Trying to figure out how to proceed with music server upgrade

[crazychile]

Hey guys,

 

I’ve used iTunes on a Mac Mini or a MacBook Pro for over a decade. My entire iTunes music library consists of .wav files on an external hard drive (with additional backup drive). I currently run Amarra on the Mac and use USB out to my DAC. I also use Spotify Premium and am considering ditching that for Tidal. The system currently isn’t headless but I normally use the remote function on an iPad to select music library files,. I’ve also experimented with trial versions of VNC variants that would also let me do Spotify by remote. I use this Mac only for music, I don’t need it for web browsing or any non-music applications.

My Macs are old and I’ve been considering an upgrade to a new Mini. But to upgrade to a model with SSD and 16GB of RAM puts me in the $1100 range. This isn’t an issue but then I have to go through all the hoops to optimize system performance, Amarra can be finicky sometimes so there would also be the expense of using another app to replace it. There are power supply and other tweeks available that would also add to the cost to bring the performance up, and I’m concerned I could spend a couple grand on everything and still have something that’s just “pretty good”. I like the simplicity of the current approach, but I want something that sounds better than pretty good and think that for the same money I should be able to do something better.

 

So I’ve been researching some other options (Raspberry Pi, standalone network audio player, using AirPlay, etc) but I don’t know jack about home networks and all the configuration / distro options are pretty daunting. So I need some help with this.

Keeping in mind a budget of up to $1500….

 

Must haves:

 

1. Needs to be able to utilize my current iTunes Library. I don’t need to use iTunes, I just want to use my existing library so I don’t have to convert to a different file structure. I’d also like to use the existing Mac to rip CDs when I want to add to the library. From what I’ve read, my existing Music Folder can be used, but I could be wrong… If I needed to copy the existing drive to a new one that had Ethernet, I’d be ok with that.
   
2. I want to be able to use an iPad to control the selection of songs. Either with a specific app, or with some flavor of VNC.
   
3. Audio quality needs to exceed the level of the current system.
   
4. 
   

Like to haves:

 

1. I’d really like to ditch USB as a method of connecting to the DAC. I have an Uptone Regen and like it, but trying to perfect USB is a never ending (costly) battle. I’d like something that outputs SPDIF coax or AES/EBU if possible.
   
2. Something that would let me do Spotify or Tidal. Although if I had to use my existing mac for this, and just run another digital input into the DAC, I could live with that.
   

 

More info:

The modem and wireless router is in another part of the house. I can’t run an Ethernet cable from there to this system. However, I could connect an Ethernet cable from the existing Mac to the new equipment, or from an Ethernet Hard drive to the new equipment. If it helps I could get another router for the music system but I don’t know if it’s necessary or gains me anything.

 

So what do you guys think of all this? What should I do?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Jud]

I believe Audirvana Plus would do all those things. I very much favor the idea of an Ethernet connected drive also.

 

What age is your MBP? Mine is mid-09 and works with Audirvana Plus to upsample to DSD (or PCM) very nicely.

 

Free 2-week trial, and works with Tidal, for which you can get a free trial as well (and test out upsampled Tidal if you like).

 

It has a remote app that will work with an iPad and/or IPhone.

[master]

I'm not sure on the iTunes Library, haven't used in a really long time and that too it was only iTunes on a Windows PC. But the Aries Mini ticks all the boxes. If your media is plugged into the network (via NAS or HDD to router) can access wireless and also outputs S/PDIF. Or you can plug in an external HDD via USB.

 

FWIW, it does Tidal and the rest, but (personally) I don't think that should be a consideration when choosing h/w. So much changes each year... you don't want to buy a network player and be left with a dodo the next year or two because of lack of firmware updates. I've seen it happen.

 

A $35 Chromecast Audio takes care of Tidal, Spotify + 100s more streaming services. Just plug it into a DAC and you are all set. Or any smartphone or tablet/phablet will do... all services have apps in both the iOS and Android ecosystems anyways.

[crazychile]

I believe Audirvana Plus would do all those things. I very much favor the idea of an Ethernet connected drive also.

 

What age is your MBP? Mine is mid-09 and works with Audirvana Plus to upsample to DSD (or PCM) very nicely.

 

Free 2-week trial, and works with Tidal, for which you can get a free trial as well (and test out upsampled Tidal if you like).

 

It has a remote app that will work with an iPad and/or IPhone.

 

Thanks Jud. My MBP is a late 2009. i ve thought about Audirvana a lot but with that I'm still stuck with optimizing the Mac and a USB output. however, if another solution doesn't work, something like this will be my fall back plan.

[crazychile]

I'm not sure on the iTunes Library, haven't used in a really long time and that too it was only iTunes on a Windows PC. But the Aries Mini ticks all the boxes. If your media is plugged into the network (via NAS or HDD to router) can access wireless and also outputs S/PDIF. Or you can plug in an external HDD via USB.

 

FWIW, it does Tidal and the rest, but (personally) I don't think that should be a consideration when choosing h/w. So much changes each year... you don't want to buy a network player and be left with a dodo the next year or two because of lack of firmware updates. I've seen it happen.

