The MacSandwich is now available...

dBe · « **on:** 17 Nov 2010, 04:05 am »

We are pleased to announce our latest in a group of items for the 2010 Mac Mini.

Trumpets, please: The MacSandwich

No lo-cal offering here. It is a mass loading isolation platform that incorporates EMI and RFI absorbing materials into the base and top. We have found that the Mini sounds best when placed on cones with a weight on top. The Mini is only 7.7" x 7.7" and can get a little wobbly when placed on cone footers, so the unit is 9.75" wide x 7.7" deep. The 1" thick top and bottom are made from Medex and have pockets milled into them which are filled with the weighted, lossy material to eliminate radiated EMI and RFI from escaping and airborne interference from getting into the Mini.

The MacSandwich will be available in two flavors: The Basic is our tried and true semi-gloss Stealth Black and has an introductory price of $149.00. The Deluxe is (pictured) is Graphite Satin in color that provides a striking contrast to the Mini's satin aluminum finish. Introductory price on the Deluxe is $179.00. Both of the flavors have the brushed aluminum alignment pins that are pictured. Production time is 10 days right now. Shipping is $12.00 via USPS Priority Mail in the continental USA.

The MacSandwich is extremely effective: bass is tighter and deeper; soundstage is BWD (bigger, wider, deeper) with pinpoint imaging; highs are cleaner - all of the things that good isolation platforms bring to the table are here in this tidy little package. For best results, we recommend that these platforms be used with the footer of your choice, or some of the An Audible Difference cones that are available from us.

Teamed up with the MPC/Mini power cable (on special for $225 + $12.00 shipping through the end of the month) and you will have performance that is truly SOTA as a server. Of course we recommend the excellent dB Audio Labs Tranquility DACs and Essential USB cable and the Mach2 Music Server for incredible performance.

Thanks for looking and stay tuned for more PI audio group Mac Mini MusicServer items, coming soon.

Dave

highfilter · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 04:13 am »

Great to see you back in action, Dave!

This looks great. Once I get my audio spending overdose under control, you'll be hearing from me. Did you ever get a chance to do an aluminum silver color instead of the black? A picture of that would be interesting. Also, what are the prices for the cones and do you know the cone dimensions? Just thinking how much headroom I would need in my rack.

Best,
Clayton

srclose · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 04:37 am »

That graphite color is very cool. The sandwich looks like a UFO containment device

satfrat · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 04:54 am »

Very nice indeed Dave. If it performs as well as it looks with the Mac Mini, you should be getting some interesting feedback shorty. I look forward to reading all about it.

ps, I hope your thumb is starting to look as purty as that graphite MacSandwich does.

Cheers,
Robin

dBe · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 04:57 am »

Quote from: highfilter on 17 Nov 2010, 04:13 am

Great to see you back in action, Dave!

This looks great. Once I get my audio spending overdose under control, you'll be hearing from me. Did you ever get a chance to do an aluminum silver color instead of the black? A picture of that would be interesting. Also, what are the prices for the cones and do you know the cone dimensions? Just thinking how much headroom I would need in my rack.

Best,
Clayton

Good to be back in the swing of things (mostly).

I couldn't find a silver that I liked to match the color of the Mini. The silvers were close, but close didn't cut it for me. The contrast of the medium grey (Graphite) is very good looking and the silver and the grey accent each other nicely. The picture makes the grey appear a little darker than it really is.

The cones are ~ 1.5" tall. I should have pictures of them in a day or two. Jim will be getting them to me so I can get them posted. He has a very cool set of small isolators that work extremely well. They are 1" diameter hard maple discs that are 1/4" thick. They have an indentation in the center that receives a 1/4" diameter ball. The ball materials vary - brass, ceramic, steel, delrin and a couple of other options. I think the pricing is $29.95 for a set of 4, but I could be wrong. Very cool little units, especially for smaller pieces of gear like the Mini.

dBe · « **Reply #5 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:03 am »

Quote from: srclose on 17 Nov 2010, 04:37 am

That graphite color is very cool. The sandwich looks like a UFO containment device

Thanks, Steve. If it were a UFO containment device it would be made from unobtanium and floatium instead to Medex

Dave

dBe · « **Reply #6 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:07 am »

Quote from: satfrat on 17 Nov 2010, 04:54 am

Very nice indeed Dave. If it performs as well as it looks with the Mac Mini, you should be getting some interesting feedback shorty. I look forward to reading all about it.

ps, I hope your thumb is starting to look as purty as that graphite MacSandwich does.
Cheers,
Robin

Thank you for the compliment and the good thoughts. My thumb is manageable with the pain meds and the antibiotics are starting kick in. One step at a time.

Dave

roscoeiii · « **Reply #7 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:19 am »

And would this work with a pre-2010 Mac Mini too?

dBe · « **Reply #8 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:29 am »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 17 Nov 2010, 05:19 am

And would this work with a pre-2010 Mac Mini too?

