Mac Mini as a dedicated server

[lordmortlock]

Rather than use an airport into my main system I'd like to be able to plug a discreet mac mini into my dac and have it configured as a dedicated music server to control with remote software with airports to other rooms rather than streaming wirelessly from the PC in the study. For some reason I've convinced myself (for today at least) that there is a difference between wired and wireless SQ after playing around with my mates macbook straight into my dac earlier this week.

But I don't want a screen. So one would put a disc in and the mac would instantly rip to itunes and the only control would be with the iphone. That way I wouldn't have to have a screen atop my hifi kit. The mac mini wouldn't be used for anything else.

Any software out there that could do this? some kind of scripting maybe?

Obviously I wouldn't mind having a screen plugged in initially to set it all up.

 

[Anonymous]

Until I move house in a couple of weeks, I'm struggling for space with my hifi setup so I have a Dell Studio Hybrid (image) plugged into my DAC. I didnt want another screen, mouse, keyboard etc so I use VNC from my 'main' PC to connect to the Dell.

VNC (Virtual Networked Computing) basically opens the desktop to the other pc, in a window on your main pc. Its really easy to setup, take a look here.

 

[professorhat]

Well, you'll obviously need a screen to start off with and set the Mac up. You can then actually set iTunes to load on startup i.e. when the Mac boots, iTunes is automatically loaded. You can also set up your ripping preferences (Apple Lossless, AAC or whatever) and also set iTunes to automatically rip a music CD when it's inserted into the CD drive at whatever encoding level you've chosen and then eject the CD when it's done. With your iPhone you can then alter your playlists and control the playback of the music.

In theory therefore, once this has all been setup, you shouldn't need a screen, just insert the CD, it'll automatically start ripping your music into iTunes and then just leave it until the CD drive has ejected so you know it's done. If you do have issues, as mentioned, you can use a program like VNC to remotely control the Mac from another computer and see what's going on.

 

[Alec]

I've considered the Mini, but the basic Hybrid is cheaper. On the other hand it feels a highh price to pay for a server, when you're actually paying for a whole computer with full computer like capability if you see what i mean. So i even wonder if its possible to build something for much less...

Anyway, just so my contribution wasnt totally useless, this thread contains some instructions on how to get the mac mini working by remote desktop, which may interest you as an alternative.

 

[Craig M.]

the main bummer for me with a mac mini setup, when turning on it needs a mouse plugged in/or bluetooth, otherwise it just sits there saying it can't detect a mouse. i use the remote app on the itouch to click it away, but obviously you need a screen to see where to click. mine is all on one rack so it isn't a problem to hook it up to the telly, most the time it goes to "sleep" and i don't turn it off.

just thought, the only other time i need a screen is the odd occasion when itunes doesn't recognise a cd or it has a choice of more then one and you need to choose.

 

[PJPro]

al7478:
I've considered the Mini, but the basic Hybrid is cheaper. On the other hand it feels a highh price to pay for a server, when you're actually paying for a whole computer with full computer like capability if you see what i mean. So i even wonder if its possible to build something for much less...

The older, less powerful models are cheaper.......but the idiots on eBay still pay way over what I'm prepared to pay for an obselete, second-hand computer. That said, I might buy a new one for use with my power amps (if I ever finish them!).

 

[lordmortlock]

Awesome thanks gents. Bloody invaluable advice as usual.

Next issue is that Mac mini only offers 320gb hard drive max so I reckon Als onto something with the build idea.

Lots to think about.

 

[lordmortlock]

EDIT Unless you can replace mac hard drives like you can PC. I don't know anything about macs.

 

[Alec]

There are external hdds out there that can be stacked neatly with a Mac Mini, tho im afraid i cant remember who theyre by. And wouldnt know whether it is actually sensible to stack them in practice. But they are the same shape as M-Ms.

EDIT - best to Google rather than listen to me. They do exist, but upon using said search engine, ive just found various people do enclosures that resemble the Mini too, and you'd put your own hdd in.

 

[Dave_]

Iomega minimax is what you're thinking of Al...

 

[Alec]

Looks right to me.

Cheers.

 

[Craig M.]

i have 2x500gb minimax hdd, you can stack them but i found that they get quite warm if you do, so i just have them side by side. i periodically plug the 2nd one in to back up.

