Well, it is dedicated to my late 2009 Mac Mini, and I've had it now for 2 weeks or so. Wehen first connected I sensed that my Mac Mini sonics had gone somewhat backwards!
It seemed a bot rolled off and a bit washed out, frankly. I was concerned that either I simply got use to the harsher leading edge and now would have to get use to a duller one, or that maybe it was just the classic break-in period. Well....2 weeks later and it's now transformed my Mac mini into the best, quietest, most dynamic music server I've ever heard. The break-in was fairly consistent and gradual, but since I spent those 2 weeks also evaluating the Linux-based Auraliti PK90USB server I was shocked when I finally came back to the Mac Mini full-time. It made my decision quite easy, frankly. Nothing against the PK90USB at all, bu the non-Linux friendly Mytek DSD DAC, paired with my new Hynes'd Mac Mini, was making great music, and I am simply going to sell the Auraliti for the discounted $600 I paid 30 days ago (it's now $795).
The MM now has a significantly blacker background, and that aspect alone has freed up detail (micro and macro), a tighter bass response, and a view deeper into the soundstage.
I have the SR7-18V5 plugged into an older Synergistic Research AC Master Coupler power cord, and then directly into my UberBuss, bypassing the Audience Adept Response AR12 power conditioner. I am going to leave it that way, at least for now (don't fix what ain't broken).
By the way, Jason was nice enough to send an umbilical from his SR3 and I never got a chance to see if the DC barrel was the correct size...cuz I quickly realized the Hynes end was a completely different incompatible connection. Mine is a large XLR-style, while the SR3 is more of a screw-on connector. Oh well, thanks anyway Jason.