 

A $35 Chromecast Audio takes care of Tidal, Spotify + 100s more streaming services. Just plug it into a DAC and you are all set. Or any smartphone or tablet/phablet will do... all services have apps in both the iOS and Android ecosystems anyways.

 

Funny you mention the Aries mini, because I've been looking at that a lot the last few days but I wasn't sure if it would work. I should contact them to see if the itunes library is compatible. Plus I also like that it has a coax digital output.

 

So in theory do I have this connection scheme correct?

Buy an ethernet router and connect an ethernet hard drive, my Mac (that has ethernet) and the Aries which then outputs to my DAC. Then I could still use the Mac to rip CDs to the library. And i'd use the Aries ipad app to control my library as well,as Aries imbedded apps such as Tidal or Spotify?

 

Thanks for all the advice so far everyone.

[crazychile]

Or maybe just use an ethernet switch (not a router) in the example above?

[master]

Funny you mention the Aries mini, because I've been looking at that a lot the last few days but I wasn't sure if it would work. I should contact them to see if the itunes library is compatible. Plus I also like that it has a coax digital output.

 

So in theory do I have this connection scheme correct?

Buy an ethernet router and connect an ethernet hard drive, my Mac (that has ethernet) and the Aries which then outputs to my DAC. Then I could still use the Mac to rip CDs to the library. And i'd use the Aries ipad app to control my library as well,as Aries imbedded apps such as Tidal or Spotify?

 

Thanks for all the advice so far everyone.

 

Or maybe just use an ethernet switch (not a router) in the example above?

 

Actually for the Aries you can dispense with the router/switch, ethernet HDD, etc. If you have an external HDD simply connect it to the Aries via USB. No real need to spend on additional h/w. You can also use an internal HDD.

 

Use its inbuilt WiFi to access the network for the likes of Tidal, Spotify, etc.

 

New content can be ripped on the Mac and then copied to the HDD and also backed up to other drives/NAS. In this case I'd dispense with the Mac at least for playback... unless you really need it for the iTunes Library. The Aries has its own app/interface and library tree... see if you can borrow one or trial it and if the iTunes can be imported into it. Auralic Support could be of help too. If that works for you then you don't need to keep the Mac in the loop... this is coming from someone who got rid of the PC and is running things wireless and headless with a NAS. I've even recently setup a buddy with an Auralic Aries with an internal SSD, it was simple plug and play easy, and all of his content resides on a simple device that can be plugged into any setup.

[Jud]

Thanks Jud. My MBP is a late 2009. i ve thought about Audirvana a lot but with that I'm still stuck with optimizing the Mac and a USB output. however, if another solution doesn't work, something like this will be my fall back plan.

 

My Mac isn't tweaked at all other than checking a couple of boxes in A+ that shut down some processes while A+ is playing music.

 

A+ works with SPDIF, so you can try the optical out from the Mac and see whether you like it better than USB.

 

The cool thing is you can try all this for free for a couple of weeks, compare to, for example, the Aries, and see what sounds better to you.

[crazychile]

My Mac isn't tweaked at all other than checking a couple of boxes in A+ that shut down some processes while A+ is playing music.

 

A+ works with SPDIF, so you can try the optical out from the Mac and see whether you like it better than USB.

 

The cool thing is you can try all this for free for a couple of weeks, compare to, for example, the Aries, and see what sounds better to you.

 

Jud, I have a decent glass fiber Toslink cable that I use periodically. I haven't done any critical comparisons between it and USB with my Regen, but going from memory they seem pretty close. I'm tempted to try the Auralic Aries Mini but need to look into it some more before I commit. The reality is that it will probably be a couple months before I make a change, and in the mean time I'll probably use Audirvana. This may be all I need. Plus I'm probably going to upgrade my DAC to a Yggdrasil this Summer so that should keep me entertained for a while.

 

 

Thanks again for all the help. (Both Jud and Master)

[crazychile]

After thinking about this for a bit I think I might just buy another Mac Mini and go with Audirvana. I remember when I researched playback software a couple of years ago that sonically both Amarra and Audirvana were pretty close, but I didn't notice the optimization in Audirvana being as robust as it is now, or maybe I didn't look close enough.

 

To save money I'll probably go with the stock mid-model Mini to save a few hundred. 8GB ram is what I have now, and I can always drop an SSD in the mini a couple years down the road.

[crazychile]

My new Mac Mini arrived on Friday and I spent part of the weekend getting it set up with Audirvana and Tidal. Thanks for the recommendation, Jud! It does seem to sound a little better than my old MacBook Pro. I'm still getting to know Audirvana, but already I like it better than Amarra. I'm still stuck with USB for now but given all the USB discoveries in the last year or so, maybe there will be an affordable one box solution in the near future to bring this close to AES/EBU or coax SPDIF. I'll let that technology shake out for a while and see where it goes. Given how long I keep my Macs, maybe I'll add an Auralic Aries or something equivalent to the system sometime down the road.