[bogiedr]

Hello everyone, two channel vinyl guy here! The closest to digital was a cd collection residing in an Escient that blew a power supply. I am told to replace it is as simple as a Mini Mac, Ipad and Itunes, connecting the Mac to a DAC and into my two channel system ... it cannot be that simple, can it?? Thanks,
Bogie

[jparkhur]

Yes, and buy a big hard drive with 7200 rotations on drive

[skunark]

Hello everyone, two channel vinyl guy here! The closest to digital was a cd collection residing in an Escient that blew a power supply. I am told to replace it is as simple as a Mini Mac, Ipad and Itunes, connecting the Mac to a DAC and into my two channel system ... it cannot be that simple, can it?? Thanks,
Bogie

Perhaps replace the power supply escient?     What is prompting the change?     Do you have a backup of what was ripped? If not you probably could just pull the HDD out of the escient and connect to the Mac Mini via a USB HDD enclosure or adapter (Rosewill RCW-618).

If you are looking for a change, a mac mini, iPad and iTunes is a great path and extremely flexible.  With anything there are tradeoffs, iTunes doesn't play FLAC files but you can also use sbooth.org/max or the several other dozen players.   Depending on the size of your collection, i would recommend mobile drives to avoid wall-warts,. Depending on the player that you are using consider maxing the RAM on the mac mini, 4GB is fine for most players though.   I would recommend a second HDD to be a time machine backup.    If you plan to use a USB DAC, make sure you review the recommendations on how to set up, they can be daunting.  (examples: http://www.empiricalaudio.com/computer-audio/ http://www.wavelengthaudio.com/usbdac.html)  Perhaps that advice is overkill now.   All macs have optical outputs so that's an option as well.   

[newzooreview]

I'm getting sound as good as vinyl from my Mac + DAC setup, but all the details matter.

I have a MacMini, modified by Mach2 Music (http://www.mach2music.com/)
That's feeding a dB Audio Tranquility SE DAC with Essential SE USB cable. (Yeah, it's pretty easy to hear the differences between USB cables). http://www.dbaudiolabs.com/signatureDac.html The music is in AIFF format on an external Firewire 800 drive connected by a Firewire cable that removes the power connection going over the cable. (Yeah, that is an audible improvement too, and I'm not really into power cables. I've tried plenty of power cable that made no difference, and my $2000 DAC uses a $12 cable. But the right cable with the right component does matter).

I would never ever consider vinyl or a standard CD player at this point.

And for playback software just use http://sbooth.org/Decibel/

There's a lot more to say, but this is the best approach going (after having tried others and read endless accounts and theories about computer audio).

I've never had better sound from my system (in 20 years) than I do now.

I do not have any financial relation to any of these guys, and they have been great to deal with.

[tasar]

This is an approach I'd like. As for external drives, containing ITunes library and music folder, how is one to keep audio files from duplicating with each successive backup. I know Time Machine syncs things, but how else can one keep from replacing files ,as Tunes would have you do, everytime you back your music folder ? I've heard software as Retrospect and ChronoSync solve this redundancy. Of course, one could always make a mental note or record files ripped from previous backup, subsequently only backup these additional files, but this seems tedious.

I also wonder if one should only backup the "music" folder containing the actual audio file folders, or should you backup the ITunes "library" folder, also, thereby keeping everything organized ? I referring here to your "backup" drive, not the "working" drive from which you play.
author=newzooreview link=topic=91450.msg906728#msg906728 date=1297827622]
I'm getting sound as good as vinyl from my Mac + DAC setup, but all the details matter.

I have a MacMini, modified by Mach2 Music (http://www.mach2music.com/)
That's feeding a dB Audio Tranquility SE DAC with Essential SE USB cable. (Yeah, it's pretty easy to hear the differences between USB cables). http://www.dbaudiolabs.com/signatureDac.html The music is in AIFF format on an external Firewire 800 drive connected by a Firewire cable that removes the power connection going over the cable. (Yeah, that is an audible improvement too, and I'm not really into power cables. I've tried plenty of power cable that made no difference, and my $2000 DAC uses a $12 cable. But the right cable with the right component does matter).

