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.
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.
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?
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.
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😁
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 :-)
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!!!
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. 🤝👏👌
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 :)
Cable going to a 5.1 Audio Gear card. My new Mac mini does not have an optical output. I’m told I need a USB sound card. I don’t know which ones to use????? I’m feeding inexpensive Logitech x-540 speakers. Could you please advise? Thank you very much, I’m l;ost in this new tech world.
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 ?
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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
If I use a MacMini with a powered dac that has only hdmi or coax or toslink inputs, how do I get there? Is it true that USB is limited to 44/16? What component will I need?
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...
Paul. A few years ago when you published the how to for the mini, you mentioned that you had found a guru who did mods that were needed for best sound. What happened?
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/
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.
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?
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.
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What was the other software you recommended Paul (not the Bitperfect) can you add a link please? thanks - Itunes had hope at one time.. until version 10x I used to love their "DJ Party Shuffle" which was a true random shuffle - which they buried. Their normal shuffle is so bad. Not random at all. I use VLC for streaming services.
Why toslink is garbage? Coz is limited to 96/24? But if I use with standard CDs (example from my CD transport to the amplifier input - it has built in an AKM4490) it should be fine? Or not?
Hi Paul, this is Paul from Cincinnati. I am using a Mac Mini with Audirvana too. I have been using the optical. I will switch to the USB. Thanks for the advice. What was the brand you recommended for the usb cables?
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.
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 love Apple and Macs. Been a fan for decades. I just recently came to the idea of redeploying an old intel mac mini as an audio source, though I was disappointed to learn that you can only stream DSD 256 or higher from a Windows PC. Do you know if there are any workarounds for this, other than maybe virtualization?
Hi I listen to Qobuz, and Windows 10 but my 3 year old computer is already too old for Qobuz, it had digital errors. I have a MIT USB cable and a Ayre QB-9 24/96 dac. And Stax L700 mk 1. Can't you stream Qobuz in the PS audio bridge 2 in your DS dac? Is the Bridge 2 not something like the Auralic G1? My computer sucks. I will have to buy a new one again. i7 16 GB etc. Best wishes Y
Just trial subscribed to itunes (using a mac mini) mainly for the album art (ripped all my own classical and jazz cd's) and syncing with my iphone and home theatre. What I can't do is save (rip?) my dsd (SACD's) files to my itunes library. A few years ago it was possible. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
The only solution I know of requires an older Sony Playstation... Look it up. I think it was a PS3 model (and maybe even certain PS3's) that allowed for ripping of SACDs.
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.
Well, yes and no. The actual audio stream is in the Mac Mini and it is connected to the network via WiFi or ethernet. The iPad acts as a controller or a library selector. It simply tells the Mac Mini what to connect with and play.
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?
Can someone explain why one would use Roon or Audivanna with Tidal or Qobuz? Both platforms offer Chromecast so what is the benefit of using a 3rd party app such as these?
You have to try it. It has a free trial period. Don't use Chromecast, use a Raspberry Pi with RoPieee.org and a decent/cheap DAC/amp. See allo.com or Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital.
I have a Cambridge Audio network streamer and I control it with an Android tablet. It looks like Audirvanna isn't compatible with Android so that's a no go for me. Maybe I'll look into Roon. I an curious to know why you advised not using Chromecast though. Are there sound limitations to using it?
huh, USB to USB. Stick a cable in the USB port of the mac mini and the other end of the USB able into the USB of a dac the dac to an amplifier, or if you have a dragonfly yes put the dragon in the USB and the 3.5mm to ARC's to amp.
The wireless data is sent as packets of X bytes every so often which are buffered by DAC just like the packets coming over USB. Once inside the DAC it's up to the quality of the DAC's clock which is fetching those bytes from the buffer. With WiFi you may generally experience larger buffers with higher latency, but wireless won't automatically introduce jitter.
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.
@@oysteinsoreide4323 you don't have to pay for a VPN, just sign up for a trial and cancel it when you have made a Qobuz account. I did this from my Android smartphone using NordVPN. Qobuz also has a 31 day trial, so you can try it for free. Once you have made an account with the VPN, Qobuz will be useable everywhere without the VPN
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.
Hi Paul, my name is Nathaniel Williams. I am from long island. Would you ever use a passive radiator for more detail in the midrange-tweeter crossover? I am not an audiophile, I am just a college student interested in what you do. Anyway I hope you read this.
