Music Server offering a significant upgrade over a Mac Mini?

[Charente]

@Foxman50 Appreciate that you feel the Aurender is first class compared to MacMini... but WHY ? What would persuade me to switch in a 'significant way' ... as the OP suggested ?

[Charente]

@foodfiend I did consider the MMK power conversion kit for the MacMini after a conversation with UpTone ... at the time I was using USB out ... and that looks like a neat solution. However, now, I'm using a renderer via Ethernet on the network, rather than USB. I presumed that modifying the power for the MacMini would be not be worthwhile in these circs. The renderer and its PS is not a cheap solution, but probably about the same cost as a good quality server. Apart from the music going across Ethernet, rather than 'noisy' USB, a good renderer with clean output signal qualities can produce very good overall sound improvements.

[Charente]

@Foxman50 The Aurender sounds impressive and at the price I would expect nothing less... you're right that a MacMini based setup needs a bit of hand-holding but nothing traumatic IME. I guess, I prefer being able to update things in a chain more easily (cheaply ?), if I want to, as new technology arises and makes sense to me ... that's the  appeal in having a separates approach, e.g. in my case... MacMini > Audirvana > microRendu > Eitr as I have done fairly recently. But, for a setup and forget, I can see the attraction as well.

[Charente]

@foodfiend Yes, my MacMini has only one role now ... it runs Audirvana 3.1 which streams to the renderer ... and that's it. I suspect it will remain in that role 'forever' !

 

No Ethernet cleaning done to date ... there appear to be many ways to skin that cat, I don't know where to start, or even if I want to go there.

 

What I have done tho' it to clean my mains power ... using a Balanced Power Supply from Airlink has yielded a much cleaner overall presentation to the soundstage for £290 ... that is worthwhile.