. I just want good quality audio like im getting from my old (obsolete now) macmini (no DAC connected, just connected to headphone outlet) but not sure if a new macmini purchase would be a mistake in terms of audio.
There are little mini racks you can buy that work very well for stacking out there. Other World Computing has several of them to include similar monitor stands. I will get one when I get my Mac Mini and put it on my TV stand shelf above my Sprout100. They will be separated but stacked. Also, the Sprout is already pretty similarly shaped.
i just got Rooned. loving it. running it on my MacBook pro. streaming Tidal. i need something to send flac. music files to my Roon core, but do not want to spend $1500 on a Nucleus.
I just got the M1 Mac mini 8gb ram and I’m blown away. I run it as my Roon server and player for my living room system. Haven’t heard the fan once unless I put my ear up to it, even while running DSP and higher sample rates.
My solution is a PC with JRiver 24 and a Yggdrasil DAC. I use a USB connection. I control it with an iPad using JRemote. Works great. I have 3100+ albums mostly FLAC files with some HD and mp3.
I would love to hear Pauls take on Chord Electronics, and why the architecture in the Directstream would be a better choice. Genuinely interested as i am trying to decide between the Chord Dave, and the Directstream.
Audirvana 3.5 is great and I highly recommend it. Using some rebuilt tube mono blocks and a mac I find the sound to be best ever using Audirvana 3.5 and it's worth the one-month free trial. Disagree with Paul about toslink as it's DAC dependent. I use a modest but excellent Schiit Audio Modi 3 and for this model, the toslink is a superior sound over USB. I've tried USB and oversampling but it's not as clean. On other DACs that may differ but on the DAC I'm using, it's the toslink which produces better results. (I also have a metal weight atop the Modi 3 which is a crazy improvement tweak for that model.) Haven't used a mac mini in a while but I may do so again. I'm curious if the new Mac Mini with the M1 chip would see any improvement versus older models. The advantage of Audirvana is it bypasses the Mac OS Core Audio. So if you use Tidal or my preference as Paul's: Qobuz, you will hear the distinct audio improvement. It makes the Mac OS, mini or other choice far less important. Many are using Audirvana on Windows too. The application Paul references on the Mac OS is "Screen Sharing." It's built in with OS Mojave and Catalina. I'm not sure if older Mac OS use it but I believe earlier versions do. It works rather well so you can run a direct connection to your DAC/ audio system with a mac mini and control it using Audirvana on that mac or another one remotely. The Audirvana Remote app also allows you to control everything too, say from a iPhone or iPad. I've used those too. Very nice. Update: 2021 New DAC, RME ADI-2 and Paul is correct: go USB. The old Modi leaned toslink, but unique to it. No contest now with vast improved replacement. Audirvana went to Studio, sounds great.
Hi Roman Walter. Thank you for your rich display of audio experience. I want to add a Hi-RES streaming in my hi-fi system. my streamg platform wll be QoBuz. My worry is , Is it possible to control my Mac Mini from an Ipad ? so I can play music remotely ? thank you
Hi Paul I also use a MAC mini to stream audio from Amazon HD. You mentioned that you can't get greater that 44kHz from the USB port on the mini. I get 192kH output from my mini by using the Audio Midi setup in the Utilities folder. I connect via USB through an Earstudio HUD100 DAC into my amplifier. The DAC uses color lights to show the bitrate from 44.1 kHz to 352.8kHz. I can verify the bitrate of music I'm playing on Amazon for each song.
So I am trying to understand the connections and signal flow. Is Amazon HD installed on your mini? And you connected a dac to the mini via usb? And then how did you connect your dac to an amplifier? You said you are not using bit perfect or Audirvana? Do you have a keyboard and monitor connected to your mini? I do not understand how Paul hooked his system together btw? He has an IPad and a mini? I don’t get it.
@dry509 Yes, Amazon Music HD is installed on my mini. I use a USB A to C cable to connect the mini to my DAC. Then I use 3.5 mm to RCA female adapter cable to connect RCA cable to the amp. I have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor connected to the mini as well, so I can select the music I want to stream. The DAC has colored lights to indicate the bit depth/Hz, and for each song that plays Amazon can show the quality of the track, what my mini is playing at, and what the track is actually playing at. Amazon also shows the codec. I hope this clarifies things for you. Show quoted text
@@ikoplovitz8690 Thanks for your reply. Yes that helps. I mostly listen to jazz and classical. Would you know if Amazon music is good for that? I am listening via cd player attached via rca cables to older Yamaha avr. I can install Amazon music on Apple TV I have plugged into my tv which is connected to the avr via optical.
ITunes is the only playback software I’ve found offering me the ability to listen to music the way I prefer. I listen to my entire library of many thousands of songs each randomly, before repeating one, automatically. I also have variations on this based on genre and other parameters easily custom programmable. A Mac Mini runs it and Pure Music plays the files ( in Hog Mode” and “Integer Mode”). It sounds just wonderful to me.
Funny thing that the guy who programmed the windows 7 audio interface said, if you play a flac at 100% Volume and your audio output is set to the same resolution as sour source file, the playback can come out bit perfect, as if you use Asio or whatever.
Am from India . My friend makes a USB cable which beats the curious fair and square . All his cables are absolutely hand made stuff All this at half the price of curious. We heard it extensively and he gave his cable to try it out to a curious owner and he too felt curious was beaten fair and square
@WillieGreen let me speak to him and get back to you. I wish I could communicate with you via email, but I understand it won't be right to write email address in the comments section
@WillieGreen you can read more about his cables on this thread The gentleman who created the thread is the one who owns the curious as well as a LUSH USB cable www.hifivision.com/threads/zen-and-the-art-of-cable-improvement.74551/
Hello. Not clear about your signal chain/connections. You have iPad, Mac mini, Qobuz, Audirvana, Screens, dac, amp-pre amp? , speakers? Where are the apps installed? iPad or Mac mini? How is iPad connected to Mac mini? What is ipad used for ? What is connected to what using usb? Confused. P,ease advise. Want to understand this. Also, if an app like Amazon Music Hd Ultra, is installed on an Apple TV or an Amazon Fire stick 4k and these are connected directly to a Yamaha Avr or to a Sony smart tv which is then connected to the avr via toslink (older Yamaha avr)…does the Apple TV or the fire stick 4k mess with sampling rate/frequencies etc like you say the Mac mini does?