@bcdhifi sorry, like I said I'm not an audiophile, just a college student learning baking and pastry. I just had heard about passive radiators and wanted to know more about what they did really.
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
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.
Paul how do you wake up the Mac mini when it goes to sleep with an IPad?
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?
isn't one benefit of a toslink the fact that it electrically isolates your source?
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
How do you switch it on and off without a screen? Just switch off the power supply?
Only saw the first 4 seconds and the man already convinced me. I'm getting a Mac Mini... for playback.
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?
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.
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😁
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.
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.
Do you need a monitor for the Mac Mini?
Basic question here but do you connect the audio interface / dac to the Mac mini.
Why not Roon? It is GREAT!
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...
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 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.
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
I use a dedicated intel NUC loaded with Daphile for Qobuz streaming on my headphone rig, cheap and very good results.
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 :-)
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.
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 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 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.
Does anyone use VOX player? I heard it's an excellent free player that uses the bit rate of the song itself?
screens or audirvana remote? 🤷🏼♂️
Great Reminder. How do you support or $$ pay or these devices? I ask because I’m educated and not exercising a child’s curiosity.
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 :)
Hello Paul, caln you tell how your mac connected exactly to the system, directly to DAC, or to streaming device?
Is streaming tidal via a Chromecast plugged to a good dac no good?
What about Roon?
How are u controlling the Mac mini .. do u have a monitor? I know dumb question
Cable going to a 5.1 Audio Gear card. My new Mac mini does not have an optical output. I’m told I need a USB sound card. I don’t know which ones to use????? I’m feeding inexpensive Logitech x-540 speakers. Could you please advise? Thank you very much, I’m l;ost in this new tech world.
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 ?
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 😏
2014 i7 Mini I use exclusively for audio playback, supports 24/192 on toslink and no issue with playback of that resolution.
How does he use it without a keyboard and monitor and mouse
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..
I’m new to all high quality streaming I was wondering if I wound benifit if I used Audirvana on standard TH-cam would that be a substantial difference
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
I was waiting for you to answer the original question, because I have the same question. My older Mac mini used atoslink
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?
What about Denafrips Pontus II with Mac Mini, would that be a good combination?
Beware advice coming from people whose demo audio is distorted. "This USB cable sounds excellent". That being said, thanks for the software info.
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.
Why would usb be better than toslink?
Thx
Did you ever audition Channel D software, and if did how did it compare to the two pieces of software you mention in this video?
You're a very helpful internet video; could not make it without ya!
Curious cables not expensive?? 300, 400?
Curiously expensive!
its a con.
Wow, A lot of great information! Thank you Paul 👍
Why play music wirelessly with a high end system through apple products if they don't support aptx?
DnD
Because of airplay
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
Why would you use a Mac mini when you have a $6000 streamer/dac Paul?
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
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.
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.
What are those two black boxes next to the rack?
Wow, A lot of great information! Thank you Paul McGowan
If I use a MacMini with a powered dac that has only hdmi or coax or toslink inputs, how do I get there? Is it true that USB is limited to 44/16? What component will I need?
Paul, I wonder if you have tried the Lanrover on the Mac USB interface, and if it sounded any better.
If I use a MacMini with a powered dac that has only hdmi or coax or toslink inputs, how do I get there?
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
have you tried roon on the mac mini?
Hi Paul, did you try Qobuz on Audirvana and how did it sound?
Why not the thunderbolt output? Twice the speed.
speakers or amplifiers dont have thunderbolt. they have rca or headphone inputs only
@@hipidipi20157maxhdmi???
Update for M chip Mac Mini please.
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...
Paul. A few years ago when you published the how to for the mini, you mentioned that you had found a guru who did mods that were needed for best sound. What happened?
Would appreciate a response to this question!
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
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?
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.
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.
What was the other software you recommended Paul (not the Bitperfect) can you add a link please? thanks - Itunes had hope at one time.. until version 10x I used to love their "DJ Party Shuffle" which was a true random shuffle - which they buried. Their normal shuffle is so bad. Not random at all. I use VLC for streaming services.
He was talking about Audirvana.
Why toslink is garbage? Coz is limited to 96/24? But if I use with standard CDs (example from my CD transport to the amplifier input - it has built in an AKM4490) it should be fine? Or not?
Yup. If you're using only CD TOSLINK is fine.
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio thank you, Paul! ♥️
Hi Paul, this is Paul from Cincinnati. I am using a Mac Mini with Audirvana too. I have been using the optical. I will switch to the USB. Thanks for the advice. What was the brand you recommended for the usb cables?
curious - but no need to spend so much on it.