I would never ever consider vinyl or a standard CD player at this point.

And for playback software just use http://sbooth.org/Decibel/

There's a lot more to say, but this is the best approach going (after having tried others and read endless accounts and theories about computer audio).

I've never had better sound from my system (in 20 years) than I do now.

I do not have any financial relation to any of these guys, and they have been great to deal with.
[/quote]

[skunark]

This is an approach I'd like. As for external drives, containing ITunes library and music folder, how is one to keep audio files from duplicating with each successive backup. I know Time Machine syncs things, but how else can one keep from replacing files ,as Tunes would have you do, everytime you back your music folder ? I've heard software as Retrospect and ChronoSync solve this redundancy. Of course, one could always make a mental note or record files ripped from previous backup, subsequently only backup these additional files, but this seems tedious.

I also wonder if one should only backup the "music" folder containing the actual audio file folders, or should you backup the ITunes "library" folder, also, thereby keeping everything organized ? I referring here to your "backup" drive, not the "working" drive from which you play.
author=newzooreview link=topic=91450.msg906728#msg906728 date=1297827622]
I'm getting sound as good as vinyl from my Mac + DAC setup, but all the details matter.

I have a MacMini, modified by Mach2 Music (http://www.mach2music.com/)
That's feeding a dB Audio Tranquility SE DAC with Essential SE USB cable. (Yeah, it's pretty easy to hear the differences between USB cables). http://www.dbaudiolabs.com/signatureDac.html The music is in AIFF format on an external Firewire 800 drive connected by a Firewire cable that removes the power connection going over the cable. (Yeah, that is an audible improvement too, and I'm not really into power cables. I've tried plenty of power cable that made no difference, and my $2000 DAC uses a $12 cable. But the right cable with the right component does matter).

I would never ever consider vinyl or a standard CD player at this point.

And for playback software just use http://sbooth.org/Decibel/

There's a lot more to say, but this is the best approach going (after having tried others and read endless accounts and theories about computer audio).

I've never had better sound from my system (in 20 years) than I do now.

I do not have any financial relation to any of these guys, and they have been great to deal with.

Time Machine only keeps one copy of a given file it backs up unless it's changed.  Then it will either keep an incremental change file if one can be created or it will keep a copy of the multiple versions which you can select which one you would want on a restore based on the "time-frame" you want to restore from.   Apples description of Time Machine is pretty good, I recommend that folks do go read it.   It's also very simple to do a full or partial restore and you can select a time-frame of the last known good backup before the failure.

 iTunes only asked you to back up if you purchase media from the iTunes store, it will not back up any CDs you ripped via iTunes.     For most folks, the CD is your physical backup copy, time machine can reduce the effort to re-rip your collection and is highly recommended.  If you purchase Media online, it's best understand the download policies of the site and you might want to make your own physical copy to a cd or dvd disc.

It's best to back up the entire "iTunes" folder if your end-goal is to restore with iTunes working exactly like it did before.  Otherwise you will have to re-import, and re-download any album art iTunes stored in various folders.

[bogiedr]

Great information, thanks! I will visit your reccomendations. In the meantime I am sending the escient back to their repair vendor to get an assessment of the damage. I will then make a decision based on their estimate for repairs. Will keep you posted. 

[Bemopti123]

 iTunes only asked you to back up if you purchase media from the iTunes store, it will not back up any CDs you ripped via iTunes.   

This is a first to me, does this mean that all the CDs and other mediafiles that are not Itunes store natives, are not backed up when I use Timemachine?  Should the HDD crash, will I have to do redone everything? 

If this is what I understood, then perhaps I should have an extension folder with the Itunes music library in it and continuously have Timemachine backing a copy of it. 

[skunark]

This is a first to me, does this mean that all the CDs and other mediafiles that are not Itunes store natives, are not backed up when I use Timemachine?  Should the HDD crash, will I have to do redone everything? 