Pure Music, from channel D, in "memory play" sounds really good through iTunes giving the listener the opportunity of hi res music playback. The song is loaded into ram before it plays,, less fatiguing listening👍
I dont understand 90% of what you said (youre very much technical and use words I dont understand) If I buy a macmini should I connect the speakers to the headphone jack? Thats what I do now. My speakers are connected to headphone jack without any DAC (I didnt know what a dac was until few months ago) since 2012. The sound is very good. But there are people (on the internet) saying that the new macmini has bad sound quality when connected to headphone outlet and that you should use the HDMI outlet, but speakers dont have a way to connect to any HDMI. They use headphone or RCA cables (not hdi, usb nor thunderbolt). I dont use any DAC, just my speakers dirctly to the headphone jack (to Macmini 2012) like I have been doing since my first computer (And it sounds very good). What I worry is that if I buy the new macmini the sound will not be good ( a 10 year newer mac with worse sound quality than the old) and I will have to purchase weird gadgets to get the sound I have now with no weird gadgets, DACs, etc attached. Sorry for my english and non technical knowledge. I hate itunes and just use VLC player with downloaded flac and mp3 files.
Curious cable not that expensive? The cheaper ones are USD 350. Doesn't that pretty expensive for a USB cable? Great video though. Lots of good information here.
That's great Paul. The tablet interface is real cool, but a Mac Mini as the best value for money? No, build one. You can use a small form factor case with some kind of a low end Ryzen CPU, an SSD and large hard drive, it'll probably be much more affordable, especially in the long run as certain parts obsolesce. You could even make it a hackintosh, provided you don't have any qualms with violating Apple's terms of service.
Aaaah no, I'm listening to you via Toslink! (PC into a Marantz SR-14EX) My main reason for using Tolink is for ground isolation netween my noisy PC and the amp. I'm currently kind of stuck in 44.1 KHz 16bit land, as most of my source audio originated from CD's, if I ever get the money to up the quality of the reast of my system, then I may have to lose the Toslink.
Great video. Thanks for the pointer to BitPerfect and Audirvana for the Mac. I never liked the idea of the way a Mac resamples the audio. I have seen TosLink devices that will handle 192/24, but I still wouldn't use them as you are converting from copper to optical and then back from optical to copper for no reason. USB is simple. Qobuz is not available in my country, and Apple Music Lossless is difficult to work with. Currently I am streaming Apple Music Lossless from my iPad through USB to an external DAC. That works, but no remote control.
Paul, I use mac mini as my music library with exact same set up as yours and love it. I am a Microsoft guy at work and a hard core Apple guy at home. I have 16gb of memory on my Mac mini. But 8gb RAM is fine too. I don't think more RAM improves sound quality. I checked the Curious Cable website and checked the price. If I get it with 90% off on the original price, I would call it cheap. :)
@@dragonbud0 I just watched his video, went to the curious website ready to get the usb cable and then saw the price. Does cheap, under $50, audio usb cable exist?
I don't understand why fiber optic is so bad. 1. It isolates two components from any possible grounding noise. 2. It's a pure signal with out electrical or magnetic interference. The 24bit/96khz max is dependent on the manufactures, but also 125mbps is more than adequate for lossless audio. 95% of studio engineers don't record over 24bit/48khz. (96khs max) If the signal is unaltered "lossless" (not compressed) these specs alone would be amazing depending on musicians. Above the quality of any steaming service. USB has buffers and variable latency to contend with. I'm just confused why it would be so bad. A shrug isn't very scientific and would love to hear your answer. I really enjoy your videos and want to get the best out of my primarily Rotel/Paradigm audio den. (saving up for some more PSAudio gear) Thanks!
Fiber optics are great! The best interface possible. Problem is, the current offering for consumer audio is called TOSLINK which is a Toshiba product that works great up to about 96kHz. Beyond that it fails. Had they kept the standards up so it could pass higher sample rates (as it is entirely able to do if built correctly), then it would be the go-to choice.
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio That makes more sense since it's capped by Toshiba toslink format from the manufacture side. I assume this will eventually die off. I'm surprised manufactures haven't adopted ADAT lightpipe like engineers use in the studio. That passes uncompressed two channels 24bit at up to 192. Interesting... Plus you could pump it longer distances without degradation. Guess that is why Cat6 Dante is going to be the new standard in studios.
Running full digital with high end components to have a Uber Clean sound then using a turntable with old recorded music that has lots of Snap Crackle & Pop within.!!! Audiophiles.!! I prefer a cleaner sound as majority of the last 2 decades of recorded music on CDs are Produced to DDD although many older recorded are DDA through its process, the total bandwidth threshold is much wider than download digital, albeit a good quality high end DAC can give a uncompressed sound but all of this is only noticeable on the type of speakers used and the processing unit within the media it’s played through... You can go crazy nuts just trying to figure what people are using...
Thx Paul, I’ve been using mac mini (same version as your’s) for a couple of years now. Didnt know that USB sounds better. I ill try it with your application that you’ve mentioned.Question for you and I do hope you can answer this one. My streaming provider is Tidal and between songs there is always a clic with my DAC.... cannot find info on the forums for that one.. do you know anything about this? The only info I found is that important not the only one with this issue. It seams that a lot of DAC tend to do this. Its if they lost the track or stream between songs.. thank you in advance for your response. BTW I use XLR cables :)
I'll take optical over usb any day. But, Paul, if you used a plastic optical cable, what do you expect? If you use a quality Optical 3.5 to Toslink glass cable, that is better than usb. And I don't care that you paid $400 for a 1m usb cable (I just searched Curious cable) Optical will pass 192/24 files. My chain: mac mini with JRiver mc24 > Borosilicate glass Optical > to Oasis Plus aptX HD transceiver > Amiron Wireless OR pass thru to Marantz sr6013/dac > hp out (DT1990) or to Parasound A21. The JRiver player passes bit perfect audio.
Thanks for that video, Paul. I very much appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge. I am now also using the Mac Mini with my PS Audio DAC. I hope to be able to upgrade to the DSD version, but need to save some money first ☺️ I have been using Qobuz for some time already, and it really is the best Streaming I know. Kind regards from Duesseldorf, Germany from Nam
Audirvana is rocking me right now!!!! Super fun pushing music all around my house to my DLNA/UPNP devices. The iPad Audirvana Controller app is very cool! If they also had an Android app available I would really be set. Time to re-rip my CDs to AIFF! I maybe need an additional iPad now, one for upstairs and downstairs. Do you get album artwork to show up in the app or anywhere outside of iTunes?
