Hey Guys,
Looking for a little advise on my planned Mac Mini music server.
I have read over JohnR's "Getting Started" sticky and have decided it is time... Thanks A LOT John
I want to keep this server as cost effective as I can while still getting the best bang for the
buck as far as sound quality goes.
So far I have (I think) decided on a base Mini:
• 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
• 2GB memory
• 500GB hard drive1
• Intel HD Graphics 3000
• OS X Mountain Lion
I will run it headless, controlled with my iPhone and/or iPad.
I plan on using Audirvana Plus as the player software.
Am I correct to understand that Audirvana handles AIFF as well as FLAC?
With the music I have on my iMac, it is a mix of both AIFF and FLAC…
From here on in, I am guessing I should go with AIFF for my lossless format?
Would there me any reason to convert my existing FLAC files to AIFF if they will play via Audirvana?
I will switch out the stock 2GB memory for 8GB from OWC for $51… 8GB should have me covered?
Swapping out the internal HD for a SSD sounds like a good idea, what size and model should I get?
As for digital out and DAC, I am still not sure if I will go for a John Kenny JKSPDIF MK3 + DAC, or the all-in-one JKDAC32.
The 1st option would give some versatility in choosing from various DACs, while the 2nd option makes for a nice tidy package.
Finally, I need to decide on what to use for external storage HDs and how to handle back-up.
A couple of 2 TB Firewire drives should cover me…
I have approx. 1500 CDs in my collection as well as about 150GB of downloaded music, maybe 1/2 is higher res (HD Tracks etc).
Does it make sense to alternate between HD-1(original) and HD-2(back-up) on monthly intervals, updating new music then and
keep the "back-up" drive off site?
For updating the HDs, would something like "Carbon Copy Cloner" do the trick?
Thanks in advance!