 

[Tom Moreno]

lordmortlock:EDIT Unless you can replace mac hard drives like you can PC. I don't know anything about macs.

You can open up a Mac Mini and replace the hard drive. It's a slightly non-standard affair that requires the use of a putty knife to unclip the casing around the edges, and I believe that the MM uses Laptop sized hard drives (though I'm not 100% sure on this as it has been a while since I've opened one up, and usually I have to open them to add RAM).

 

[lordmortlock]

Ok good. But its getting expensive. Its going to be cheaper to have one built I reckon. On looking theres some interested enclosures out there.

 

[Alec]

lordmortlock:Ok good. But its getting expensive. Its going to be cheaper to have one built I reckon. On looking theres some interested enclosures out there.

Well keep us informed on that score...

 

[lordmortlock]

lordmortlock: interested enclosures out there.

Will do. I suppose I could try and build it myself if I were feeling brave!

And the above should obviously read 'interesting enclosures'. Drinking and typing ...

 

[PJPro]

I've been thinking about taking a mini mac apart and sticking it in a case along with a DIY DAC to produce a sort of a DIY Naim HDX. Sounds like a real cool idea to me.....but would need a mini mac at the right price.

The DAC? The best available is this one. But just the DAC board itself is $500. Ouch!

But I reckon you can have an HDX beater for less than £1.5K. Now that would make a real cool DIY thread.

 

[lordmortlock]

I might leave that one to you mate!

 

[professorhat]

Tom Moreno:You can open up a Mac Mini and replace the hard drive.

I'll add a warning - unless you're confident, I wouldn't recommend this. I've done it and it's very easy to get yourself into trouble in getting some components back together. It was only my past experience in my job with adding and removing components from old laptops that meant I knew the tricks in getting some bits back in place!

 

[PJPro]

lordmortlock:I might leave that one to you mate!
OK. But it may take me some time to get round to it........

 

[Anonymous]

I think the http://www.amb.org/audio/gamma1/ would be cheaper than the $500 DAC mentioned above, but as previously noted a steady hand is needed for the surface mounted components...

nice idea though, adding a small LCD panel into the drives / mac mini / dac all in one box device would be interesting.

 

[Anonymous]

I really would not recommend that setup without a screen.

Are you positive there would be a big difference between using an Airport extreme with the digital output to a mac mini?

It's just that every time something unexpected happens like a pop up error window, itunes crash, software update. whatever, you'll need to plug a monitor, keyboard and mouse to find out why the server is not responding.

If you do have another mac in the house, then you could use remote desktop to manage the server.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

PJPro:I've been thinking about taking a mini mac apart and sticking it in a case along with a DIY DAC to produce a sort of a DIY Naim HDX. Sounds like a real cool idea to me.....but would need a mini mac at the right price.

The DAC? The best available is this one. But just the DAC board itself is $500. Ouch!

But I reckon you can have an HDX beater for less than £1.5K. Now that would make a real cool DIY thread.

I reckon it would work great PJ, but what are you going to do about the screen?

As mentioned before, there is a bit of an issue if you already have the CD ripped, or there are more than one entry for it on gracenote - the dialog box just sits there until you click OK!

But, I use mine through the beresford, and with my iphone as a remote, and it works beautifully.

 

[PJPro]

zzgavin:
I think the http://www.amb.org/audio/gamma1/ would be cheaper than the $500 DAC mentioned above, but as previously noted a steady hand is needed for the surface mounted components

AMB has just released pages on his website for the Gamma 2 (today). This builds on the Gamma 1 to create a high end compact DCA based on the Wolfson's top-of-the-range WM8741 or WM8742 ultra-high performance DAC chip.

I've decided to take the plunge and build this...so look out for a future thread. This will cover the building of a Gamma 1 and 2 as you need the Gamma 1 to build a Gamma 2! The Gamma 1 boards provide external connectivity and power.

The new pages can be found on the AMB Labs site here.

 

[Anonymous]

if you do not use a screen, how are you going to deal with the queries you get sometime when iTunes cannot decide which CD you are importing and Gracenotes gives a couple of choices - happened to me today when importing Revolver by The Beatles.