mattjtaylor2809 Posted June 29, 2015 Posted June 29, 2015 Hi All, After reading the advice of few on this forum I bought a 2009 Mac Mini about 18 months ago. Since then I've loaded all my music (iTunes) & use PureMusic2 into a PS Audio DAC but done nothing else. I had planned to replace the HD for a SSD & potentially adding a linear power supply but I don't know whether these mods are still the "best bang for buck"? In regards to the HD, if I was to buy an external SSD, would this work as well as one in situ as I'm not that keen to open it up. Also, last time I looked into a linear power supply, they were quite large & expensive so before I go down this road, I thought I better check with the experts. Am I still looking the right direction or have people moved on from Mac Mini's onto something else? It's not the most user friendly (read wife friendly)! Cheers Matthew
Guest Posted June 29, 2015 Posted June 29, 2015 Hello Matthew Something with an SSD and a decent sound card, then hot up the sound card with some "special op amps" Check out the last page of the battery Audiophile story, that is where I ended up. Wife can be "taught" where to switch it on. Cheers Matthew
Ancientflatulence Posted June 29, 2015 Posted June 29, 2015 (edited) Cheapest linear PSU available that I have found is the http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TeraDak-MAC-Mini-DC18-5V-10A-Audiophile-HiFi-Linear-Power-Supply-/131319808560?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e93454230 at $440. There are other cheap(ish) PSU's that can give the correct voltage but they are not supplied with a cord to connect to the Mac which as you may know has the troublesome Isense wire. Please buy one and then you can tell me if they are a good thing or not ........ I am running 2 SSD's in my Mac, it works well. Edited June 29, 2015 by Ancientflatulence
mattjtaylor2809 Posted June 29, 2015 Author Posted June 29, 2015 I am running 2 SSD's in my Mac, it works well. Thanks, I'll check out the LPS....when you say you're running x2 SSD's, are these external to your Mac mini? Cheers Matthew
davewantsmoore Posted June 29, 2015 Posted June 29, 2015 Hello Matthew Something with an SSD and a decent sound card, then hot up the sound card with some "special op amps" He already has a very high quality external DAC..... putting one inside the computer would be a backwards step. Am I If you're not using the computer for other "computer things" .... then you could look for some sort of dedicated playback/streaming device (there's lot to choose from) If you really want a computer.... then consider if the 2009 MM is fast enough for you before you plow money into it. Newer MMs can also take a linear power supply, if you're prepared to open them up and change a board over ---- it's not very hard (no soldering).... about the same difficulty as opening one to put in a SSD.
Ancientflatulence Posted June 29, 2015 Posted June 29, 2015 Both SSDs are internal with the original HDD replaced with a small SSD with the software on it. The previous owner stripped out the wifi and bluetooth to reduce the chance of radio interferance and also removed CD mechanism which is where a second 750GB SSD resides which has all my music stored as WAV files on it. The Mac runs headless using an external wifi router controlled by an android tablet using Mocha VNC to start Jriver and shut down (to do anthing more complicated I find it is easier to plug a screen and mouse in) and using EOS to control Jriver. Note that this purely for music playback, no video, TV or movies. 1
astr0b0y Posted June 29, 2015 Posted June 29, 2015 Did using PureMusic2 make a big difference to using iTunes standalone?
mattjtaylor2809 Posted June 30, 2015 Author Posted June 30, 2015 Hi Guys, My mac mini is a dedicated music server so I could remove Bluetooth & any other "boards" I don't need but I need wifi to remain as this is how I load my music files via homes-haring from my main iTunes library on my iMac. How much of a difference does moving to a SSD make? Maybe I could "open her up" & switch out the HD but I wouldn't know where to start & last time I looked, I stopped at "get out a palette knife...." Would an external SSD be better for SQ Vs an internal HD? In terms of PureMusic2...I've not noticed a big diff in SQ Vs the original PM but it's certainly better than running iTunes. Cheers all Matt
davewantsmoore Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Would an external SSD be better for SQ Vs an internal HD? Disconnecting the power to the internal hard disk, will mean less electrical noise inside the computer. Whether or not this will help will depend on the rest of your system (not if it's "good", but whether it's sensitive to the electrical noises effects). ... but disconnecting the power to the internal hard disk will require opening the computer. Not related to SQ.... but an SSD would be faster than an HDD ... but not if the SSD is connected externally (eg. USB or Firewire)
Sir Rab of Everest Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Replacing the drive of a 2009 Mac Mini is a bit fiddly, but fairly easy if you follow the online video guide... I think I used one from OCZ, and have done it several times now. Replacing the RAM is even easier.
Jonny Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Could put away a few grand and get a music server as I just did. I don't miss messing around with different music players on my Mac and have a hard drive full of music. The SQ of a server is a massive improvement! I got the Antipodes DS(which is now sold out) but they are releasing another entry level server soon. Their units with linear power supply's are very expensive though. Plenty of other servers on the market of course.
