Computer audio on the Mac – Getting Started

JohnR · « **on:** 25 Jun 2012, 09:30 am »

Hi all, I've written an introductory tutorial on computer audio on the Mac:

http://www.hifizine.com/2012/06/computer-audio-on-the-mac-getting-started/

It's the best one ever. Really!

Let me know if you agree or disagree

Crimson · « **Reply #1 on:** 25 Jun 2012, 10:27 am »

jtwrace · « **Reply #2 on:** 25 Jun 2012, 11:50 am »

Very well done.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #3 on:** 25 Jun 2012, 01:10 pm »

John, that rocked, very thorough. But you don't need to convince me, I'm a mac mini convert!

Anand.

Rocket_Ronny · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 Jun 2012, 02:50 pm »

Very nicely done. Thanks for the effort.

Rocket_Ronny

JohnR · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Jun 2012, 08:34 am »

Thanks guys

Tell all your friends! (It was a lot of work...)

timind · « **Reply #6 on:** 26 Jun 2012, 11:05 am »

Very interesting. I just browsed through it and noted a few items I'll need to check on my mac mini when I have more time tonight. Very thorough and a recommended read for anyone getting started.

rollo · « **Reply #7 on:** 26 Jun 2012, 12:02 pm »

Very helpfull John. As a non computer type it was easy to follow and understand. Good job sir.

charles

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #8 on:** 26 Jun 2012, 12:09 pm »

Quote from: JohnR on 26 Jun 2012, 08:34 am

Thanks guys

Tell all your friends! (It was a lot of work...)

I can only imagine. You had to put it in prose/vernacular so everybody could understand it. Most of us are not computer savvy

Anand.

rklein · « **Reply #9 on:** 26 Jun 2012, 02:03 pm »

John:

I have always used a PC for my computer playback. However, I have looked into going to a Mac Mini and have gotten assistance from Jason(jtrace).

Your article is very well written. Thanks for writing it.

Regards

Randy

Chipbyrd · « **Reply #10 on:** 9 Jul 2012, 11:43 am »

Thanks for the excellent article. I am relatively new to computer audio and this is helpful. Last night I downloaded Audirvana Plus and I look forward to your thoughts on that product. I am a bit embarrassed to admit it, but I don't understand a great many of the features.

QUESTION: The sound with AP is awesome, but sometimes it skips a bit right at the beginning of a new song. Did I overlook some basic setup feature? Thanks for any help.

JohnR · « **Reply #11 on:** 9 Jul 2012, 12:26 pm »

I haven't had skips specifically at the start of tracks, although that is when A+ is processing the track and loading it into memory. Perhaps there is something else going on on your computer. However, try turning on the SysOptimizer settings.

Andre2 · « **Reply #12 on:** 9 Jul 2012, 02:46 pm »

Thanks. I have read half of it, and it is making me finally starting to understand this computer audio thing, which seemed a black box to me. I have been thinking of adding a computer server for some time now, and this info will certainly help me. Good job on the good writing and visual aids.

JohnR · « **Reply #13 on:** 10 Jul 2012, 04:23 am »

Thanks Andre

I realized there's a photo missing that I never got around to taking. So here it is (not that exciting but may be helpful to illustrate)

planet10 · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Jul 2012, 06:31 am »

John,

If you have a 27" iMac music server and want to control via screenshare you can turn down the display resolution of the iMac.

dave

applesource · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Jul 2012, 11:34 pm »

Thank you John R for a such a simple, logical and well planned primer. Simplicity is not easy to achieve. The section on the itunes library is the best explanation I have come across for someone who has struggled to make sense of this. And I have never come across the "Option key" tip before. I am looking forward to the next instalment.

As a 60yo newcomer to computer sourced music, this has been so useful and I really appreciate the time you obviously put into writing this guide.

One thing that eludes me with my setup, is that from what i understand, I would be better served SQ wise getting rid of the music off the macmini and playing it from my MiniStack 2.5 backup.

The problem is I can't get the macmini to play my itunes music from my Mini Stack which I have connected by a firewire 400 cable. I carboncloned the macmini to the Stack, but now I realize I just needed to copy the Itunes library.

I can set the' start up' disk as the Mini Stack and play itunes, but most articles I have read say I should be able to play the backup disk with no issues. Where did i go wrong?

JohnR · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 Jul 2012, 05:13 am »

Quote from: planet10 on 11 Jul 2012, 06:31 am

If you have a 27" iMac music server and want to control via screenshare you can turn down the display resolution of the iMac.

Yes, until you need to do something on the 27" iMac, when you need to change it back again. Then a bit later back in the LP and it has to be done again, with windows are the wrong sizes and in the wrong places, etc...

I still don't understand why Apple don't make a version of Remote that works on Macs. I'd pay for it...

JohnR · « **Reply #17 on:** 12 Jul 2012, 05:22 am »

Quote from: applesource on 11 Jul 2012, 11:34 pm

One thing that eludes me with my setup, is that from what i understand, I would be better served SQ wise getting rid of the music off the macmini and playing it from my MiniStack 2.5 backup.

The problem is I can't get the macmini to play my itunes music from my Mini Stack which I have connected by a firewire 400 cable. I carboncloned the macmini to the Stack, but now I realize I just needed to copy the Itunes library.

I can set the' start up' disk as the Mini Stack and play itunes, but most articles I have read say I should be able to play the backup disk with no issues. Where did i go wrong?

Hi, thanks for the kind words

If I understand correctly, you can do the Option-on-iTunes-startup procedure. Then select the library located on the external drive.

I'm not sure that there's an inherent benefit to what you are doing though, unless you're running out of space on the internal drive. Some recommend using an internal SSD for the OS and putting the music on an external (non SSD) drive. Then you can RAID the external drive. However you're not doing any of that - ?

gregfisk · « **Reply #18 on:** 12 Jul 2012, 06:01 am »

JohnR,

I have been reading about how to set up my Mac mini for a few months now with some success, but your explanation is by far the best I have come across. Thank You very much for putting in what must have a boat load of time and effort.

Although from your direction, but not exactly, I was able to drag and drop my iTunes folder into one of my external hard drives, (I am not a Mac user). Now what I don't know how to do and would like to do is have my music load directly onto my external hard drives when I burn it and would also like to play music directly from one of my external hard drives while using the other one as a backup. The idea is to remove all of the music from my Mac mini hard drive as I've read this improves SQ. I've also noticed some slowing down of iTunes and a few glitches at times since I have loaded my extensive CD collection. I currently have a 500GB hard drive and 4GB of ram but with two 1TB hard drives why use it.

So, how do I do this and will I still need my iTunes program on my macmini?

Thank You again!

Greg

JohnR · « **Reply #19 on:** 12 Jul 2012, 06:33 am »

Quote from: gregfisk on 12 Jul 2012, 06:01 am

Now what I don't know how to do and would like to do is have my music load directly onto my external hard drives when I burn it and would also like to play music directly from one of my external hard drives while using the other one as a backup.

As long as you have the options set as in the screenshot below, the files should load into the external library. Here's a test to try: burn a new CD, then right-click on one of the newly loaded tracks and select "Show in Finder." Does it show up as being on the external drive?

For backups, I can't say what the best approach would be. I just use rsync to copy my library from the mini to my desktop, but that's not very user-friendly. I hadn't thought about putting anything about that in the article... hm...

You will still need iTunes on your mini, regardless of where the files are stored.