Not directly but yes it does ‘cause it makes your computer run faster by having more capacity to process the algorithms from different computer processes on the same computer simultaneously.
NIAtoolkit are you using a good ethernet cable? I moved from a cheap unbranded Ethernet to a Supra CAT8, the difference was significant, the sound was more louder at the same volume and so much more alive
Hi Paul, I'm from Turkey. I've been using Mac mini for 2 years and wonder which USB port should I use for audio? I got mid range setup and can easily hear the difference among the 4 ports. BTW I'm not using the other 3 ports since the interference affects the sound quality. Thanks in advance.
I tell ya straight up, I hate sending money to Tidal.... but after a bit of looking around Qobuz, I simply can not concur that they have a great library, which is a big ol' bummer.
Yeah QOBUZ US version is considerably lacking in material. There's several titles I'm monitoring to see if they appear. For instance, last I checked they didn't even have the new Culture Club album... and it's been out six months. I didn't know how that's how it was pronounced either :)
Hey Paul. Thanks for the great video, as usual. I am too using a Mac Mini for hifi audio, with Audirvana, and an Audioquest Carbon USB cable. I have also an Audioquest Jitterbug plugged on the USB, to further prevent jitter or other electromagnetic noise. I did some tests (with and without), but I'm not sure either if i should keep the jitterbug On or not. The jitterbug doesn't have the same USB connectors quality as the USB Carbon. Audioquest themselves (I contacted them) are not sure about what's best. What do you think? Do you have a Jitterbug plugged on your Mac Mini?
Great video! I immediately purchased bitperfect and will look at audirvana. However I use the audio out (aka headphone jack) on my Mac mini and this goes to the aux input on my amplifier. This does not seem to be mentioned. I think it sounds great but perhaps my ear is not very critical. Is the reason to use the toslink or usb in order to use an external dac?
I often get the impression Paul is faking it when talking about digital audio. The 441/16kHz he mentioned I assume is referring to CD format's signal density, witch is 44.1kHz sample rate (resolution) by 16bit sample size (amplitude). As long as you're not running any EQ or filter, your Mini connected via USB does not resample, shuffle, up sample or down sample your music file in any way. The only sampling his Apple Mini does is D to A through it's DAC, outstanding quality BTW. I think what Paul is trying to describe is the compression of a data stream. In the field of digital signal analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points. Computer engineers us interpolation in data stream compression, and while this process speeds up the transfer of data over the USB cord, it does not alter the file in any way. I think where Paul is getting confused here is the same interpolation process is used to convert large audio file formats into compressed formats like mp3, WAV, and AAC. Converting a compressed audio format to any other format is what turns music too mush. Like all his videos, Paul drops another brand name product endorsement, this time for a USB cord speaking as though it was analog and has some influence on sound quality. In transferring a binary signal, the signal connection either works, or it doesn't work at all. The slightest interruption would result in a file corruption error. Anyone who tells you otherwise will likely try to sell you an $850.00 AC cord.
Datsun510zen ok. So if he mentioned Audio Quest Black Carbon usb that would be and endorsement as well. It was a suggestion. Though at the same time he might have been able to offer viable alternatives at a more reasonable price. He’s mentioned curious and audio quest throughout the years. OUY!!!
If I start with a digital signal on a Mac, and I need a digital signal for a powered speaker with built in DAC, then why ever would I want to covert to analogue anywhere along the path. I could output analogue from the Mac but I think that would one crappy. I could buy a standalone DAC, but then I have paid for two ... the separate standalone DAC and the one I will ignore in the speakers (not to mention that the MAC also has a DAC). I think that Apple should put the Toslink port back into the Mac (MacBook, Mac mini ... the lot).
Audirvana is so far the best solution with my 2019 MacBook Pro. BitPerfect is a tad better than iTunes own audio engine, but it is no where close to Audirvana's audio engine.
by the way, bit perfect is working on dsd perfect as we speak, therefore, buy audirvana onl if you don.t have the issues i had with the app, and first, try to see if they have any kind of assistance working
a new mac mini is probably the worst deal in tech currently, but I guess someone thats not that good with computers and has a 50K audio setup might just get a mac mini. but they are neither small, or powerful, or a good price, but they kind of fit into most audio setups, like ps audio stuff.
Steve Jobs (Apple) absorbed many functional design philosophies from ReVox. IE. simplicity & performance. The mac mini is a great accompaniment with a vintage ReVox HiFi Stereo.
Speaking of Macs, I found out the hard way that even in Apple's ALAC file format 192kHz/24Bit music isn't supported on iOS devices like the new 6th generation iPad 9.7in or the last generation iPod touch, even apps like FLACplayer+ has trouble with playback with this level of bit rate.
Sorry but anyone who willing locks themselves into an Apple solution, that dictates to you what songs you can play where and when, deserves the pain they feel. Apple is a disease that needs to be eradicated.
Hi Paul, thanks for the video. What is your opinion on using VLC to listen to high-resolution music files routed to a DAC via USB on a Mac mini? That's primarily how I listen to music on mine. Also, is there a way to completely bypass the Mac mini's internal audio and volume control for a pure direct digital signal to a DAC via USB?
Its quite simple. By going into the sound settings in system preferences. Make sure you select your audio interface for all audio and all of your audio will be sent directly to your interface. This is the same as setting VLC's audio output : Audio > Audio Devices > picking your interface as apposed to internal audio Effectively what you are doing is routing the digital signal to your DAC to then be converted to an Analogue signal . There is no difference in which usb cable you use, the only differences would be from anything on the analogue side after the DAC
If you are using Audirvana, does the computer running it really matter? 4 or 8 GB of RAM running on a 64 bit system. I just installed Audirvana on a cruddy Windows 10, I3 processor Dell laptop and it works well so far. It's plugged into my Sprout100 via USB ($5 Mediabridge brand cable). If you are running Audirvana it looks like you need an Apple IOS device to use as the remote if you want to sit away from your computer. I couldn't find any other Audirvana app on any other platform. I want to eventually buy a Mac Mini, and it will be a used older model (2015), because the new ones are outrageously priced for any decent amount of RAM and SSD space. They don't offer a cheaper hard drive option. Higher spec Windows laptops are about half the price, so I might just say bye to Apple after about 26 years of being a Mac lover.
I use both windows and IOS simple is relative to what you are used to. BUT I prefer windows easier to upgrade hardware far less expensive and you can dual boot Linux IF you want easy.
