 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
198.27.242.51
I have an older Mac Mini I have been using thru a Hugo DAC out to my system preamp. After a few years I connected a cd Player to the DAC and couldn't believe the improvement in sound quality from a cd over Apple Music streaming. Would streamer like a blue sound node improve the sound. Or is it just a convenient gadget. The real improvement in sound would be a music server that can store high resolution files. Am I just a dinosaur or is streaming a convenience that compromises sound quality.
Follow Ups:
I've been using Mac Minis as music servers and streamers for well over a decade. I also have dedicated commercial streamers. The Mac Mini with outboard DAC sounds just fine. It replaced my Accuphase CD player years ago.The devil is in the details.
What resolution is your Apple Music streaming set for? Does the Apple Music player do automatic sample rate selection on the Mac? Can Apple Music run in CoreAudio Exclusive Mode? I wouldn't know but these are a few things to check for.
I run Roon Server software on my NAS or Mac Mini. I can also run the Mac Mini as a streamer or I can run my commercial and DIY streamers. The Mini sounds just as good.
These all sound outstanding in my setup:
Mac Mini M1 base 256GB SSD | 8GB RAM
microRendu Streamer
Eversolo Streamer
DIY Rasberry Pi Streamers
Hardwired CAT6A Ethernet throughoutQobuz hi-res streaming service
Roon software is at the heart of my system but it's not needed to get outstanding sound quality. Just use the streaming App provided by your streaming service. BUT.... I'm not sure if the Apple Music App does a good job at extracting the best sound quality.
Simplified Diagram of my primary audio setup
No CDP. No DVD. No Blu-ray. No TT.Stream baby, stream!
Control it all with my portable iPad
Edits: 11/29/24
My 12 year old mac mini is slow and sometimes erratic in start up. It is also not able to talk to my ipad or iphone, so I am thinking to get either a new mac mini (M2 or M4?) But I keep thinking of the Blue sound node and the Roon nucleus as similarly priced alternatives.
Some basic questions
Is a streamer a better option than a mac mini if I use my (Chord Hugo) DAC?
What is the advantage of a NAS versus just streaming from apple music library?
Full disclosure not much of an interest in DSD, only use I tunes to Amarra right now.
Your questions are a bit complex depending on what you want to accomplish and at what price.
For Amarra + iTunes (I assume they work together) you'll need to know WHICH Amarra product(s) you are using and if they work on the new Macs that use Apple's own CPU. These newer Macs were introduced in 2020 with the Apple M1 CPU. Older Macs used Intel CPUs. The Amarra website is an ancient looking mess and their product mix appears disjointed and confusing to me as I couldn't easily find what works with what (often called System Requirements). My Google search says various Amarra software are compatible on the newer Macs but not Amarra SQ+, whatever that is.
Blusound Node is popular, reasonably priced, and works with the free BluOS smartphone App to control it. It has it's own built-in DAC but can be connected to a higher quality outboard DAC like your Chord. You can attach an external disk to it containing your music files and you can stream various services like Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, etc.
If you plan to use Roon you'll need a computer or their Nucleus to run it. You will additionally need to pay $14.99/mo for Roon. Their entry Nucleus One is a nice turnkey setup at $499 but that's without a disk. You can install one or attach one externally. You manage Nucleus from another computer through a web browser. Nucleus requires a wired Ethernet network connection and does not work over Wifi. You can also run Roon on an entry Mac Mini M4 16GB RAM / 256GB (or larger) starting at $599 MSRP. My preference is the Mac Mini but that's just me.
"Is a streamer a better option than a mac mini if I use my (Chord Hugo) DAC?"
Not necessarily. "It depends". The Mac Mini can be a music server with its own internal storage for music files, or external USB storage for music files. It can act as a NAS so streamers can access the music files that reside on it. And the Mini can also act as a network streamer with no music files residing on it.
"What is the advantage of a NAS versus just streaming from apple music library?"
For practical purposes, none. For impractical purposes it does add another level of complexity in that you'll have yet another piece of equipment to manage. Some claim that it's "quieter" to have the NAS in a different room. I would argue that the Mac Mini is so quiet you're not going to hear it unless you put your ear right up to it.
"Full disclosure not much of an interest in DSD, only use I tunes to Amarra right now."
As I see it your choices might include:
- New Mac Mini and same setup as you presently have assuming your Amarra software runs on newer non-Intel Macs.
- Bluesound Node to explore something different.
- Roon + Mac Mini or Nucleus One both about the same price. Pay $14.99/mo to use Roon software.
Roon is an additional feature rich luxury IMHO as it is not needed if you use other music server software and/or streaming Apps from Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, Apple, etc. but IMHO Roon is the most powerful music management and exploration software to ever hit the market.
Streaming is a concept. You have a server somewhere in the internet and you have a renderer pulling the audio from that server. Pretty much like a browser - web server.
Next question of course is where this stream is about.
Apple in the past was 256 AAC so lossy compression.
Lot of streaming audio services today have a lossless tier in CD quality.
Tidal or Qobuz are able to stream up to 24 / 192.
The Well Tempered Computer
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
