[dBe]

Well, it is no secret that the whole lot of us here in Albuquerque have been making the best of the Tranquility DAC/MAC Mini matchup.  Eric and company have been very helpful in a lot of areas and there has been a lot of communication back and forth trying to make the magical combo even better.  I've developed the MPC/Mini power cable that really is a boon to the sound of the Mini.  During all of this Darrell McCombs and Kevin Burke have been tweaking the 2010 Mini, step by step and improvement by improvement: a little here, a little there.  Every time I heard the reference system for all of these mods: the DAC and Essential USB cable, my MPC/Mini power cable and their computer wizardry, the system sounded just a wee 'bit' better.  Tonight was an unbelieveable eye, ear and brain opener.  We compared the current SOTA of their Mini tweaks with a bone stock Mini that has come in for the full Darrell/Kevin - Dynamic Duo workover.  I am almost at a loss for words to try to explain what I heard.  I'll try to give it a shot.

Darrell's machine is a 2010 Mini with a SSD, 4 gigs of RAM using Play as an interface and reading from an external HDD that uses the Oxford controller - a controller that has been proven to be the best sounding of what is currently available.  The Mini that came in is a stock Mini as purchased also running Play.

Switching from Darrell's Mini to the stock one was like going from a wall to wall, 180 degree soundscape of lush texture and detail out the wazoo to a stark, 2 dimensional image trapped between the speakers.  Vocals lost that "they are here" quality and the harmonic series of acoustic instruments became foreshortened with a loss of clarity that makes that "real" thing happen.  Dynamics were compressed and the tail of sounds, the release just kind of slammed shut on the stock Mini whereas on the Tweaked Mini the release trailed off into blackness.  Listening to the Mini as modded by these two guys was a transcendental experience... really.  I'm not kidding.  I heard digital come of age tonight.  I am happy to have been there.  I don't know what else to say.

A few months ago we all thought that it couldn't get much better than a Mini/Tranquility combo.  Things have changed.  The bar has been raised way, waayyyy up.  These guys have opened the MAC Mini up to let the genius behind the Tranquility DAC shine through in spades.  To say that I was dumb-struck by the comparison doesn't even begin to tell the tale.  What it says is that the Tranquility is even better than we all knew it to be.  I can't wait for my Signature.  My head will probably explode.

 

Spellbound in Albuquerque,

Dave

ADDENDA:  I read what I posted and Darrell's reply and I need to add MORE to this to set the story straight and get this headed in the right direction.  The LAST thing I want to imply is that the MAC Mini is not up to the task of providing the owner with a fully satisfying musical experience.  The MAC Mini is THE BEST option for a music server that is out there.  We have compared it to several different PC based solutions including one that was built specially as a music server.  To compare a PC side by side is to a Mini is like comparing Apples (     ) and oranges.  The Mini simply kicks the crap out of a purpose built PC as a server.  If anyone reading this post has any doubts about whether or not the MAC is the best option available, they should just fold those doubts up into a little oragami goose and just throw it away.  You cannot do any better.  We've tried.  Audiophools are like that.

Darrell McCombs and Kevin Burke are a couple of local vinylheads that were looking for a digital soultion that was easier to deal with than all of the rigamarole that goes into playing a record.  I had told them that I was going to a music server as my sole source and they became interested in the concept.  That was the genesis of what has transpired since then.  They are guys just like all of us that keep tweaking their way to audio nirvana. They both have outstanding systems.

Before Darrel and Kevin started down the road to optimizing the 2010 Mini, the Tranquility DAC, along with the Essential USB cable into a Mini, was simply the best digital audio most of us had ever heard and we've heard a lot.  What I am talking about is a musical experience that has the "listen to me" characteristic of the best vinyl rigs, not the "LISTEN TO ME, DAMMIT" kind of over detailed, etched digital that is pervasive throughout the industry.  Like any other completely satisfied group of music lovers we immediately began thinking about how to make that stellar combination even better.  It is like Eric and company setting out to take the Tranquility to the next level.  I started working on some things and Kevin and Darrell on the Mini.  First, they tried all of the mods that were readily available on the 'net and then started down the road of operating systems and hardware.  The result is mind boggling.  Something that we thought couldn't get any better is now simply astonishing.