Hallo... i think it is interesting, i have mac mini and i don’t use it now cause i use my iMac.. so my question is, do u use monitor to pic song ? Cause when we use TV , i heard noise... so how ?
See, a lot of pc users hate windows 10, but I absolutely love it. To be fair, I'm only a level above standard users, but Idk. As for MacOS, it has its uses, but I'm not overly fond of it.
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I have been using a Mac Mini since 2010 for playing audio on my system and use TosLink since everything I have is from CD and is 44100 samples/sec stereo 16-bit. I am one who can't hear the difference in 256 MP3 and the original WAV and I guess that is a blessing. My main system in the living room is a Rotel RSX-1560 Receiver from 2009 (which replaced a Yamaha DSP-A1 integrated amp from 1998 that started flaking out) with JPL HP-520 speakers as my mains. This system works well for me for 2 channel stereo (with the surrounds off) and for home theatre as well.
Damn you’re blessed
My ears can’t handle mp3 without me complaining or needing it to be on a super duper forgiving and expesnive system
@@chaeyoungshi right. I thought I was that kind of listener but once I have entered in the hi-fi realm, it was a game changer. The lossy files still sounded crisp and clear BUT totally bidimensional. No Soundstage at all. With a CD if I closed my eyes I could feel the sound to be holographic.
I have worn out 2 Mac Mini's listening to music. I have to confess the iTunes low quality 128kbps podcasts still sounded really really fantastic with my upsampling DacMagic and tube amp. It's great listening to music just alone on the couch without the lights on in the middle of the night... after smoking a joint.
Hello sir!Did you upgrade those Mac Minis for better audio quality?Did you add linear power supply?
I use Mac Mini and Audirvana as well (with Tidal), with an iPad mini as remote, but the Mac/Audirvana combo is a DLNA server to the SoTM sMS-200 ultra neo streamer, in turn connected to the DAC via USB. This is a huge improvement over running USB from the Mac.
To what speakers? Powered speakers don't need a DAC.
I'm a bit new to this -- sounds like you're using the Mini as NAS? Why it that preferable to running USB from Mac to streamer? Thanks
Bitperfect hasn't been updated in five years and in buggy as hell on newer macs. Audirvana has now switched to a subscription model which I won't even consider. For those reasons, both are now non starters for me.
someone should explain what is bitperfect or audirvana.
Same for me
iTunes used to be great, I used it with Audio Hijack as it captured the audio as it came in (not how Windows does it) but when Apple went to become a music 'service' company iTunes is no longer simple to use. Sad.
Thanks Paul. You gave me some great new ideas how to add my Mac mini to my audio system. Will try it and compare it with what i know about ROON.
Only saw the first 4 seconds and the man already convinced me. I'm getting a Mac Mini... for playback.
I use a dedicated intel NUC loaded with Daphile for Qobuz streaming on my headphone rig, cheap and very good results.
Audirvana is a good product and great to hear Paul and PS Audio recommend the software's use via USB. Regretfully Audirvana's UPnP/DLNA feature does not function properly with PS Audio's Bridge II. A great shame for those who have invested in the Bridge II card which is sonically better than USB.
Given PS Audio has recommended and promoted Audirvana, it would be greatly appreciated if Audirvana and PS audio collaborated to make the UPnP/DLNA function work properly with the Bridge II.
So come Paul and Audirvana - please work together and sort out the UPnP/DLNA functionality!!!
Bridge is not ps audio product isn’t it? It is a South Korean company Converse media streamer.
I regret selling my 2011 Mac Mini, since it was pretty spec-ed out and had a disc drive. Ugh. Now I want one!
I’ve just bought a new Mini (2020 model) and was going to sell my 2011 until I watched this.
This is literally my exact setup for the MacMini in my system as well. Nice video - thanks Paul
Can I ask question about your workflow.... How do you manage playlists? If you have all of your music on a main computer, how do you keep in sync with the mac mini? Ready to make the move, Just not sure the best method for music management.
Steve Jordan hey there - I don’t have all my music stored elsewhere - I stream from Tidal using the Mac mini - that’s it. I could store locally, or on a NAS etc if I needed to but Tidal is doing the trick right now.
Which Mac mini? hd? Ram?
@@EvanMcC240 How to you connect your mac mini to your receiver? What receiver your have ?
I used to run a Mac laptop plus Audirvana direct into my dac via USB and it sounded dull and lacked dynamics. I had given up on computer audio until a friend put me onto what I now do.
I now run an ethernet cable from my PC running Roon to a Sonore microrendu (plus linear power supply) and then connect via USB to my dac. The sound is now in another league.
John why would you go through all that trouble to end up using USB still?
@@michaell2444 / Because the sound is in another leaugue. Check out the Hans Beekhuyzen channel and search for his review of the Sonore Microrendu. You don't need a streamer so very cost effective.
John but can’t you run the micro rendu to your Dac using something else than USB?
Michael L / no, it's Ethernet in , USB out. Dac is USB in.
can I run sonore with Audirvana?
Checklist: Audirvana 👍🏽 Curious cable 👍🏽 Qobuz 👍🏽 I have a 2015 MacBook Pro with maximum ram too
At least I’m doing a few things right. I have moved on to Allo DigiOne streamer via a coax cable, the electrical noise which I didn’t notice before has gone! The sound is much cleaner
I really don't know why he suggests too much ram just for playing music.
BigDak I expect Paul plays larger DSD files and complex passages could require more memory, but I wouldn’t expect significant amounts of memory to used. Perhaps it is a headroom thing. I do trust Paul, if he says extra memory then I’ll except his judgement even though I don’t understand it. It’s not like he is trying to sell us a BHK :-)
Adding a solid state drive is important if you’re going to run the MacMini as a Roon server. Makes it much faster, especially when updating the database which happens often.
Thanks, that’s what I thought he was going to talk about👍
I was waiting for you to answer the original question, because I have the same question. My older Mac mini used atoslink
Beware advice coming from people whose demo audio is distorted. "This USB cable sounds excellent". That being said, thanks for the software info.
I swear I’ll never catch up to all the content you’ve put out. Thank you Paul. I hope someday real soon to visit you, your company and those awesome speakers. 🤝👏👌
Nobody cares
I wish someone would do a fast turorial on all of these streaming components, from start to finnish that is. there are loads and loads of tutorials on youtube that focus on single components or just software, and they tend to be lengthy videos containing lots of rambeling. I mean jeez, I am just 42 years old and I feel that i´m falling behind in this area.