Roscoe, yes and no. The older Mini is obviously smaller in width and depth and taller. As long as you don't mind the depth of the MacSandwich I can cut longer alignment pins to allow for the increased height of the older unit. Other than that, no problem.

dave

dmccombs · « **Reply #9 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 06:03 am »

"I held the Precious in my hands, and I did not want to give its back" - Gollum.

I have one of the prototypes and can attest to the sonic advantages this provides. Run, don't walk, before Dave changes his mind on this. It widened my soundstage and made it much deeper. All the while, the instruments stayed tight and focused.

I have held two of these production units in my hands in the last two days, and did not want to give it back. The Graphite color and finish is terrific.

Darrell
www.mach2music.com

jdbrian · « **Reply #10 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 11:34 am »

Hi Dave

Just a couple of questions re. the sandwich. Does the top plate sit directly on the mini or is there some interface material between the Medex and the top of the mini? Also, since the sandwich attenuates RF energy, does it reduce the range of the WiFi when you are using a Touch as a remote?

Brian

jtwrace · « **Reply #11 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 12:31 pm »

Quote from: dBe on 17 Nov 2010, 05:29 am

Roscoe, yes and no. The older Mini is obviously smaller in width and depth and taller. As long as you don't mind the depth of the MacSandwich I can cut longer alignment pins to allow for the increased height of the older unit. Other than that, no problem.

dave

Dave

I do think it's important to offer it for the older Mini too.

BTW-where's the phone jack port on the Sandwich?

jtwrace · « **Reply #12 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 12:36 pm »

Quote from: dmccombs on 17 Nov 2010, 06:03 am

I have one of the prototypes and can attest to the sonic advantages this provides. Run, don't walk, before Dave changes his mind on this. It widened my soundstage and made it much deeper. All the while, the instruments stayed tight and focused.

Darrell
www.mach2music.com

Geez. Between the Mach2 upgrades, MacSandwich, Tranquility Labs DAC, Power Cord & USB Cable the soundstage must be as wide as Lincoln Center. Everytime I read something the soundstage has gotten wider, deeper......

jtwrace · « **Reply #13 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 12:50 pm »

Another thought.

What about the hard drive(s)? At least the Mini most people have placed SSD in them so damping isn't as much of a concern. The external drives though have that spining drive (7200) in them. Not only for damping but what about the EMI / RFI?

Where does it end?

JLM · « **Reply #14 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 12:57 pm »

I hope the sandwiching involves clamping the Mini to creat a single mass. This concept makes a lot more sense to me than just counting on gravity to couple the component to a base.

Yeah, what about the hard drives?

How about a rack system to stack the Mini and external hard drive between three layers of Medex (and that would increase mass even more).

Could you link us to an explanation of what Medex is and it's audible advantages?

jtwrace · « **Reply #15 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 12:59 pm »

This means I would need a Triple MacSandwich. That sounds yummy.

dmccombs · « **Reply #16 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 01:40 pm »

Quote from: jtwrace on 17 Nov 2010, 12:36 pm

Geez. Between the Mach2 upgrades, MacSandwich, Tranquility Labs DAC, Power Cord & USB Cable the soundstage must be as wide as Lincoln Center. Everytime I read something the soundstage has gotten wider, deeper......

Jason,

I have a challenging room, and B&W speakers. When I started out, my soundstage saw very small (like Rhode Island small). So when something improves that soundstage I appreciate it. With all these mods, I am no longer soundstage challenged.

The other issue is that many of my friends have planar speakers which have terrific soundstage. My speakers feel like "the littlest guy int he room" without the mods.

Sorry if I've sounded like a broken record, but the comments are true. My soundstage used to suck bigtime...

Darrell

ADD · « **Reply #17 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 02:35 pm »

Dave it has coolness factor and It works. Congrads!!!!!! Another winner for the cronically ill audiophile.
Do you guys ever sleep.
Igor

roscoeiii · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 02:43 pm »

Can I get mine with no mayo?

dBe · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 03:41 pm »

Quote from: jdbrian on 17 Nov 2010, 11:34 am

Hi Dave

Just a couple of questions re. the sandwich. Does the top plate sit directly on the mini or is there some interface material between the Medex and the top of the mini? Also, since the sandwich attenuates RF energy, does it reduce the range of the WiFi when you are using a Touch as a remote?

Brian

Brian, there is a piece of 1/16" thick medium density foam rubber between the top and the bottom of the Mini. Can't go scratching that baby up, you know?

***** edit - here is a picture. The foam is held in place with 2 sided tape so that it can be removed if necessary.

***** end edit

WiFi range does not seem to be effected. RF noise is uncorrelated and therefore lower in discreet amplitude. Makes it easier to attenuate than a correlated signal like Wifi.

Dave