Santiago Del Rio thanks
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.
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@@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.
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.
I love Apple and Macs. Been a fan for decades. I just recently came to the idea of redeploying an old intel mac mini as an audio source, though I was disappointed to learn that you can only stream DSD 256 or higher from a Windows PC. Do you know if there are any workarounds for this, other than maybe virtualization?
Hi I listen to Qobuz, and Windows 10 but my 3 year old computer is already too old for Qobuz, it had digital errors. I have a MIT USB cable and a Ayre QB-9 24/96 dac. And Stax L700 mk 1. Can't you stream Qobuz in the PS audio bridge 2 in your DS dac? Is the Bridge 2 not something like the Auralic G1? My computer sucks. I will have to buy a new one again. i7 16 GB etc. Best wishes Y
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.
Just trial subscribed to itunes (using a mac mini) mainly for the album art (ripped all my own classical and jazz cd's) and syncing with my iphone and home theatre. What I can't do is save (rip?) my dsd (SACD's) files to my itunes library. A few years ago it was possible. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
The only solution I know of requires an older Sony Playstation... Look it up. I think it was a PS3 model (and maybe even certain PS3's) that allowed for ripping of SACDs.
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
what else is in the system?
HI PS Audio. Thank you for the rich content . My worry is that, is it possible to stream Quboz directly from my ipad to the Mac Mini? Thank you
Well, yes and no. The actual audio stream is in the Mac Mini and it is connected to the network via WiFi or ethernet. The iPad acts as a controller or a library selector. It simply tells the Mac Mini what to connect with and play.
Im with Louis Rossmann on this one.
Apple and Bose go well together.
BlankBrain No you and bose go well together
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?
Can someone explain why one would use Roon or Audivanna with Tidal or Qobuz? Both platforms offer Chromecast so what is the benefit of using a 3rd party app such as these?
You have to try it. It has a free trial period. Don't use Chromecast, use a Raspberry Pi with RoPieee.org and a decent/cheap DAC/amp. See allo.com or Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital.
I have a Cambridge Audio network streamer and I control it with an Android tablet. It looks like Audirvanna isn't compatible with Android so that's a no go for me. Maybe I'll look into Roon. I an curious to know why you advised not using Chromecast though. Are there sound limitations to using it?
How do you use USB?? The sound is coming out of headphone jack from Mac Mini. Or do you use something like dragonfly DAC? Thanks
huh, USB to USB. Stick a cable in the USB port of the mac mini and the other end of the USB able into the USB of a dac the dac to an amplifier, or if you have a dragonfly yes put the dragon in the USB and the 3.5mm to ARC's to amp.
Doesn’t wireless streaming introduce jitter?
The wireless data is sent as packets of X bytes every so often which are buffered by DAC just like the packets coming over USB. Once inside the DAC it's up to the quality of the DAC's clock which is fetching those bytes from the buffer. With WiFi you may generally experience larger buffers with higher latency, but wireless won't automatically introduce jitter.
Very helpful video! Thank you!
Don't you mean happy as a pigs in muck, I didn't know clams were happy how do you tell if a clam is happy....?
If you don't hear them whining about audiophiles, they must be happy. Simples.
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.
Qobuz is not available in my country.... unfortunately.
You can sign up using a VPN by choosing a country it is available in, then you can use it anywhere without the VPN
@@Villiam7291 But why should I pay for VPN to get access to it? Gives no meaning to me.
@@oysteinsoreide4323 you don't have to pay for a VPN, just sign up for a trial and cancel it when you have made a Qobuz account. I did this from my Android smartphone using NordVPN. Qobuz also has a 31 day trial, so you can try it for free. Once you have made an account with the VPN, Qobuz will be useable everywhere without the VPN
@@Villiam7291 How much better is Qobuz than Tidal?
@@Villiam7291 do qobuz have a family plan?
Is there a audioable diffence with a good Windows laptop ?
only if you are able to hear sound improvement by using expensive cables
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.
Hi Paul, my name is Nathaniel Williams. I am from long island. Would you ever use a passive radiator for more detail in the midrange-tweeter crossover? I am not an audiophile, I am just a college student interested in what you do. Anyway I hope you read this.
@bcdhifi sorry, like I said I'm not an audiophile, just a college student learning baking and pastry. I just had heard about passive radiators and wanted to know more about what they did really.
Why no Roon Paul ?
GoldenEars Because roon sucks that’s why