New Apple Hardware Updates

[The Computer Audiophile]

APple announced some new updates today including a Mac Mini with a 1TB drive and a 27" iMac.

 

http://www.apple.com/startpage/

 

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2009/10/apple_announces.html

 

[cfmsp]

 

I believe the Mac Mini 1TB model has TWO 500Gb hard drives, less the optical drive.

 

For those that want to install an SSD, this new Mac Mini 'Server' model might be interesting. You can put OS X / music player on a relatively small SSD, and still have a real HD for other stuff, you know like backups and photos and 'stuff'.

 

Testing would seem to be in order to figure out whether the spinning hard drive would negate the value of the SSD sound improvements.

 

OTOH, it might be convenient to swap your favorite music files (i.e. heavy rotation) from HD to SSD, keep them all on the same physical device, and shut down the spinning drive when listening to music.

 

Of course, this all assumes you've bought the 'de rigeur' Teac or Plextor as a dedicated ripping drive so as NOT to destroy the one in your computer when dbpoweramp or EAC tries valiantly to read the impossible disk.

 

clay

 

PS, not sure yet how they shoehorned TWO 500Gb drives into the Mini. Check tolerances before planning any putty knife surgery.

 

 

 

 

[Blu]

Clay,

Could you expand on your comment about "'de rigeur' Teac or Plextor ripping drives", are you talking about external hard drives. No doubt there has been a thread on this that I have missed, would you be able to provide a link to this info, as I have been thinking about an external drive for ripping to my Mac mini.

 

 

[Blu]

Sorry for getting off topic with the external ripping drive comment, but Clay did temp me.

 

Back on topic, I see that Firewire has disappeared from the new white Macbook, so you need to grab an old model if still available or get a reconditioned one.

 

[cfmsp]

BLu,

 

you caught me, I've don't yet have any personal experience with external drives. I was merely spreading the audiophile gospel.

 

That said, it's my understanding that Teac and Plextor drives are the most commonly recommended external drives for audiophile use. Feel free to think Teac/Esoteric if, like me, your memories of Teac linger on from the 80s.

 

The Teac 224 is the drive recommended by VRS Audio and later Steve Nugent. I've just posted a request for an update from Silverlight on the LG Blu-ray burner initially recommended here by Sandyk - see the read called 'PC performance/upgrades impact on sound' for more details.

 

Edit: Blu, you can also read this thread...

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/CD-Japan-server

 

stay tuned,

clay