Here is the bottom line.  The Tranquility DAC/Essential USB cable/Mac Mini is the single best option available as a music server.  The sound is amazing.  Consider the service that Darrell and Kevin can provide as the icing on the cake.  Like I said earlier, no one thought that it could get any better before the MAC Mini tweaks, but it did.  The design and manufacturing genius behind both the Tranquility and the MAC Mini is astounding.  All these guys did is allow ALL of this genius to come shining through. 

Brilliant, simply brilliant.

[Tubeburner]

Are all the Mac Mini tweeks a big secret or will these be released for everyone? I will be a RMAF and would like to hear a computer based system that makes me want to move to computer based audio. So far, I have not heard one that made me want to buy. Last year's RMAF computer audio sounded bland with a few using tone controls or program equilizers to tweek the sound to get any dynamics and extension. This is a far cry from a purist system and too much hastle for audiophiles who have very little extra time. Please explain what "tweeks" it takes to make the music sound so good. Is it the dac that sound good or is it how the music is munipulated by the programs or equilizer that is helping the sound? Please explain.

Thanks!

[dBe]

Are all the Mac Mini tweeks a big secret or will these be released for everyone? I will be a RMAF and would like to hear a computer based system that makes me want to move to computer based audio. So far, I have not heard one that made me want to buy. Last year's RMAF computer audio sounded bland with a few using tone controls or program equilizers to tweek the sound to get any dynamics and extension. This is a far cry from a purist system and too much hastle for audiophiles who have very little extra time. Please explain what "tweeks" it takes to make the music sound so good. Is it the dac that sound good or is it how the music is munipulated by the programs or equilizer that is helping the sound? Please explain.

Thanks!

What these guys do to a MAC Mini is not for the faint of heart or average DIY guy.  There are too many ways that a person can screw up and end up with a $700.00 paperweight instead of a SOTA music server.  The programming changes are quite complex and go way beyond the simple mods that are running around on the DIY boards.  Darrell and Kevin have put in hundreds of hours figuring these things out and they are selling a service, just like any audio gear modifier would do.  People seem to think that because it is a computer that anyone can get in there and end up with a shining example of computer performance.  They obviously haven't dug into the new Mini in either the hardware or software side.

Are the mods available?  Yep.  Are they going to be made public?  Nope.  Not likely.  Come hear them and see for yourself if they are worth it.  We would love to see you at the show.   

Dave

[dmccombs]

Are all the Mac Mini tweeks a big secret or will these be released for everyone? I will be a RMAF and would like to hear a computer based system that makes me want to move to computer based audio. So far, I have not heard one that made me want to buy. Last year's RMAF computer audio sounded bland with a few using tone controls or program equilizers to tweek the sound to get any dynamics and extension. This is a far cry from a purist system and too much hastle for audiophiles who have very little extra time. Please explain what "tweeks" it takes to make the music sound so good. Is it the dac that sound good or is it how the music is munipulated by the programs or equilizer that is helping the sound? Please explain.

Thanks!

Tube,

   It's late here and I still have some work on the MacMini we are setting up for a customer but I wanted to answer a few of your questions before I turn in.

   We have worked very hard to reduce the background noise in the system buy reducing the load on the whole system.  We attack this in several ways.  We utilize Dave's strategy of "Less is More". 

   Kevin and I come from Vinyl backgrounds and we don't use any tone controls, EQs, remixing, or upsampling.  We use a basic music player (play.app), that doesn't even display cover art.  We play the music at its original resolution.

   The modified MacMini sounds great because of the things that are removed.  We don't try to "add" anything to the music.  It sounds digital when you do that. 

    Since the DB Audio Labs are so good, the listener hears every change we make to the MacMini.  Thier DACS are incredible, and are the reason I started to modify the heck out of my Mini.  These DACs let everything shine through.

   It sounds like we have similar approaches to audio.  I hope we meet up at RMAF.


Dave,

   I know you weren't a big Mac fan at first, and that you don't impress easily, so Thank You for the kind words.  It was a lot of fun doing this test tonight and hearing huge difference.  Watching your and Kevin's jaw hit the floor was priceless.   