Paul, if you opted for Mac mini with maximum RAM possible, you surely have not paid "a little more" for the upgrade. RAM and storage upgrade cost an arm and a leg on any Mac. Only the base models Mac computers could be considered a great value. It has always been like that on Apple computers, regardless of the generation.
And if you use it for playing music only, you most likely did not need that RAM upgrade.
BTW: I really like your videos😁
This is 4 years old? Wow, you what? You can still get a Mac Mini for $500. I just bought one, M2 CPU, 8GB RAM. Still runs spectacularly.
Paul, macOS has screen sharing feature. You don't need a 3rd party app.
u gotta buy an app inorder to share with a ipad.
Toslink can do more than 96. And yet i never met one single person out there who can tell the difference with any higher 😏
Wow, A lot of great information! Thank you Paul McGowan
Wow, exactly the information I needed. Thanks for taking the time to post this!!! Happy Listening : )
Wow. I didnt understand anything he said. I just wanted to know where do I connect my speakers in the new macmini, since some people are mentioning that the new macmini doesnt have good audio quality like the older ones. Maybe Im the one who does not know what is high end audio. I just want good quality audio like im getting from my old (obsolete now) macmini (no DAC connected, just connected to headphone outlet) but not sure if a new macmini purchase would be a mistake in terms of audio.
isn't one benefit of a toslink the fact that it electrically isolates your source?
Actually that is a great mention. PS should match the Sprout to the shape of the Mini so they can be neatly stackable.
There are little mini racks you can buy that work very well for stacking out there. Other World Computing has several of them to include similar monitor stands. I will get one when I get my Mac Mini and put it on my TV stand shelf above my Sprout100. They will be separated but stacked. Also, the Sprout is already pretty similarly shaped.
i just got Rooned. loving it. running it on my MacBook pro. streaming Tidal. i need something to send flac. music files to my Roon core, but do not want to spend $1500 on a Nucleus.
Would be great to get an update from Paul on this segment.
I just got the M1 Mac mini 8gb ram and I’m blown away. I run it as my Roon server and player for my living room system. Haven’t heard the fan once unless I put my ear up to it, even while running DSP and higher sample rates.
Roon server and a quality NAS drive is the best I’ve found, take the laptop out if you can.
you mean Nucleus+? it costs 3 times more
@@moonlight-kh6uz no Roon server is software, any NAS drive can be used as the hardware
@@moonphaser3304 Nucleus is a specific server made for Roon as Roon requires a lot of processing power and low noise
Why not Roon? It is GREAT!
My solution is a PC with JRiver 24 and a Yggdrasil DAC. I use a USB connection. I control it with an iPad using JRemote. Works great. I have 3100+ albums mostly FLAC files with some HD and mp3.
Hello. Which ripping software for Windows do you use?
Paul how do you wake up the Mac mini when it goes to sleep with an IPad?
I would love to hear Pauls take on Chord Electronics, and why the architecture in the Directstream would be a better choice. Genuinely interested as i am trying to decide between the Chord Dave, and the Directstream.
What a lovely problem to have! Have you heard them yourself? At this level, it really is the best way to go
Paul many many thanks for this content. I have just set up the Mac mini as you have described and it is wonderful. (Audirvana / Screens). Perfect. 👍
Please advise how you set your system up and how you play a song? I don’t get it.
Toslink supports 192khz audio, its what I'm using atm.
John Doe not if you don't change the defaults 😂
@@FooBar89 well yeah defaults are for maximum compatibility.
Audirvana 3.5 is great and I highly recommend it. Using some rebuilt tube mono blocks and a mac I find the sound to be best ever using Audirvana 3.5 and it's worth the one-month free trial. Disagree with Paul about toslink as it's DAC dependent. I use a modest but excellent Schiit Audio Modi 3 and for this model, the toslink is a superior sound over USB. I've tried USB and oversampling but it's not as clean.
On other DACs that may differ but on the DAC I'm using, it's the toslink which produces better results. (I also have a metal weight atop the Modi 3 which is a crazy improvement tweak for that model.) Haven't used a mac mini in a while but I may do so again. I'm curious if the new Mac Mini with the M1 chip would see any improvement versus older models.
The advantage of Audirvana is it bypasses the Mac OS Core Audio. So if you use Tidal or my preference as Paul's: Qobuz, you will hear the distinct audio improvement. It makes the Mac OS, mini or other choice far less important. Many are using Audirvana on Windows too.
The application Paul references on the Mac OS is "Screen Sharing." It's built in with OS Mojave and Catalina. I'm not sure if older Mac OS use it but I believe earlier versions do. It works rather well so you can run a direct connection to your DAC/ audio system with a mac mini and control it using Audirvana on that mac or another one remotely. The Audirvana Remote app also allows you to control everything too, say from a iPhone or iPad. I've used those too. Very nice.
Update: 2021 New DAC, RME ADI-2 and Paul is correct: go USB. The old Modi leaned toslink, but unique to it. No contest now with vast improved replacement. Audirvana went to Studio, sounds great.
Hi Roman Walter. Thank you for your rich display of audio experience. I want to add a Hi-RES streaming in my hi-fi system. my streamg platform wll be QoBuz. My worry is , Is it possible to control my Mac Mini from an Ipad ? so I can play music remotely ? thank you
Have you tried the plugin by SonEQ? I love it with Audirvana
Hi Paul
I also use a MAC mini to stream audio from Amazon HD. You mentioned that you can't get greater that 44kHz from the USB port on the mini. I get 192kH output from my mini by using the Audio Midi setup in the Utilities folder. I connect via USB through an Earstudio HUD100 DAC into my amplifier. The DAC uses color lights to show the bitrate from 44.1 kHz to 352.8kHz. I can verify the bitrate of music I'm playing on Amazon for each song.
So I am trying to understand the connections and signal flow. Is Amazon HD installed on your mini? And you connected a dac to the mini via usb? And then how did you connect your dac to an amplifier? You said you are not using bit perfect or Audirvana? Do you have a keyboard and monitor connected to your mini? I do not understand how Paul hooked his system together btw? He has an IPad and a mini? I don’t get it.
