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The solid steel plates are almost 1" thick with a footprint about the size of the 2009 mini. Each one weighs 10 lbs. If that doesn't produce high mass isolation and vibration absorption, I don't know what would! The lower one also works as a heat sink. They are also grounded to the same ground as the mini and the dac.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12856[/ATTACH]

 

Very good! Might has right.

 

Also thumbs up on the Solid Tech rack, I have the same finish (with the springs).

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Hey Alex,

I don't understand the bit about booting off of an SD card really. What is this about? How can it possibly do anything for you (if anything I'd expect huge latency to access osx stuffs). BTW... You're certainly not the first one mentioning this...

Thx.

 

Start here: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f8-general-forum/attention-current-mac-mini-users-boot-mavericks-sd-card-load-ramdisk-dismount-your-internal-sata-drives-and-pour-drink-musicians-walking-out-your-speakers-18159/#post270162

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To remove the internal PSU from a mini requires 'a bit of skill' and is not really simple.

 

First time I took it slow and did it in about 35 minutes. Now I can do them in about 15. Just follow the pictures.

 

When I release our DC conversion/linear fan controller board, I'll include photos of the specific part of the process involving the fan. No soldering, no cutting of wires, 100% reversible. Plug the existing fan connector to a tiny board stuck to the side of the fan; plug the cable from our board into the motherboard's socket where the fan originally attached. Say goodbye to the high-current 25.3KHz PWM DC pulse signal polluting the motherboard.

 

The debate is then whether the replacement is worth the effort, there are several threads here doing just that.

 

Discussions yes. But anyone who has added an LPS and tuned the mini in other ways would say that the debate is settled.

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Alex, I appreciate your detailed explanation. This is greatly helpful. While your assessment that Macbook Pro is not great is somewhat disappointing, it is critical information for me to decide which Mac to purchase. Further, I am excited to hear that 2009 Mac Mini is worst among Mac Minis because I could expect further sound quality improvement by replacing it with newer Mac Mini.

 

The next issue for me would be replacing PSU with linear power supply. In Japan, the following three companies offer linear power supply for Macbook Pro. I would need to ask them if they can offer linear power supply suitable for Mac Mini.

 

EL Sound 48,000 yen (USD480)

Mac power kit for Apple note PC analogue power source | AY-denshi

 

Fidelix 48,000 yen (USD480)

http://www.fidelix.jp/products/Power...ply/index.html

 

Degawa 99,800 yen (USD1,000)

http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~degawa/product/MAC-PS-1.pdf

Umetaro, Tokyo, Japan

Dela(Melco)N1A/2012 i5 Mac Mini with 16GB memory - Audirvana/Pure Music/Amarra/JRMC - Devialet 800 - Wilson Audio Sasha

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First time I took it slow and did it in about 35 minutes. Now I can do them in about 15. Just follow the pictures.

 

When I release our DC conversion/linear fan controller board, I'll include photos of the specific part of the process involving the fan. No soldering, no cutting of wires, 100% reversible. Plug the existing fan connector to a tiny board stuck to the side of the fan; plug the cable from our board into the motherboard's socket where the fan originally attached. Say goodbye to the high-current 25.3KHz PWM DC pulse signal polluting the motherboard.

 

Love it. Would be very interested in this. I have no doubt a LPS will make a difference. However, I have to say you're the first one mentioning internal changes to the mini to further enhance what the LPS accomplishes, which was missing from other sources. That is: yes you've removed the switching noise plus added a lot of bypass caps, but you've not addressed the internal sources of noise such as the fan, and possibly the wifi/bluetooth/etc hardware. Do you address the latter as well?

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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Alex, I appreciate your detailed explanation. This is greatly helpful. While your assessment that Macbook Pro is not great is somewhat disappointing, it is critical information for me to decide which Mac to purchase. Further, I am excited to hear that 2009 Mac Mini is worst among Mac Minis because I could expect further sound quality improvement by replacing it with newer Mac Mini.

 

Just keep in mind that the difference between identically configured minis is not huge. But it was significant in my system.

 

The next issue for me would be replacing PSU with linear power supply. In Japan, the following three companies offer linear power supply for Macbook Pro. I would need to ask them if they can offer linear power supply suitable for Mac Mini.