Darrell

[Tubeburner]

Thank you both for the information. I look forward to meeting you at RMAF and  hearing the Mac Mini/Tranquility Dac combo. Offering a service to tweek the Mac Mini for the best sound would be welcomed for me. I listen to music to relax and spending numerous hours tweeking the Mac does not make for a relaxing condition and I do not have the knowledge. I will gladly leave that to you. I do build my own cables and have found that to be a very rewarding for my gear.
 

[ted_b]

Tubeburner, et al,
I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade here, believe me.  I own the Uberbuss and love it; I know that these guys know of what they speak, and do of what they know!!  I am positive that the improvements to the Mini are at least as good as Dave and Darrell have explained.  However...if you are going to RMAF to HEAR these changes (or to hear anything that will really really impress you) then you are likely in for a slight disappointment.  Audio shows have bad sound, period, and RMAF is really no different (this will be my 4th or 5th RMAF).  Exhibitors try to create a semblance of that magic that you'd hear in your own room, but if you go to RMAF to hear something that is better than your system (assuming you have a decent system) then you will find yourself missing your system.  BUT, if you go to RMAF to meet the developers, to understand what's new and what's being done to push the envelope, and you listen to the demos with a relative ear...i.e compare before and afters...compare to other horrible rooms....then you will love RMAF.     

[Tubeburner]

Well, I have to agree with you. I have been to RMAF three times and have been unimpressed with most of the sound, but occasionally a room will sound good. It is always nice to go home to my rig.  I have met some very good designers and have become friends with two. RMAF is a great venue to learn and explore. I do find that the base core of what the designer wants to deliver is there if you take the time to listen and try to ignore the lousy rooms. What drives me nuts is when I take a cd with dynamics in for a demo and the designer goes into panic mode and starts tweeking his "tone controls". I had one rip the cd to his computer and then bring up the equilizer to get the sound the way he wants. I understand that noone wants to demo bad sound, but let's listen to the music as it was recorded. I was more impressed with a demo that was ok and showed the weakness of the woofers in a speaker and have the designer say: "Man, can you pick something with more dynamics?" than to watch someone going nuts trying to get the track to sound right.

The Mac Mini combo interests me since I would like to consolidate my software and look at high rez files in the future. Having worked on my rig for 30 years, I do not want to go backwards, but that is always the risk. RMAF is always a good time. Hope to see you all there!

[dBe]

Well, I have to agree with you. I have been to RMAF three times and have been unimpressed with most of the sound, but occasionally a room will sound good. It is always nice to go home to my rig.  I have met some very good designers and have become friends with two. RMAF is a great venue to learn and explore. I do find that the base core of what the designer wants to deliver is there if you take the time to listen and try to ignore the lousy rooms. What drives me nuts is when I take a cd with dynamics in for a demo and the designer goes into panic mode and starts tweeking his "tone controls". I had one rip the cd to his computer and then bring up the equilizer to get the sound the way he wants. I understand that noone wants to demo bad sound, but let's listen to the music as it was recorded. I was more impressed with a demo that was ok and showed the weakness of the woofers in a speaker and have the designer say: "Man, can you pick something with more dynamics?" than to watch someone going nuts trying to get the track to sound right.

The Mac Mini combo interests me since I would like to consolidate my software and look at high rez files in the future. Having worked on my rig for 30 years, I do not want to go backwards, but that is always the risk. RMAF is always a good time. Hope to see you all there!

When you hear the Tranquility DAC/MAC Mini combo you may reconsider the hirez thing.  I was playing everything at 96 or 192/24 until I got my TranquilityDAC.  It has the effortless, natural sound that I experience with vinyl.  I sold my Cary 306 and have never looked back.  When you come to RMAF be sure to look for the short, fat, bald guy in our room.  That will be me.  We'll talk.  By the time you leave I'm pretty sure you will be a convert to the Tranquility/Mini side.

See you there!

Dave

[Big Red Machine]

Dave, I'll look you up for sure.  I want to see this unit and talk Uberbusses.