@dry509
Yes, Amazon Music HD is installed on my mini. I use a USB A to C cable to connect the mini to my DAC. Then I use 3.5 mm to RCA female adapter cable to connect RCA cable to the amp. I have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor connected to the mini as well, so I can select the music I want to stream. The DAC has colored lights to indicate the bit depth/Hz, and for each song that plays Amazon can show the quality of the track, what my mini is playing at, and what the track is actually playing at. Amazon also shows the codec. I hope this clarifies things for you.
Show quoted text
@@ikoplovitz8690 Thanks for your reply. Yes that helps. I mostly listen to jazz and classical. Would you know if Amazon music is good for that? I am listening via cd player attached via rca cables to older Yamaha avr. I can install Amazon music on Apple TV I have plugged into my tv which is connected to the avr via optical.
ITunes is the only playback software I’ve found offering me the ability to listen to music the way I prefer. I listen to my entire library of many thousands of songs each randomly, before repeating one, automatically. I also have variations on this based on genre and other parameters easily custom programmable. A Mac Mini runs it and Pure Music plays the files ( in Hog Mode” and “Integer Mode”). It sounds just wonderful to me.
Wow, A lot of great information! Thank you Paul 👍
You're a very helpful internet video; could not make it without ya!
Funny thing that the guy who programmed the windows 7 audio interface said, if you play a flac at 100% Volume and your audio output is set to the same resolution as sour source file, the playback can come out bit perfect, as if you use Asio or whatever.
"I don't like winblows". Couldn't agree with you more. However win 7 was very MAC like
Curious USB cable - $350 for .8 meter cable, $390 for 1 meter. Qobuz $24.95/month for high-res streaming. Audirvana HiFi mode $75.
Am from India . My friend makes a USB cable which beats the curious fair and square . All his cables are absolutely hand made stuff
All this at half the price of curious. We heard it extensively and he gave his cable to try it out to a curious owner and he too felt curious was beaten fair and square
@WillieGreen let me speak to him and get back to you.
I wish I could communicate with you via email, but I understand it won't be right to write email address in the comments section
@WillieGreen you can read more about his cables on this thread
The gentleman who created the thread is the one who owns the curious as well as a LUSH USB cable
www.hifivision.com/threads/zen-and-the-art-of-cable-improvement.74551/
@WillieGreen my first name is my ID on audiocircle. Can you PM me there if you are a member
Im with Louis Rossmann on this one.
Apple and Bose go well together.
BlankBrain No you and bose go well together
Hello. Not clear about your signal chain/connections. You have iPad, Mac mini, Qobuz, Audirvana, Screens, dac, amp-pre amp? , speakers? Where are the apps installed? iPad or Mac mini? How is iPad connected to Mac mini? What is ipad used for ? What is connected to what using usb? Confused. P,ease advise. Want to understand this. Also, if an app like Amazon Music Hd Ultra, is installed on an Apple TV or an Amazon Fire stick 4k and these are connected directly to a Yamaha Avr or to a Sony smart tv which is then connected to the avr via toslink (older Yamaha avr)…does the Apple TV or the fire stick 4k mess with sampling rate/frequencies etc like you say the Mac mini does?
Thank you very much, that was very helpful
True; I experienced Windows 11 the other day and got around it pretty easy as a Mac user 😉
Pure Music, from channel D, in "memory play" sounds really good through iTunes giving the listener the opportunity of hi res music playback. The song is loaded into ram before it plays,, less fatiguing listening👍
I dont understand 90% of what you said (youre very much technical and use words I dont understand) If I buy a macmini should I connect the speakers to the headphone jack? Thats what I do now. My speakers are connected to headphone jack without any DAC (I didnt know what a dac was until few months ago) since 2012. The sound is very good. But there are people (on the internet) saying that the new macmini has bad sound quality when connected to headphone outlet and that you should use the HDMI outlet, but speakers dont have a way to connect to any HDMI. They use headphone or RCA cables (not hdi, usb nor thunderbolt). I dont use any DAC, just my speakers dirctly to the headphone jack (to Macmini 2012) like I have been doing since my first computer (And it sounds very good). What I worry is that if I buy the new macmini the sound will not be good ( a 10 year newer mac with worse sound quality than the old) and I will have to purchase weird gadgets to get the sound I have now with no weird gadgets, DACs, etc attached. Sorry for my english and non technical knowledge. I hate itunes and just use VLC player with downloaded flac and mp3 files.
Curious cable not that expensive? The cheaper ones are USD 350. Doesn't that pretty expensive for a USB cable? Great video though. Lots of good information here.
That's great Paul. The tablet interface is real cool, but a Mac Mini as the best value for money? No, build one. You can use a small form factor case with some kind of a low end Ryzen CPU, an SSD and large hard drive, it'll probably be much more affordable, especially in the long run as certain parts obsolesce. You could even make it a hackintosh, provided you don't have any qualms with violating Apple's terms of service.
i saw a fully spec mac mini for 5000€ who can be so stupid to buy such crappy things it doesnt even have integrated gpu wtf apple
Very helpful video! Thank you!
Aaaah no, I'm listening to you via Toslink! (PC into a Marantz SR-14EX)
My main reason for using Tolink is for ground isolation netween my noisy PC and the amp.
I'm currently kind of stuck in 44.1 KHz 16bit land, as most of my source audio originated from CD's, if I ever get the money to up the quality of the reast of my system, then I may have to lose the Toslink.
Toslink supports 24bit 192khz which is good enough for anything really.
"Never use Toslink"
> I use a $300 USB cable
Well that's 8 minutes of my life i'll never get back, thanks grandpa
Great video. Thanks for the pointer to BitPerfect and Audirvana for the Mac. I never liked the idea of the way a Mac resamples the audio. I have seen TosLink devices that will handle 192/24, but I still wouldn't use them as you are converting from copper to optical and then back from optical to copper for no reason. USB is simple. Qobuz is not available in my country, and Apple Music Lossless is difficult to work with. Currently I am streaming Apple Music Lossless from my iPad through USB to an external DAC. That works, but no remote control.
Great Reminder. How do you support or $$ pay or these devices? I ask because I’m educated and not exercising a child’s curiosity.
@PS Audio - Your hard drive then Ram make the biggest difference
NVMe is the big game changer now.
Paul, I use mac mini as my music library with exact same set up as yours and love it. I am a Microsoft guy at work and a hard core Apple guy at home. I have 16gb of memory on my Mac mini. But 8gb RAM is fine too. I don't think more RAM improves sound quality. I checked the Curious Cable website and checked the price. If I get it with 90% off on the original price, I would call it cheap. :)
Kirit Raja I think maxed out RAM and the fastest SSD will also
Improve the SQ on files.
