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In Reply to: RE: Music server questions from a Re-Nubified CA user . . . posted by JoshT on January 15, 2017 at 10:21:40
I agree with G_Squared. Well engineered and mastered recordings matter the most, a good music file is also important (no MP3 or AAC rips), with a good DAC. I find these to be most important.
Like other general purpose computers (PC's) there's nothing obsolete about using a Mac Mini as a 'traditional' music server. A 'traditional' music server may no longer be as fashionable but they're perfectly fine. I had the early Intel based Mac Mini's in 2009 and now use a 2012 Mini that continues to serve me well.
I've used iTunes alone, and I've used Pure Music and Audirvana Plus both in iTunes integrated mode where iTunes manages the music library but the other software bypasses Apple's CoreAudio and offers other features to improve the sound. I still use Audirvana Plus and the setup sounds wonderful.
If you buy a new Mac Mini, 8GB should be fine. You will want to transfer your music library from your existing Mac to the new one. Keep in mind that iTunes is also a database so you're not just moving your music files. I'll link to a couple steps below that make it very easy.
In fact I just transferred my iTunes library to my wife's 2015 MacBook Pro running the latest macOS 10.12.2 Sierra. I backed up iTunes to an external USB disk then restored it to my wife's Mac as described in the links below. It was easy and flawless.
I wanted to see if I encounter any USB audio problems with macOS Sierra. I tested playback through my USB DAC with no issues. Obviously not a thorough test but it worked fine for me. There were reports of USB audio problems when macOS Sierra 10.12 was first launched. They appear to be resolved in 10.12.2 and popular player developers are also reporting that their products are now compatible including Pure Music, Audirvana Plus, and Roon.
Manage and backup your iTunes media library
How to move your iTunes library to a new computer.
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About Roon:
I am also using my Mac Mini with Roon. It's not as complicated as it seems. There are a few ways to use it and the examples below are not mutually exclusive:
1) Install Roon on the Mac Mini with a local keyboard, mouse, LCD screen to manage it, then straight out to the USB DAC. Simple. This is my office setup.
2) Roon on the Mac Mini just like #1 above but using the Roon App on the iPad as a remote control. Still simple and works great. Instead of walking over to the Mac Mini across the office, I'll use the iPad from my desk to control my music library with the Roon App.
3) Roon on the Mac Mini just like the two above with Roon 'bridge' software on the network streamer. The network streamer can be another computer on your network anywhere in your house, or it can be a dedicated commercial device like the microRendu. In the case of dedicated commercial streamers some come pre-loaded with Roon 'bridge' and are often labeled as "Roon Ready".
I have the microRendu streamer in the basement and when I go down there to listen to music, I take the iPad with me. The music library resides on the Mini up in my office and I use the Roon App on the iPad to 'direct' it to play through the networked microRendu streamer. The streamer is USB attached to my other DAC in the basement. In this case the Mac Mini in the office is essentially acting as "Network Attached Storage" (NAS) where my music files reside.
One nice thing about Roon is that it discovers your existing iTunes library as it resides on your Mac. No need to rearrange it or create a new directory structure.
If you're planning to 'rip' more CDs you're going to NEED a computer somewhere in your system anyway. The same Mac Mini up in my office is used for ripping my CDs, for local playback in my office, and as a NAS when streaming to the microRendu in the basement. I can also stream to the AppleTV boxes in family room and bedroom.
Follow Ups:
I spent some more time online figuring out Roon a bit more, as well as how sonicTransporter and microRendu work, and this morning I spoke with a friend who also uses Roon on a Mac Mini using Roon's control app on his devices. That is, his system fits your scenario #2. But your post more than anything so far pulls a lot of this together for me! So, I'm getting there, but I'm still struggling with some core questions, so with your permission I'll list a few more out for your consideration:1. Among its other functions, isn't Roon a player itself like Pure Music and Audirvana Plus? Doesn't it bypass CoreAudio and stream the music files? In that case, why would you still use Audirvana Plus and how are the two compatible? Or am I wrong?
