New Mac Mini based system. Does this work?

[kingston12]

I am about to put together a new system to listen to my digital files via my HiFi and headphones.

 

All music is currently stored on an iMac in a study and I use a Meridian Explorer to listen through headphones in there.

 

What I'd like to do is listen in my living room and I propose to do this by buying a Mac Mini that will be connected to another desktop DAC and then output to my HiFi and separate headphone amp.

 

What I'd like to do is keep the music files on the original iMac and use Home Sharing to stream them to the Mini. Will this work and if so will it stop me using some of the iTunes alternatives like Audirvana+?

[Audio_ELF]

What I'd like to do is keep the music files on the original iMac and use Home Sharing to stream them to the Mini. Will this work and if so will it stop me using some of the iTunes alternatives like Audirvana+?

My experience has been Home Sharing doesn't work very well in this situation.

 

Your better bet is to use File Sharing on the iMac; or even better move all the music to a NAS.

 

Eloise

[wgscott]

If you network mount the drive (File Sharing) and import the files into iTunes with the "let iTunes rearrange my music files" option turned off, I have found this will work, provided your local network connection is good. Then you can use all of the other stuff as if the files were on your local computer. The only trick is to make sure that remote disk is always mounted when you open up iTunes.

 

It is definitely not as robust, but I find it works well for headphone listening on my iMac.

 

I call it my "poor man's NAS."

[kingston12]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I am not averse to buying a NAS if it makes things easier. I guess if I do that, both Macs retain equal access to the library allowing me to use other software more easily?

[pooger]

What wireless router are you using? If AirPort Extreme, you can hook a USB drive up to that and share files from that--basically a dumb NAS. Other brands of routers also accept drives to allow them to be shared by the network, I'm just more familiar with the current apple product line.

[danlevy]

I have a similar set-up.

 

I have a Mac Mini --> Schiit Bifrost (via USB) --> audio system.

The iTunes library (the metafiles) are on the Mac Mini, which has lots of RAM. The music files are on a Drobo FS connected via ethernet to the Mac Mini.

I control the music either with the Remote iOS app or using Screen Sharing on a Macbook Pro.

 

Previous responders are correct that you have to make sure iTunes doesn't arrange the files automatically, which would place them on the Mac Mini's drive rather than your NAS, also that you have to make sure that when you start iTunes the NAS drive is already mounted. (I use the Drobo Dashboard app to make sure it's mounted.) Then in iTunes preferences just make sure that iTunes knows where your music files are actually located on the NAS (in Advanced preferences, locate them in "iTunes Media folder location").

 

It's definitely not foolproof (I cannot seem to train my family to use this well, and they aren't fools anyway), and also iTunes has some bugs that persist from version to version that you just have to live with...but *most* of the time this works really really well and I love it.

 

 

I am about to put together a new system to listen to my digital files via my HiFi and headphones.

 

All music is currently stored on an iMac in a study and I use a Meridian Explorer to listen through headphones in there.

 

What I'd like to do is listen in my living room and I propose to do this by buying a Mac Mini that will be connected to another desktop DAC and then output to my HiFi and separate headphone amp.

 

What I'd like to do is keep the music files on the original iMac and use Home Sharing to stream them to the Mini. Will this work and if so will it stop me using some of the iTunes alternatives like Audirvana+?

[VCoak]

danlevy

 

I posted in another thread about the drobo that maybe you can clear the mud for me. The Drobo 5D or 5N choice. I only need the Drobo for audio only into a mac mini. I do have an ethernet next to the audio equipment now if needed. 50% files are lossless format 45% hi-res and 5% DSD.

 

As hi-res IMO gains in popularity will Drobo 5N be ok to use for this? or just use 5D?

 

The mini is a 12 I7 2.3,SSD 250 evo, crucial 16mg.

 

Thank you

 

Mark