Ditto. Paul has a different budget from us
@@dragonbud0 I just watched his video, went to the curious website ready to get the usb cable and then saw the price. Does cheap, under $50, audio usb cable exist?
I don't understand why fiber optic is so bad. 1. It isolates two components from any possible grounding noise. 2. It's a pure signal with out electrical or magnetic interference. The 24bit/96khz max is dependent on the manufactures, but also 125mbps is more than adequate for lossless audio. 95% of studio engineers don't record over 24bit/48khz. (96khs max) If the signal is unaltered "lossless" (not compressed) these specs alone would be amazing depending on musicians. Above the quality of any steaming service. USB has buffers and variable latency to contend with. I'm just confused why it would be so bad. A shrug isn't very scientific and would love to hear your answer. I really enjoy your videos and want to get the best out of my primarily Rotel/Paradigm audio den. (saving up for some more PSAudio gear) Thanks!
Fiber optics are great! The best interface possible. Problem is, the current offering for consumer audio is called TOSLINK which is a Toshiba product that works great up to about 96kHz. Beyond that it fails. Had they kept the standards up so it could pass higher sample rates (as it is entirely able to do if built correctly), then it would be the go-to choice.
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio That makes more sense since it's capped by Toshiba toslink format from the manufacture side. I assume this will eventually die off. I'm surprised manufactures haven't adopted ADAT lightpipe like engineers use in the studio. That passes uncompressed two channels 24bit at up to 192. Interesting... Plus you could pump it longer distances without degradation. Guess that is why Cat6 Dante is going to be the new standard in studios.
Running full digital with high end components to have a Uber Clean sound then using a turntable with old recorded music that has lots of Snap Crackle & Pop within.!!! Audiophiles.!!
I prefer a cleaner sound as majority of the last 2 decades of recorded music on CDs are Produced to DDD although many older recorded are DDA through its process, the total bandwidth threshold is much wider than download digital, albeit a good quality high end DAC can give a uncompressed sound but all of this is only noticeable on the type of speakers used and the processing unit within the media it’s played through...
You can go crazy nuts just trying to figure what people are using...
Thank you Paul for your informative video. This answered some questions I had about set up and play back of digital music. Thank you!
Thx Paul, I’ve been using mac mini (same version as your’s) for a couple of years now. Didnt know that USB sounds better. I ill try it with your application that you’ve mentioned.Question for you and I do hope you can answer this one. My streaming provider is Tidal and between songs there is always a clic with my DAC.... cannot find info on the forums for that one.. do you know anything about this? The only info I found is that important not the only one with this issue. It seams that a lot of DAC tend to do this. Its if they lost the track or stream between songs.. thank you in advance for your response. BTW I use XLR cables :)
I'll take optical over usb any day. But, Paul, if you used a plastic optical cable, what do you expect? If you use a quality Optical 3.5 to Toslink glass cable, that is better than usb. And I don't care that you paid $400 for a 1m usb cable (I just searched Curious cable)
Optical will pass 192/24 files. My chain: mac mini with JRiver mc24 > Borosilicate glass Optical > to Oasis Plus aptX HD transceiver > Amiron Wireless OR pass thru to Marantz sr6013/dac > hp out (DT1990) or to Parasound A21. The JRiver player passes bit perfect audio.
Thanks for that video, Paul. I very much appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge. I am now also using the Mac Mini with my PS Audio DAC. I hope to be able to upgrade to the DSD version, but need to save some money first ☺️ I have been using Qobuz for some time already, and it really is the best Streaming I know. Kind regards from Duesseldorf, Germany from Nam
Audirvana is rocking me right now!!!! Super fun pushing music all around my house to my DLNA/UPNP devices. The iPad Audirvana Controller app is very cool! If they also had an Android app available I would really be set. Time to re-rip my CDs to AIFF! I maybe need an additional iPad now, one for upstairs and downstairs. Do you get album artwork to show up in the app or anywhere outside of iTunes?
How do you switch it on and off without a screen? Just switch off the power supply?
Why would you use a Mac mini when you have a $6000 streamer/dac Paul?
Curious cables not expensive?? 300, 400?
Curiously expensive!
its a con.
Why the amount of ram should affect to the quality of the audio?
It doesn't
Not directly but yes it does ‘cause it makes your computer run faster by having more capacity to process the algorithms from different computer processes on the same computer simultaneously.
Miguel Edo Goterris If you’re going to use a computer to play music you should probably have enough memory
Mac with Roon connected via Ethernet
NIAtoolkit are you using a good ethernet cable? I moved from a cheap unbranded Ethernet to a Supra CAT8, the difference was significant, the sound was more louder at the same volume and so much more alive
@@shahidyt Using Cat8 for Gigabit? jesus...
Audirvana 3.5 just dropped 👍
Hello
Hi like Computeing some sites. Also still a fan of Xerox screens and a little with GUI or art screens also
CILO runs on linux just fine, you might also want to look into raspberry pie .
Hi Paul, I'm from Turkey. I've been using Mac mini for 2 years and wonder which USB port should I use for audio? I got mid range setup and can easily hear the difference among the 4 ports. BTW I'm not using the other 3 ports since the interference affects the sound quality. Thanks in advance.
Hocam Türkiye'den olduğunu belirtmene ne gerek vardı? Anlamadım
@@zahitemremetin606 Paul'la konuşurken insanlar böyle yazıyor diye yazmak istedim ben de :)
@@alirzabalc8834 Hocam...
I tell ya straight up, I hate sending money to Tidal.... but after a bit of looking around Qobuz, I simply can not concur that they have a great library, which is a big ol' bummer.
Yeah QOBUZ US version is considerably lacking in material. There's several titles I'm monitoring to see if they appear. For instance, last I checked they didn't even have the new Culture Club album... and it's been out six months.
I didn't know how that's how it was pronounced either :)
Hey Paul. Thanks for the great video, as usual. I am too using a Mac Mini for hifi audio, with Audirvana, and an Audioquest Carbon USB cable. I have also an Audioquest Jitterbug plugged on the USB, to further prevent jitter or other electromagnetic noise. I did some tests (with and without), but I'm not sure either if i should keep the jitterbug On or not. The jitterbug doesn't have the same USB connectors quality as the USB Carbon. Audioquest themselves (I contacted them) are not sure about what's best. What do you think? Do you have a Jitterbug plugged on your Mac Mini?
