[diofan56]

Hi All

I bought a Mac Mini a couple days ago.  I'm loading my CD collection to it so I can use it as a music server.

The output is the 1/8-inch jack, correct?  That output needs to go into a DAC, correct?

What cables are available for these connections?

[JohnR]

It's a mini-TOSLINK. So you'd need to use something like this.

[diofan56]

Thanks much!

[wilsynet]

Yup, that'll work.  If you decide you want better, a USB to SPDIF converter like the Empirical Audio Off-Ramp, the Wavelength Wavelink and other similar products is a worthy upgrade.

[diofan56]

Hi John!

My Mini does not have a Toslink connection.  It has Ethernet, HDMI, USB, Firewire, and Thunderbolt.

Dave

[InfernoSTi]

Hi John!

My Mini does not have a Toslink connection.  It has Ethernet, HDMI, USB, Firewire, and Thunderbolt.

Dave

If you have Thunderbolt, it is the newest model.  That means it does have a Toslink connection that is actually the headphone jack which is why you need to special optical cable JohnR referenced: they are available on Amazon, too:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?field-keywords=toslink+for+mac&url=search-alias%3Daps&x=0&y=0

John

[diofan56]

Interesting.  I didn't know that.  Thanks for letting me know.

Dave

[wilsynet]

Even older Mac Minis have the headphone jack double as a Mini TOSLink port.  We can check for sure if we have the vintage of the Mac Mini (I'm not a Mac Mini historian and don't want to double check every model ever made).

[WC]

Apple started using the mini-Toslink ports with the first Intel minis. The G4 Mini did not have the mini-Toslink ports.

[JohnR]

Oh, I assumed it was the current model. Works good for me I've sort of become a non-believer in USB.

[simon wagstaff]

Oh, I assumed it was the current model. Works good for me I've sort of become a non-believer in USB.

USB is open to a lot of debate. In my system I find the toslink is preferable. I have an older Pioneer receiver with a USB input but I believe that older implementations of USB are subject to significant jitter. It seems to be only in the past year or so that steps have been taken to correct this.

I am quite happy using the toslink output and decibel. Decibel plays just about any file type and has some nice features, one of which is that it is only 30 bucks. The one downside is you will be limited to 24/96 through the toslink, which is fine by me.

[mcgsxr]

I have an original G4 mini myself.

Choices are using a break out cable from the 1/8th headphone jack, or using USB based DAC.

There are also USB to SPDIF devices that you might use too.

[headshrinker2]

I've been very happy with this Wireworld digital interconnect in the past.

http://www.wireworldcable.com/products/93.html

I currently use a Halide Design Bridge USB to SPDIF converter (all in a single cable) to connect my MBP to my DAC.  Highly recommended!