Using Mac Mini as streamer plus music server

[Sailor4W]

It's interesting to see that most seem to veer away from Mac Mini as a server and rather opt for a music server. I for myself, went the other route: I used an Aurender N100H for a long time, and just a few days ago I bought a new 6-core Mac Mini i7, with 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD internal storage and an external 2 TB SSD. I run Roon on it, the Mac Mini is in my office and feed my Devialet Expert 120 two floors down with a Cat 7a ethernet cable. The Mac Mini, of course, is controlled with my iPad Mini that connects to an Orbi Netgear. I haven't tried connecting the Mac Mini via USB to my Devialet, since I really want to have it tucked away from my living room.

So far, I am very pleased with the outcome, I actually prefer the Mac Mini over the Aurender in SQ, as I feel the Roon/Mac Mini combination is a bit more resolving than the Aurender. The N100H is very good, plays music from an absolutely black background, but for me it always sounded a bit dark, lacking a bit the highs. And unfortunately, the Aurender's UI is a bit meagre, but absolutely reliable. Also, integration of both streaming services, Tidal and Qobuz, is a big plus for the Conductor app. This, however, might very well be included into Roon in the near future.

All in all, I am very pleased with the Mac Mini as my music centre, but I won't let the 100H go. It's good to have an alternative should I encounter difficulties with my Mac Mini (which I don't assume, but one never knows).