Are running this headless? How much ram are you using? I just received the Audioquest carbon cable in the mail.
Great video! I immediately purchased bitperfect and will look at audirvana. However I use the audio out (aka headphone jack) on my Mac mini and this goes to the aux input on my amplifier. This does not seem to be mentioned. I think it sounds great but perhaps my ear is not very critical. Is the reason to use the toslink or usb in order to use an external dac?
Correct. If you are using the headphone jack, you are using the Mac's cheap-o DAC..
Try adding a high end power cable to your Mini Mac.
iTunes is on its way out with Mac OS Catalina this fall of 2019
I often get the impression Paul is faking it when talking about digital audio. The 441/16kHz he mentioned I assume is referring to CD format's signal density, witch is 44.1kHz sample rate (resolution) by 16bit sample size (amplitude). As long as you're not running any EQ or filter, your Mini connected via USB does not resample, shuffle, up sample or down sample your music file in any way. The only sampling his Apple Mini does is D to A through it's DAC, outstanding quality BTW.
I think what Paul is trying to describe is the compression of a data stream. In the field of digital signal analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points. Computer engineers us interpolation in data stream compression, and while this process speeds up the transfer of data over the USB cord, it does not alter the file in any way. I think where Paul is getting confused here is the same interpolation process is used to convert large audio file formats into compressed formats like mp3, WAV, and AAC. Converting a compressed audio format to any other format is what turns music too mush.
Like all his videos, Paul drops another brand name product endorsement, this time for a USB cord speaking as though it was analog and has some influence on sound quality. In transferring a binary signal, the signal connection either works, or it doesn't work at all. The slightest interruption would result in a file corruption error. Anyone who tells you otherwise will likely try to sell you an $850.00 AC cord.
Datsun510zen ok. So if he mentioned Audio Quest Black Carbon usb that would be and endorsement as well.
It was a suggestion. Though at the same time he might have been able to offer viable alternatives at a more reasonable price. He’s mentioned curious and audio quest throughout the years. OUY!!!
If I start with a digital signal on a Mac, and I need a digital signal for a powered speaker with built in DAC, then why ever would I want to covert to analogue anywhere along the path. I could output analogue from the Mac but I think that would one crappy. I could buy a standalone DAC, but then I have paid for two ... the separate standalone DAC and the one I will ignore in the speakers (not to mention that the MAC also has a DAC). I think that Apple should put the Toslink port back into the Mac (MacBook, Mac mini ... the lot).
Do you have The Ones from Genelec?
If so, what usb to aes ebu do you use?
Audirvana is so far the best solution with my 2019 MacBook Pro. BitPerfect is a tad better than iTunes own audio engine, but it is no where close to Audirvana's audio engine.
Why play music wirelessly with a high end system through apple products if they don't support aptx?
DnD
Because of airplay
by the way, bit perfect is working on dsd perfect as we speak, therefore, buy audirvana onl if you don.t have the issues i had with the app, and first, try to see if they have any kind of assistance working
Does anyone use VOX player? I heard it's an excellent free player that uses the bit rate of the song itself?
Basic question here but do you connect the audio interface / dac to the Mac mini.
a new mac mini is probably the worst deal in tech currently, but I guess someone thats not that good with computers and has a 50K audio setup might just get a mac mini.
but they are neither small, or powerful, or a good price, but they kind of fit into most audio setups, like ps audio stuff.
You don't need a very powerful pc or mac to get good sound. But you need a good soundcard or dac with USB input.
Paul, I wonder if you have tried the Lanrover on the Mac USB interface, and if it sounded any better.
The and white computers are tops. ...and was on the I phone also..
How does he use it without a keyboard and monitor and mouse
Steve Jobs (Apple) absorbed many functional design philosophies from ReVox. IE. simplicity & performance. The mac mini is a great accompaniment with a vintage ReVox HiFi Stereo.
Thanks Paul !
Speaking of Macs, I found out the hard way that even in Apple's ALAC file format 192kHz/24Bit music isn't supported on iOS devices like the new 6th generation iPad 9.7in or the last generation iPod touch, even apps like FLACplayer+ has trouble with playback with this level of bit rate.
Sorry but anyone who willing locks themselves into an Apple solution, that dictates to you what songs you can play where and when, deserves the pain they feel. Apple is a disease that needs to be eradicated.
@@DodgyBrothersEngineering stay edgy bro.
Hi Paul, thanks for the video. What is your opinion on using VLC to listen to high-resolution music files routed to a DAC via USB on a Mac mini? That's primarily how I listen to music on mine.
Also, is there a way to completely bypass the Mac mini's internal audio and volume control for a pure direct digital signal to a DAC via USB?
Its quite simple. By going into the sound settings in system preferences. Make sure you select your audio interface for all audio and all of your audio will be sent directly to your interface. This is the same as setting VLC's audio output :
Audio > Audio Devices > picking your interface as apposed to internal audio
Effectively what you are doing is routing the digital signal to your DAC to then be converted to an Analogue signal . There is no difference in which usb cable you use, the only differences would be from anything on the analogue side after the DAC
Nice baby lullaby
If you are using Audirvana, does the computer running it really matter? 4 or 8 GB of RAM running on a 64 bit system. I just installed Audirvana on a cruddy Windows 10, I3 processor Dell laptop and it works well so far. It's plugged into my Sprout100 via USB ($5 Mediabridge brand cable). If you are running Audirvana it looks like you need an Apple IOS device to use as the remote if you want to sit away from your computer. I couldn't find any other Audirvana app on any other platform.
I want to eventually buy a Mac Mini, and it will be a used older model (2015), because the new ones are outrageously priced for any decent amount of RAM and SSD space. They don't offer a cheaper hard drive option. Higher spec Windows laptops are about half the price, so I might just say bye to Apple after about 26 years of being a Mac lover.
I use both windows and IOS simple is relative to what you are used to. BUT I prefer windows easier to upgrade hardware far less expensive and you can dual boot Linux IF you want easy.
@Lui Alexandre Thanks for the tip ;)
screens or audirvana remote? 🤷🏼♂️
Hallo... i think it is interesting, i have mac mini and i don’t use it now cause i use my iMac.. so my question is, do u use monitor to pic song ? Cause when we use TV
, i heard noise... so how ?
See, a lot of pc users hate windows 10, but I absolutely love it. To be fair, I'm only a level above standard users, but Idk. As for MacOS, it has its uses, but I'm not overly fond of it.