2. When you talk about a network and a network streamer, do you mean by ethernet only? On its website, Roon says to consider its RAAT function (transport) like "Airplay for audiophiles", but how can that be if it doesn't stream wirelessly? Our house is not wired with Ethernet connections in separate rooms. We only have ethernet ports on our cable modem and wireless router in a single room. For remote rooms, we've so far relied on Airplay (with its limitations) to stream wirelessly to an Apple TV and/or Express that are in turn connected to DACs by toslink or processors by HDMI. With Roon, would I continue to have to do that for remote rooms given our lack of ethernet connections to other rooms? In other words, I could only use it for your scenarios 1 and 2?
3. The microRenu has me scratching my head a bit. It's described as a "player", which I understand. But does it do anything other than receive a data stream by ethernet and convert it to a playable USB output for a DAC under a Roon controlled system? Can it be used as a server also or does it rely on an upstream computer?
4. Then there's the sonicTransporter, which seems like a nifty way to take a general purpose computer out of the audio system, but I gather it does not stream wirelessly. So, I am assuming that without an ethernet wired home, I could only use that server in a single room directly to a USB DAC. Is that right?
Thank you again a million times!
___
"If you are the owner of a new stereophonic system, this record will play with even more brilliant true-to-life fidelity. In short, you can purchase this record with no fear of its becoming obsolete in the future."
Edits: 01/16/17
Hi Josh -#1) I don't believe Roon bypasses CoreAudio but it still sounds outstanding. It is not 'compatible' with Audirvana or Pure Music that I am aware of. I just happen to still have Audirvana and fire it up now and then. However, my primary player is now Roon. That being said, Roon is compatible with HQPlayer so some folks use Roon as a 'front-end' AND HQPlayer to tweak the sound. I played with it. It was good and has lots of 'knobs' to play with, but it's not something I have to have. I didn't mention HQPlayer earlier as it would possibly confuse things and make it more complex than need be.
#2) You can use Roon over wifi but like most network streaming scenarios it is better to use hardwired Ethernet. Higher res music files require more bandwidth and the reliability of the network becomes more important. Wifi -may- work fine for you but your chances are better at typical CD resolutions vs hi-res PCM or DSD. Of course, the streamer device must also support wifi. The microRendu streamer that I use supports strictly hard wired Ethernet.
#3) The microRendu is a network streamer and it gets it's music from a networked computer, dedicated NAS, or some services like Tidal or Qobuz. The microRendu does not store any music locally. It gets it from elsewhere. You initially interact with the microRendu through your web browser by inputting the IP address of the microRendu into your web browser URL field. Here you can setup the microRendu. Once setup, it's just a streamer and you no longer need the web interface. I then use Roon on my iPad. From within Roon, I can direct the music to be played thru the microRendu or played thru my Mac Mini. Different streamers offer different features and support for various streaming services (Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, Pandora, etc), if that's important to you. I use the microRendu with Roon so the fact that the microRendu supports Roon is important to me, but I don't care about Spotify, Pandora, etc. Maybe you do, so keep that in mind if you go with a streamer someday.
#4) The sonicTransporter is still built upon a general purpose computer ("optimized" I suppose) but it will not (to the best of my knowledge) allow you to output to a directly attached USB DAC. It will not allow you to rip new CD's. You will still need a computer somewhere. And it will require that the music be on an external USB disk drive. The sonicTransporter will be doing the same thing as my Mac Mini in terms of running Roon and streaming over the network with the RAAT protocol (Roon Advanced Audio Transport). With the Mini I can also output directly to a USB DAC when I choose to, or output to the microRendu streamer, and I can rip my CD's.
P.S. There is no one 'right way' to setup your system. You have to take into account not only the quality of the sonics but all the features and conveniences that you want.
Edits: 01/16/17
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