mattjtaylor2809 Posted July 1, 2015 Author Posted July 1, 2015 Hi Guys, Ok, if I'm going to go down the road, what SSD should I buy. Are these ok? http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/SSD/Mercury_Electra_3G_Solid_State Also, it is worth removing the optical disc drive to double memory, pro's & con's? http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DDMM09SSD480/ Cheers Matthew
Ancientflatulence Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) Both of mine plus one I have in a Windows desktop are Samsung, I think from memory the EVO. I think the extra drive mounting adaptor was nothing flash. Pros and cons of the second drive are eveything in one box, no USB cable or connection degradation, heaps of storage if you have the $ to do it. The only con as far as I can tell is the loss of the CD drive. PS I am unfamiliar with thw OWC branded SSDs, google around and you may find out who makes them for OWC, Edited July 1, 2015 by Ancientflatulence
Jventer Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Please allow me to digress. I am a Mac Mini owner - great piece of equipment. Problem is which one and in what configuration will it give the best sound. Empirical Audio promoted the 2009 mac mini In general: if you can improve the power supply, remove/switch off things you dont need and then move to some configuration where a SSD is involved I read it is even better. BUT on Computeraudiophile there is a train of thought that ramdisks and other methods are more effective also on Computeraudiophile there are suggestions that the later mac minis are better and there are also people that run windows on the mac mini's with the associated different software and other tweaks. In other words I am not convinced that the 2009 model in 2015 is still the best around. I would be hesitant to go for all the mods at considerable expense if I could buy something modern that does the same and or are better. 2
Ancientflatulence Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 It is a conundrum ........ and if you throw NUCs and other small boards and Linux players into the equation you could spin in circles for eternity ......... that is one reason I haven't shelled out for an expensive power supply that will basically only do for the 2009 Mac Mini. 1
mattjtaylor2809 Posted July 1, 2015 Author Posted July 1, 2015 Thanks all, I'll keep researching as I'm intrigued into what a difference I can make by making some changes but I'll not go overboard. Having said that, I've found these...: http://welbornelabs.com/cat/computerpowersupplyupgrades.htm These look like they're about $450 US but have a $100 offer on at the moment. http://www.teradak.com/products/72.html - As listed above. I've emailed them for a direct price to see what happens? http://www.keces.com.tw/5_english/index_5_english.htm Keces DC Regulated Power supply from Taiwan, not sure about price but I think $499? http://www.hd-plex.com/HDPLEX-Fanless-Linear-Power-Supply-for-PC-Audio-and-CE-device.html - $365 US but not clear it can be used with a mac mini? http://yourfinalsystem.com/custom-modifications/yfs-music-servers - not sure on pricing & this solution requires some direct connection internally The one I'm most interested in is the Teredak but I've not read any reviews.....I'll keep looking. Cheers all Matthew
mattjtaylor2809 Posted July 1, 2015 Author Posted July 1, 2015 What experience do people have with this SSD http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/pc-peripherals/solid-state-drive/evo/MZ-75E250BW Cheers Matthew
MarcusHix Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Have ordered the Mac Mini D-C Conversion/Linear Fan Controller Kit from Uptone to upgrade my Mac Mini 2011. Will it make a noticeable difference....have to wait for it to arrive and listen! 1
astr0b0y Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 I've just added my first DAC to my system, being fed by a 2011 Mac mini and now using Pure Music 2 demo. Both the DAC and Pure Music have made noticeable improvements to the sound, which I am surprised at. My opinion is still that an SSD will help with the speed of the system, loading files into RAM etc. but different SSDs won't effect the sound.
Ancientflatulence Posted July 3, 2015 Posted July 3, 2015 First up the music storage SSD in my Mac Mini is the Samsung 840 EVO 750GB and it has been absolutely no trouble and is a year and a half old.Next, Welbourne Labs have a lot of bad press on the Internet and some good press so I decided to take a punt on being lucky. I emailed them and asked them whether they had sorted their difficulties out and was assured that all was fine. So I ordered a power supply from them. Upon enquiry I was told it had been shipped on a certain date, 21 days later I had not received it and they did not know where it was so I initiated a Paypal dispute and got a refund. The power supply never arrived ...... so draw your own conclusion. One other thing, Google Earth their street address ..........HD Plex - I emailed them and asked if I could use one of their power supplies with a 2009 MM and they said no because of the Isense wire. I asked if they could make me a connector cable and the response was "I will ask". 3 months later I am still waiting for an answer so my guess is "no".YFS - I think you might find that the one your link goes to is a 12 volt one for the later model MMs.I thought I had contacted Keces also but I can find no email evidence so maybe I am mistaken. I also contacted Teddy Pardo recently and they do not do one either.I will be interested to see what Teradak have to say ...............
mattjtaylor2809 Posted July 4, 2015 Author Posted July 4, 2015 I've emailed the folk at Teredak & asked them if they know of any reviews & I've not heard back from them as yet but it does look bespoke for a 2009 Mac mini & it's the only LPSU I've seen with MM power cable supplied. Sent from my HTC_0PFJ50 using Tapatalk
Ancientflatulence Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 I think some of the $1000+ US power supplies would come with cables but $1000 is a lot for PS with such an odd bod voltage. If the PSU is adjustable down as far as 12V so that it could be utilized with other machines it may be worthwhile, just keep changing and modifying the power supply to suit what you have.
mattjtaylor2809 Posted July 4, 2015 Author Posted July 4, 2015 Agreed.....also, thanks for the info via the PM, This is all I received back from Teradak "Audiophile specialized 18.5V10A linear power supply for Apple MAC MINI The price is $330 USD that includes express shipping fee to Australia" I'm still interested in this LPSU & may just pull the trigger. Matt
Ancientflatulence Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 Do It, Do It, Do It, Do It, Do it, Do It, Do It ........................... etc (traditional schoolboy chant)
mattjtaylor2809 Posted July 4, 2015 Author Posted July 4, 2015 I will, I will, I will.......but just not sure what I should do 1st & what will have the bigger effect on SQ, SSD or LPSU? Alternatively do I look at an alternative to the mac mini but I wouldn't know where to start as I don't need anything with a DAC (I'm very happy with my PS Audio Nu Wave) & it would need to be easier to operate & synch with my main iTunes library on my iMac?
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