[Jonathon Janusz]

I just caught up with the buzz earlier in the week, reading about the new mac mini.

I know there will probably be some less than positive comments about the soldered in RAM. . . and buried hard drive. . . and single hard drive only option. . . and no quad core. . . and no firewire. . . and the backhanded price hike. . . and. . .

All the gripes aside for a minute, just curious if anyone got their hands on one yet and has any first impressions on sound quality compared to the 2012 model?

I'm more or less in the market for a new computer, and although I was excited when I first read that Apple finally updated the mini, after reading it reminded me that I wished I could know know what the finalized specs would be while the old ones were still around, in case the old one would fit my needs better.  Kind of reminds me when they pulled the optical drive out and (at the time) more or less burned the machine as a neat, all-in-one media center solution for me.

[jarcher]

I wouldn't stress all this too much - though I would get the $699 middle model as the value leader for the better processor, video card, and 1tb hard drive. This configuration will be more than good enough as a media server, even running DSD in memory play mode. Many audiophile servers operate with a lot lower end hardware. Used Mac minis just are too expensive to take a chance with no warranty. There is no "magic mini" model when it comes to the best sound quality. So the $699 one for the reasons mentioned above would be the best IMHO.

[SoCalWJS]

Guess I haven't been paying attention - when does this hit, or is it already here?

Was hoping to get one of these at some point......the new specs don't particularly look impressive. 

[jarcher]

New one is available now from the apple store and macmall and probably more places.

If you really feel you need quad core or the soldered ram bugs you, those older models are also still available from amazon, microcenter and other retailers.

These are convenience pcs  - I wouldn't stress that that they don't have all the very latest and best hardware. It does open the door further for alternative micro PCs, but the mini is probably one of the lowest products on the apple product totem pole.

[lowtech]

Only Apple could pull this one off.  http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/19/mac-mini-2014-benchmark/

[jarcher]

Stop the presses : Apple no longer offering an upgrade option on their slow moving entry level product!  Dirty rotten bastards. Without quad core how am I going to watch porn, update Facebook, Twitter AND listen to music at the same time?

[lowtech]

And... Since Apple knows better you'll only have 1/2 the performance of the previous Mac mini for the same price. 

[Doublej]

That's because they've spent all of your money to provide you with a gorgeous case carved from solid aluminum. How environmentally unfriendly is that?

Perhaps they really are geniuses. Have you ever seen a more beautiful doorstop?

[Crimson]

Bashing Apple is ok. Bashing people is not. Please calm down.

[jarcher]

I don't understand the fuss - they've just removed the upgrade option - the base entry level mini is more or less the same as the previous base version, perhaps even faster at basically the same price.   I don't think people would be so bothered if, say, Ford dropped a V6 option on some slow selling compact car in favor of focussing on lower powered but more efficient 4 bangers.

I will grant that soldered memory is obnoxious.

[jparkhur]

Bad:  the ram is soldered in, you must pick when you buy.  not good.  hard drive difficult to remove or even get at.  the tear down by two different groups was difficult and not good overall. 


JP
 
I will stay with the most recent one, and you could probably get one on the apple referb site cheap too.  just buy apple care.. 

[Jonathon Janusz]

I just read the ifixit teardown.  Maybe a good takeaway:  they said the new fan in the '14 model looks like the one in the '12 model.  The new fan (according to factory specs at least) is supposed to be quieter than the old one.  I didn't look at the airflow rates to compare, but if one could get the new fan and retrofit it into the old machine, maybe a little sonic performance boost for the older ones?

[dmccombs]

I just read the ifixit teardown.  Maybe a good takeaway:  they said the new fan in the '14 model looks like the one in the '12 model.  The new fan (according to factory specs at least) is supposed to be quieter than the old one.  I didn't look at the airflow rates to compare, but if one could get the new fan and retrofit it into the old machine, maybe a little sonic performance boost for the older ones?

The 2012 was pretty darn quiet, so I don't think there is much to be gained there, but I think the memory in the 2014 may yield some sonic improvements, and the new mini should draw less power overall, which may lead to less emi related noise. 