 

EL Sound 48,000 yen (USD480)

Mac power kit for Apple note PC analogue power source | AY-denshi

 

Fidelix 48,000 yen (USD480)

http://www.fidelix.jp/products/Power...ply/index.html

 

Degawa 99,800 yen (USD1,000)

http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~degawa/product/MAC-PS-1.pdf

 

Thanks for the links to those small supplies cabled with the MagSafe connector for Apple laptops. Have not seen those before. I could not find pictures of the insides to get any idea of type or quality, but they look nice. In fact, both the Fidlelix and ElSound supplies use the exact same Takachi Japan case that was among several samples I bought from Takachi last year for our own projects--my sample is black. Takachi makes some of the nicest finished cases--with well integrated heatsinks--much nice than what can be had from China, though they do cost quite a bit more for a given size.

 

The Apple laptops require between 14.5V and 18.5V (depending upon which generation and model), so for a 12V mini then firms you reference would have to use a different transformer since I doubt the regulators they use in their laptop linear supplies can handle the extra voltage drop required to get down to 12V (too much heat). I assume your interest in them is because you are located in Japan.

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Love it. Would be very interested in this. I have no doubt a LPS will make a difference. However, I have to say you're the first one mentioning internal changes to the mini to further enhance what the LPS accomplishes, which was missing from other sources. That is: yes you've removed the switching noise plus added a lot of bypass caps, but you've not addressed the internal sources of noise such as the fan, and possibly the wifi/bluetooth/etc hardware. Do you address the latter as well?

 

Hi Miguelito: Thanks for your interest. I have to be careful about talking too much about our forthcoming product, as Chris has already given me a warning. But I can answer direct questions:

Removal of wifi and Bluetooth transceivers is totally up to the user. I pulled mine, but just turning them off is fine too. At the moment I'm not planning on offering modification services, but that is possible if people are willing to pay the round trip shipping and a modest fee. But the main idea is for the installation of the DC conversion board/linear fan controller to be so easy that people just do it themselves.

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If I had to choose today, I'd probably buy a 2011 or 2012 i5 mini and put 16GB in it. Ripping out the switching PS is the very first thing to do! That and a slimmed down Mavericks install cloned to an SD card for booting.

 

And of the possible solutions for a linear supply for an i7 mini, which one would you favor?

 

Thx!

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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Sorry, but having conducted multiple, s/w and h/w variable-controlled face-offs between 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 Mac minis, both with and without external linear supplies, I can assure you that Steve Nugent's advice needs some serious updating.

Alex,

 

I purchased the newest (2012) i7 mac mini (2.6GHz, 16gbRAM, 120gbSSD) to replace my 2009 (2.6GHz, 8gbRAM, 250gbSSD). Both as of now with stock SMPS. I know the sound of the '09 mini very very well (my system is pretty decent). The '12 mini is so much better in so many ways... I'm blown away. The timbre of piano, cord plucks, soundstage depth... incredible difference.

 

You're very correct that Nugent's advice needs updating.

 

Thx.

 

Miguel

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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Alex,

 

I purchased the newest (2012) i7 mac mini (2.6GHz, 16gbRAM, 120gbSSD) to replace my 2009 (2.6GHz, 8gbRAM, 250gbSSD). Both as of now with stock SMPS. I know the sound of the '09 mini very very well (my system is pretty decent). The '12 mini is so much better in so many ways... I'm blown away. The timbre of piano, cord plucks, soundstage depth... incredible difference.

 

You're very correct that Nugent's advice needs updating.

 

Thanks for the confirmation Miguel. It is always helpful to know that things I hear in my system are clearly heard by others as well. Keeps us all on the same track moving forward.

 

Of course there is more you can and will do to your new Mac mini, right? (wink…) But enjoy it as it until August. :)

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Thanks for the confirmation Miguel. It is always helpful to know that things I hear in my system are clearly heard by others as well. Keeps us all on the same track moving forward.

 

Of course there is more you can and will do to your new Mac mini, right? (wink…) But enjoy it as it until August. :)

Right. :)

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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  • 3 weeks later...