If this is what I understood, then perhaps I should have an extension folder with the Itunes music library in it and continuously have Timemachine backing a copy of it.

Time machines isn't an "iTunes" backup.     Time machine has you covered.    If  you purchase something through iTunes, let assume every does here, Top Gear, once it downloads iTunes sometimes will prompt you to back up recent purchases to DVD.   But iTunes won't prompt you on stuff you add outside of the store.   

Time Machine does the entire drive and attached USB/FW drives minus what you tell it to exclude.

[tasar]

I've had IT apple guys say even Time Machine can fail. They suggest backing thru 3rd party software from ChronoSync, Retrospect, or NTI Shadow. These programs eliminate file duplicity with each successive backup save. ITunes forces one to make a choice, "replacing" files is a poor one. Further, most here would be more inclined to have a dedicated audio file backup, so the hard drive or two, as in mirrored, would be a reasonable approach and far more reasonable than going back to re-rip a CD. Backing merely the actual "Music" folder under the "ITunes Library" folder, is sufficient. When you dock this backup drive, after another's failure, ITunes will automatically look for the drive's music and then restructure the files. You could also send the ITunes "Library" folder over to the backup drive and the "music" folder will travel over with it keeping everything in one place if so desired. This will eliminate ITunes from restructuring files when the backup drive is put into use.

As for hard drives, one should consider 2 backup drives as opposed to one, and the inevitable CD. Bottom line, all drives fail at the worst time. Mirroring or Raid avoids this easiest as one drive saves the day for it's other pair. You can purchase Raid drives with onboard software to accomplish mirroring(making 2 copies), or you can buy 2 like drives and use the Raid software built into the disk utility on your Mac. Not sure what facility is offered on the PC. Some company's package synching software with their drive enclosures. This is a nice feature for keeping files organized without duplication, which is the whole point behind this thread. I hope this helps all those out there thinking of going this route.

[simon wagstaff]

I am using a Mac Mini via optical digital out to my surround receiver. I have a hard time believing that it is worth $1,000 to modify a Mac Mini since it is just a digital output. The software used can make a difference. itunes is not ideal, you need to change the setting depending upon the output you want, each time.


I have a fire wire input into my receiver as well though I haven't tried that as of yet.

I am using COG and it works very well. It will decode shn, flac, apple lossless and all sorts of things. I can use it to output hi rez audio files directly.

As for hard drives I highly recommend using ones with a wall wart or other external power supply. that way it doesn't drain on your computer's power supply.

Just my 2 cents.

[chrisby]

I am using a Mac Mini via optical digital out to my surround receiver. I have a hard time believing that it is worth $1,000 to modify a Mac Mini since it is just a digital output. The software used can make a difference. itunes is not ideal, you need to change the setting depending upon the output you want, each time.


I have a fire wire input into my receiver as well though I haven't tried that as of yet.

which one would that be?

I am using COG and it works very well. It will decode shn, flac, apple lossless and all sorts of things. I can use it to output hi rez audio files directly.

As for hard drives I highly recommend using ones with a wall wart or other external power supply. that way it doesn't drain on your computer's power supply.

Just my 2 cents.

While not exactly a "mini" question - are folks finding any difference in audio quality between the HDMI and toslink output on the new ATV streamer?

I've got mine connected to a Denon AVR and so far the only music source I'm using it with is iTunes / Airplay from a MBP.  In the main system in another room, the sound quality is definitely superior when using the optical output from the MacBook, vs wireless to AEX, but then tethered to the DAC kinda defeats the convenience factor.   Ideally of course, there would be a "mini" or like device hardwired into optical or firewire input in each room's system, but one step at a time.

[simon wagstaff]

I have a Pioneer TSX 59i with the iLink input which is the same as fire wire. I currently have a DV79i connected via fire wire though it does have two fire wire ports.

I have been very happy with the toslink connection and it appears that 24/96 is supported.