[ted_b]

Dave, I know I missed it somewhere..but what room(s) will you be in?  The directory says 3 rooms, Eric is in 2024 (mezzanine) but your blurb says "see you in 2016".  Oh well, I look forward to meeting you, regardless.

[Tubeburner]

Thanks Dave, I look forward to meeting you and discussing the setup. I appreciate all the information.

[dBe]

Dave, I'll look you up for sure.  I want to see this unit and talk Uberbusses.

I'm looking forward to the show and meeting you and all of the great people here on AC that will be there.

See ya'

Dave

[dBe]

Dave, I know I missed it somewhere..but what room(s) will you be in?  I look forward to meeting you.

Hi, Ted.  Long time no talk.  We will be in room 2024 of the Tower.  The GR Research, Dodd, dB Audio Labs, PI audio group Music Emporium.  It's gonna be fun!

Hope to see you there.

Dave

[morganc]

Hi Darell,
  How do we find you to ask about mods for our Mac Mini?   Website?   
Thanks,
Morgan

Tube,

   It's late here and I still have some work on the MacMini we are setting up for a customer but I wanted to answer a few of your questions before I turn in.

   We have worked very hard to reduce the background noise in the system buy reducing the load on the whole system.  We attack this in several ways.  We utilize Dave's strategy of "Less is More". 

   Kevin and I come from Vinyl backgrounds and we don't use any tone controls, EQs, remixing, or upsampling.  We use a basic music player (play.app), that doesn't even display cover art.  We play the music at its original resolution.

   The modified MacMini sounds great because of the things that are removed.  We don't try to "add" anything to the music.  It sounds digital when you do that. 

    Since the DB Audio Labs are so good, the listener hears every change we make to the MacMini.  Thier DACS are incredible, and are the reason I started to modify the heck out of my Mini.  These DACs let everything shine through.

   It sounds like we have similar approaches to audio.  I hope we meet up at RMAF.


Dave,

   I know you weren't a big Mac fan at first, and that you don't impress easily, so Thank You for the kind words.  It was a lot of fun doing this test tonight and hearing huge difference.  Watching your and Kevin's jaw hit the floor was priceless.   


Darrell

[dmccombs]

Hi Darell,
  How do we find you to ask about mods for our Mac Mini?   Website?   
Thanks,
Morgan

Morgan,

  We are working on a website and hope to have the basic info online by Monday.  In the mean time, I am happy to e-mail you and others an information sheet.  I have sent you a PM.

Thanks,
Darrell

[lonewolfny42]

Hi, Ted.  Long time no talk.  We will be in room 2022 of the Tower.  The GR Research, Dodd, dB Audio Labs, PI audio group Music Emporium.  It's gonna be fun!

Hope to see you there.

Dave

That room last year (RMAF-2009) was excellent (stopped in there 3 times)....
Danny does a great job transforming the hotel room into a fine audio listening room. 

Check it out....

[Skiman]

I listened to the GR research room at RMAF on Friday, then went to as many other rooms as I could squeeze in. In my humble opinion, Danny's super Vs, driven by the newer than state of the art front end, was the best I heard. Every description above is accurate. And now Danny has posted that they have tweaked it to sound even better as of Saturday. Go to room 2024!

[jtwrace]

I listened to the GR research room at RMAF on Friday, then went to as many other rooms as I could squeeze in. In my humble opinion, Danny's super Vs, driven by the newer than state of the art front end, was the best I heard. Every description above is accurate. And now Danny has posted that they have tweaked it to sound even better as of Saturday. Go to room 2024!

By posting more then once about what you heard takes a little bit of your creditability away.  I'm sorry but once is enough in the main GR RMAF thread that you posted in here http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=87014.msg849672#msg849672

[dBe]

Dave, I'll look you up for sure.  I want to see this unit and talk Uberbusses.

Pete, it was great meeting you.  Darn... you're BIG   

We'll finish our conversation soon, I'm sure. 

It was great meeting all of the people that I did.  Too bad we only get a few chances a year to do so.

Be well,

Dave

[jtwrace]

Dave, I'll look you up for sure.  I want to see this unit and talk Uberbusses.

So, ya going to take the ride?