Superdad,

 

Per your suggestion, I have replaced my 2009 Mac Mini with 2012 i5 mini with 16GB memory. I also used the SD card trick you proposed. My impression after a few hours listening is very positive. The sound of 2012 is clearer and has more depth compared with that of 2009. I greatly appreciate your posts.

Any suggestion on which USB port to be used? I recall someone was saying that there is a preferred USB port among the four USB ports for audio playback.

Umetaro, Tokyo, Japan

Dela(Melco)N1A/2012 i5 Mac Mini with 16GB memory - Audirvana/Pure Music/Amarra/JRMC - Devialet 800 - Wilson Audio Sasha

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Any suggestion on which USB port to be used? I recall someone was saying that there is a preferred USB port among the four USB ports for audio playback.

Same impressions here on the upgrade from 09 to 12 minis (i7 in my case).

 

Also interested if people have a preferred USB port. Based on a trusted source's suggestion, on my i7 mini I am using the outermost port for data (and two ports down for power as I have a Lightspeed USB split). This is also in line with using a port that has no other USB devices attached to it (run System Information=>USB and check that the DAC is on a separate branch).

 

Wonder if someone has some more insight.

 

Thx!

 

Mig

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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Wonder if someone has some more insight.

 

Hi Gents: I am so glad you both are enjoying the newer Mac minis after coming from a 2009. Next you will want to think about pulling the switching supply and getting rid of the high-current fan pulse interference…

 

As for the USB ports, I need to do some digging back here on the forum, as I recall having an exchange (with either Elcorso or Tranz or someone else in Europe I think) over this issue. I recall the upshot being that we found the preferred port (or even need for one) on slim Mac minis depended upon if the model also had a Thinderbolt bus (the 2010 being the only of the 3 years which does not). In System Profiler, you will see connected USB devices move around in the list, based partially on what else is connected--and I think even related to the TB port. It was confusing for a bit, but I think we came to the conclusion that the 2010 had 2 "best" ports, and the 2011/12 had a different two.

I will look again at the posts. And I do remember doing an actual listening test of all 4 ports and readily confirming which two sounded best (actually I ignored what were "supposed" to be the right ones and just listened first). On my 2010 the best two ended up being the one closest to the center of he back panel (next to the miniDisplay port), and then two over from that one (thus second from the outside). The latter is the one I use all the time.

Most importantly--don't use ANY USB drives if you have a USB DAC (just horrible SQ result)! And if you use a keyboard/mouse, plug it into one of two USB ports not determined to be one of the "best" pair.

 

Have fun!

 

Alex C.

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Same impressions here on the upgrade from 09 to 12 minis (i7 in my case).

 

Also interested if people have a preferred USB port. Based on a trusted source's suggestion, on my i7 mini I am using the outermost port for data (and two ports down for power as I have a Lightspeed USB split). This is also in line with using a port that has no other USB devices attached to it (run System Information=>USB and check that the DAC is on a separate branch).

 

Wonder if someone has some more insight.

 

Thx!

 

Mig

 

Well, the best way I know how to do this is to use the System Information Screen. (Select Apple -> About This Mac then select "More Information". If you look at the USB section, you will be able to see if your DAC is sharing a USB Bus with anything else. Just move it about until it is on its a own buss.

 

Something like this, though this Mac doesn't have a DAC attached. :)

 

-Paul

 

Screen Shot 2014-07-02 at 1.52.48 PM.png

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC.

Robert A. Heinlein

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Well, the best way I know how to do this is to use the System Information Screen. (Select Apple -> About This Mac then select "More Information". If you look at the USB section, you will be able to see if your DAC is sharing a USB Bus with anything else. Just move it about until it is on its a own buss.

 

Something like this, though this Mac doesn't have a DAC attached. :)

 

-Paul

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13444[/ATTACH]

 

Unfortunately, on the 2011+ (at least) Mac Mini's, the USB ports are assigned randomly to USB devices. That is, each time you boot the device, it is a crapshoot whether or not any certain device will be on the same bus as any other device :/

 

So there's no "best" port on these later Mini's, unless you think the one furthest from the power supply (last one on the right if you're facing the back of the Mini) is "best".