[lowtech]

In case nobody wanted to read the  link I posted, Apple in their infinite wisdom, is now selling their low-end Mini with dual core processors, effectively crippling the capability of the machine in half.  If that isn't bad enough, your memory modules will now come soldered in place.  Not a problem if you order the correct amount but a big problem if you ever feel the need to upgrade later.

[JohnR]

In case nobody wanted to read the  link I posted, Apple in their infinite wisdom, is now selling their low-end Mini with dual core processors,

You mean their "high-end Mini" - ?

It does kinda seem that the 2012 is the sweet spot for the mini in a couple of ways. I read (perhaps in the article you linked, perhaps somewhere else) that the quad-core CPU now uses a different socket to the dual-core, and that could explain the lack of quad-core in the 2014 models.

[Jonathon Janusz]

In case nobody wanted to read the  link I posted...

First, I did read it, and that fork of discussion is why I headed off my topic feeling for but trying to avoid the basic critiques of what Apple has given us, while trying to ask some insight as to how this has panned out sonically. . . on an audio forum. 

Some of my specifics on asking involved just some of the things brought up:  does the new design/construction offer any sonic benefits compared to the prior models (regarding processor choice, power consumption, memory type, etc)?  One of the points that got me wondering is that I've heard from a few sources that the firewire input for external data storage sounds better than the USB or thunderbolt interfaces moving the same data.  Anyone with thoughts on that with the new model mini?

lowtech, I'm completely with you in that as a general purpose device, the new mini seems to be a big step backward for a lot of people.  Further, although disappointed to see the lack of quad core processors (JohnR covered what the word on the street thinks as to why), unless I'm missing something, I don't believe the latest crop of audio software - in particular for those who use the mini as a dedicated music server - shows any benefit from having two more cores available and sitting idle?

[jarcher]

Thanks for bringing us back on point of different mac mini's w/ regards to music server performance. 

The short answer is until someone does an A/B of a 2012 vs a 2014, we may not know, and even then the results may be system dependent.  The 2014's have the faster WiFi (if you use it vs ethernet) and Thunderbolt is without a doubt faster for an external drive than the former Firewire 800.  You'd think that lower power consumption MAY make for a "quieter" server, but at the low levels we are already talking about in the 2012 vs the 2014, it might not make a difference. 

As for Thunderbolt vs Firewire for data access w/ respect to sound quality : I REALLY doubt that there is any sound quality difference.  There's enough to stress w/ PC audio : don't let this also be another item.  What is more important : use one interface (thunderbolt or usb) for the external drive, use the other for the DAC.  Or better yet : use USB for the DAC and a network drive (NAS etc) for the data storage (assuming you have a very large music collection which will not fit on the internal drive). 

At the end of day in what is the here & now and YOUR purchase decision, yes in theory a maxed out 2012 mini w/ quad processors and maxed out 16GB memory may offer somewhat better SPEED performance as a music server than a base 2014 mini.  In my personal experience running both a base 2010 mac mini as a music server and also experimenting with a maxed out 2012 quad core mac mini I also own (max memory + SSD), I don't notice any substantial performance difference - and that's using Pure Music in full Memory Mode and running super fat DSD files as well. 

For me you'd be better off buying a base 2014 mini and putting the savings vs 2012 TOTL mini into eventually having it modded by some place like Mojo Audio to bypass the dirty internal switching power supply for one of their filters and linear power supply's (or get your own).  I.e. if you have to spend $1200 on a TOTL 2012 vs $500 on a base 2014 w/ $1K worth of mods / power supply, the latter would be a MUCH better investment as a music server.  Remember : what makes most high end audio servers from the likes of Lumin, Aurender, etc is not the processor or even memory : it's more about the simplicity and quality of the circuit design and power supply (less noise). 

Hope that helps!

[dB Cooper]

Used Mac minis just are too expensive to take a chance with no warranty.

If it still has applecare in effect, that is transferable to a second owner, for whatever time remains.

[jarcher]

If it still has applecare in effect, that is transferable to a second owner, for whatever time remains.

Do many people get extended Apple Care on cheap Mac Minis?  I know I never did.  I'd also prefer something at the beginning of it's hard drive life vs at mid to end - even if I might be able to get it replaced under warranty.  The process of physically replacing a hard drive on a mac mini is not too difficult, having done it myself, but there also the time involve in cloning or rebuilding the new hard drive.  All to save maybe $200?