04-Apr-2016, 20:38
Do you want to use iTunes as the only music-playing software or just the library manger? In other words, are you willing to accept any other software enhancing playback on the Mac?
I enjoy the sound quality of my Mac Mini with Amarra Symphony & Dirac significantly more than without Amarra. I prefer iTunes as my library manager (for organizing music and synching it with my other devices) so chose a player that uses iTunes for those purposes while improving the sound.
In either case (even if using just iTunes) all the tweaking of Macs for sound quality that I've read have come down to minimizing noise, jitter, and other output defects. Then of course playing the best music files will help.
Use the most powerful but minimal Mac possible (fast processing but low noise). A Mac Mini lacks a lot of noise-generating extras of other Macs. The quad-core 2012 Mac Mini seems like the highpoint of the line for this purpose because it had a more powerful processor than earlier or later models. It can take one or two SSDs internally (I've heard arguments for both ways) and has a wide range of external connections. Running the Mini headless (without a screen) can further reduce noise by avoiding video output, and the Mini can be controlled remotely from another device.
Run only necessary hardware and software. Turn off Bluetooth, WiFi, and background processes such as TimeMachine unless you need them.
Store the music on a different drive than the OS. I've read of some people getting better sound quality with music on an external drive as long as it is not on a bus shared by other things (so a Thunderbolt SSD on a headless Mini, FireWire if using the Thunderbolt port for display, or USB if not connecting to the Devialet by USB).
Connect using the best cable to the Devialet. I've tried USB, optical, and ethernet. Tweaked USB sounds best to me, but AIR (ethernet) is close (and less expensive given the necessary USB tweaks and cables), while optical is fine but not quite as good. I'd be interested in a Mac Mini and converters to other connections, but I haven't tried them or read much about them.
There are major hardware tweaks such as power supplies, better or no fans, and internal noise shielding but I haven't tried those because they bring the cost above the Melco so I'm not sure which would sound better. I would prefer the Mini from a software perspective though so am interested if anyone does that comparison. So far most of the comparisons I've read are music servers (Melco) vs. MacBooks and other Macs which sound far worse than a Mini.
I enjoy the sound quality of my Mac Mini with Amarra Symphony & Dirac significantly more than without Amarra. I prefer iTunes as my library manager (for organizing music and synching it with my other devices) so chose a player that uses iTunes for those purposes while improving the sound.
In either case (even if using just iTunes) all the tweaking of Macs for sound quality that I've read have come down to minimizing noise, jitter, and other output defects. Then of course playing the best music files will help.
Use the most powerful but minimal Mac possible (fast processing but low noise). A Mac Mini lacks a lot of noise-generating extras of other Macs. The quad-core 2012 Mac Mini seems like the highpoint of the line for this purpose because it had a more powerful processor than earlier or later models. It can take one or two SSDs internally (I've heard arguments for both ways) and has a wide range of external connections. Running the Mini headless (without a screen) can further reduce noise by avoiding video output, and the Mini can be controlled remotely from another device.
Run only necessary hardware and software. Turn off Bluetooth, WiFi, and background processes such as TimeMachine unless you need them.
Store the music on a different drive than the OS. I've read of some people getting better sound quality with music on an external drive as long as it is not on a bus shared by other things (so a Thunderbolt SSD on a headless Mini, FireWire if using the Thunderbolt port for display, or USB if not connecting to the Devialet by USB).
Connect using the best cable to the Devialet. I've tried USB, optical, and ethernet. Tweaked USB sounds best to me, but AIR (ethernet) is close (and less expensive given the necessary USB tweaks and cables), while optical is fine but not quite as good. I'd be interested in a Mac Mini and converters to other connections, but I haven't tried them or read much about them.
There are major hardware tweaks such as power supplies, better or no fans, and internal noise shielding but I haven't tried those because they bring the cost above the Melco so I'm not sure which would sound better. I would prefer the Mini from a software perspective though so am interested if anyone does that comparison. So far most of the comparisons I've read are music servers (Melco) vs. MacBooks and other Macs which sound far worse than a Mini.
