Thinking of using a Mac Mini for server

[bmckenney]

I am new to this medium of digital front ends but I really want to make the move to this technology. I have read many threads on this board over the last few days and I'm somewhat informed now. I have to admit I learned quite a bit thanks to the site and forum. It seems to be the best site and forum I've seen when it comes to computer and audio. I do have a decent dedicated high end 2 channel that is primarily vinyl only. And I have a cheap older Oppo DVD player seeing limited action. I recently added room treatment to my system and I find that even my basic DVD player sounds really good because of what the room treatment did and now that I realize this I have decided to get back in to digital. And I have decided I'd prefer a server instead of the shiny disc player approach.

 

I think I'd like to go with a headless Mac Mini for my server and I have some questions about this. The reason I decided on a Mac over a PC is because I already have an iMac which I can use to remote in to the headless Mini and we also have an older Airport Express router. And a Mini could sit on my existing audio rack. It's somewhat quiet, looks good, can be controlled with an Ipod Touch... lots of upside to using the Mini.

 

Is there any down side to using a headless Mac Mini? I don't see it listed in the CASH list which seems odd to me. I know there is a limitation because an internal sound card can't be used. But I believe an external one could be used if required. Or one can just use Firewire and USB connections and appropriate DAC. Other than that, I would think it would be as good sonically as the MAC servers/laptops listed on CASH, and certainly a good buy because of the cost. Am I mssing something as far as the Mini not being a good choice?

 

On the storage front, is there any sonic advantage to using an external NAS or drives with the Mini? I know it will provide redundancy and fail over and backups, and additional storage, but is there any sonic improvements to be gained with external storage? I was thinking of just using the internal drive for now and adding some Fireware drives or maybe a NAS later. Is there anything wrong with my plan of adding external storage later?

 

On the environment front, I wanted to know if having a server like a Mini with my 2 channel rig is going to result in an noise pollution from an AC mains or RFI point of view. I do not have dedicated lines at this point. I don't have a power regenerator (e.g. PS Audio Power Plant) either. I was wondering if I should do something about this. Does a server audibly affect a 2 channel system?

 

On the DAC front, I'm not sure I want to spend $2K on something that might be obsolete in a few years that will lead to me upgrading again. I don't mind spending $1K though. In the $2K range I have a list of DACs that I'd consider based on what I've read here. But I don't have much in the $1K range other than the Proton, but I'm not sure I want a portable DAC for a dedicated 2 channel system. And I'm not sure I feel comfortable with what I've head about the build of this DAC. I would prefer a more analog sounding DAC over a lean and mean one, which rules out the Benchmark.

 

Bryan