John Walker - IT Executive

Headphone - SonicTransporter i9 running Roon Server > Netgear Orbi > Blue Jeans Cable Ethernet > mRendu Roon endpoint > Topping D90 > Topping A90d > Dan Clark Expanse / HiFiMan H6SE v2 / HiFiman Arya Stealth

Home Theater / Music -SonicTransporter i9 running Roon Server > Netgear Orbi > Blue Jeans Cable HDMI > Denon X3700h > Anthem Amp for front channels > Revel F208-based 5.2.4 Atmos speaker system

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Unfortunately, on the 2011+ (at least) Mac Mini's, the USB ports are assigned randomly to USB devices

That's not my experience. I always get the following port config (mac mini i7, 1 month old):

Screen Shot 2014-07-02 at 6.58.50 PM.png

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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That's not my experience. I always get the following port config (mac mini i7, 1 month old):

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13451[/ATTACH]

 

I could be mistaken - I'd read this somewhere else and confirmed it on my Late 2011 model - every time I reboot, the assignment of USB devices to buses changes dynamically.

 

Perhaps they changed this behavior with later models.

John Walker - IT Executive

Headphone - SonicTransporter i9 running Roon Server > Netgear Orbi > Blue Jeans Cable Ethernet > mRendu Roon endpoint > Topping D90 > Topping A90d > Dan Clark Expanse / HiFiMan H6SE v2 / HiFiman Arya Stealth

Home Theater / Music -SonicTransporter i9 running Roon Server > Netgear Orbi > Blue Jeans Cable HDMI > Denon X3700h > Anthem Amp for front channels > Revel F208-based 5.2.4 Atmos speaker system

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I could be mistaken - I'd read this somewhere else and confirmed it on my Late 2011 model - every time I reboot, the assignment of USB devices to buses changes dynamically. Perhaps they changed this behavior with later models.

Three successive reboots (previous post is 4th):

Screen Shot 2014-07-02 at 7.04.47 PM.png

Screen Shot 2014-07-02 at 7.05.32 PM copy.png

Screen Shot 2014-07-02 at 7.08.24 PM.png

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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Unfortunately, on the 2011+ (at least) Mac Mini's, the USB ports are assigned randomly to USB devices. That is, each time you boot the device, it is a crapshoot whether or not any certain device will be on the same bus as any other device :/

 

So there's no "best" port on these later Mini's, unless you think the one furthest from the power supply (last one on the right if you're facing the back of the Mini) is "best".

 

 

That at does not seem to be the case on mine, but it may be so. I did think that once a device was enumerated to the OS, it was "sticky" until it was physically removed.

 

Paul

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC.

Robert A. Heinlein

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Okay guys, I found my and Roch's posts about this. Why does last November seem so distant in my memory. It does come back to me now and seems to have to do with the Thunderbolt equipped minis. Please see these 3 posts:

 

Mac mini USB tree and sound comparisons

 

Elcorso's ranking and my reply question

 

Elsorso's reply with confirmation

 

Superdad,

 

Thanks again for the great posts. My next step would be to replace the switching power supply with a linear power supply. There is no supplier offering the linear power supply for the Minis in Japan. The only product I know is the one by Clones Audio in Hong Kong at 499 Euros (see the link CLONES audio ). I am greatly interested in your proposed power supply if it works in 100V instead of 115V.

Umetaro, Tokyo, Japan

Dela(Melco)N1A/2012 i5 Mac Mini with 16GB memory - Audirvana/Pure Music/Amarra/JRMC - Devialet 800 - Wilson Audio Sasha

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Okay guys, I found my and Roch's posts about this. Why does last November seem so distant in my memory. It does come back to me now and seems to have to do with the Thunderbolt equipped minis. Please see these 3 posts:

 

Mac mini USB tree and sound comparisons

 

Elcorso's ranking and my reply question

 

Elsorso's reply with confirmation

Awesome. Thx.

NUC10i7 + Roon ROCK > dCS Rossini APEX DAC + dCS Rossini Master Clock 

SME 20/3 + SME V + Dynavector XV-1s or ANUK IO Gold > vdH The Grail or Kondo KSL-SFz + ANK L3 Phono 

Audio Note Kondo Ongaku > Avantgarde Duo Mezzo

Signal cables: Kondo Silver, Crystal Cable phono

Power cables: Kondo, Shunyata, van den Hul

system pics

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