Apple's new M1 Mac Mini as source (misses out on silent operation)

[Marc v E]

@mononoaware: it doesn't make sense to me (while I have used macbooks and mac os for personal and professional use) but then apparently you will be happy with it, so you should go for it.

 

[mononoaware]

@mononoaware: it doesn't make sense to me (while I have used macbooks and mac os for personal or professional use) but then apparently you will be happy with it, so you should go for it.

I understand it is a unusual use case for Mac Mini.
But in my position I need more storage to play the entire audio archive.

Currently I use old iPhone (32GB), then AirPlay to Apple TV 3 connected to DAC via optical.

My first thought was to get the iPhone 13 (with more storage ~128GB) later this year, but then I can get the Mac Mini for similar price, with more storage (512GB) + local bit-perfect playback (USB output to DAC) + advanced EQ options, while still being able to control with wireless touch-screen via iPad.

iOS 15 supports my old iPhone, so I can wait another year before upgrading iPhone.

 

[mononoaware]

I am coming across more M1 Mac Mini videos on YouTube, and they are referring to it as a “4K video editing workhorse”.

Now I understand those comments saying “overkill” ha-ha-ha.

So I read somewhere that some more M1/M2 Mac’s might be released at “WWDC 2021”, that didn’t happen.

But good news from Apple’s official “iOS 15 supported devices” list.
iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, and iPhone SE are supported.
Making the iPhone 6S (2015 release) supported until 2022 thats 7 years of official support.

Hopefully they continue this trend of longer and longer support for their Mac computers as well.

 

[FooYatChong]

Hopefully they continue this trend of longer and longer support for their Mac computers as well.

My 2011 Mac Mini is on High Sierra (last supported OS) and still gets security updates.

 

[Wicky]

I'm considering purchasing an older Mac mini for streaming, running Roon core. Roon being by far the most resource hungry aspect which still runs on i3 and up. Looked at new NUCs but thought all in all a second-hand Mac mini represented excellent value for money with a fanless SSD version. Overall I'm quite confident in the longevity of Mac hardware as I have an iMac 2014 and Air 2013 which are still going strong as my everyday machines.

Of course if you want to spend the money on an M1 I'm sure it won't let you down as a long term investment

 

[wgb113]

My late-2012 Mini has performed like a champ since day 1 as my music server.

 

[q3cpma]

I understand it is a unusual use case for Mac Mini.
But in my position I need more storage to play the entire audio archive.

Currently I use old iPhone (32GB), then AirPlay to Apple TV 3 connected to DAC via optical.

My first thought was to get the iPhone 13 (with more storage ~128GB) later this year, but then I can get the Mac Mini for similar price, with more storage (512GB) + local bit-perfect playback (USB output to DAC) + advanced EQ options, while still being able to control with wireless touch-screen via iPad.

iOS 15 supports my old iPhone, so I can wait another year before upgrading iPhone.

Can't you just use a NAS? MacOS can mount NFS, right?

 

[Wicky]

Can't you just use a NAS? MacOS can mount NFS, right?

Yes they can but a NAS will (usually) be underpowered as a streamer, certainly for running Roon core although there are some (expensive) ones where you can run Roon.
It also would have spinning HDs and fans although before I get in trouble, I have no evidence those would impact the sound quality!

Yes Mac will also mount NFS

 

[q3cpma]

Yes they can but a NAS will (usually) be underpowered as a streamer, certainly for running Roon core although there are some (expensive) ones where you can run Roon.
It also would have spinning HDs and fans although before I get in trouble, I have no evidence those would impact the sound quality!

Yes Mac will also mount NFS

No, I mean a NAS to circumvent the storage need issues, you can always use the Mac Mini as streamer.

 

[Wicky]

No, I mean a NAS to circumvent the storage need issues, you can always use the Mac Mini as streamer.

Oh ok, right you are of course. I have a NAS already and will be connecting it thus!

 

[mononoaware]

Can't you just use a NAS? MacOS can mount NFS, right?

I had to look up what “mount NFS” means but I am still not sure what it is.

I am technically only capable of basic software stuff (install/data formats etc) and I think I can figure out the “Migration” software for sending the audio files directly from Windows 10 machine to M1 Mac Mini via Ethernet.
I left all the advanced skills I had behind long long ago. . .

Regarding a NAS, I understand it is used to offload large amounts of data to free up space on your main system.
But the audio archive is less than 100GB’s so I can easily have it play locally/stored directly on the M1 Mac Mini’s 512GB SSD without all the technical hoops & extra expense of setting up a NAS.
(And the rate of audio media growth has slowed down to a crawl)

Archive contains only audio. No DVD/Blu-ray/Movie files that some others may need 10TB of storage for etc.

 

[mononoaware]

@mononoaware: it doesn't make sense to me (while I have used macbooks and mac os for personal and professional use) but then apparently you will be happy with it, so you should go for it.

Maybe if this makes more sense:
- there is a shortage of chips apparently, maybe it is a good time to buy a computer.
- I do consider using it in the future as a computer if my current ancient Windows 10 machine decides to stop working.

 

[mononoaware]

My understanding is that previous gen. Mac mini (2014) have fanless versions for i3/i5

From what I read i3, i5 and i7 Mac Mini all have fans.

 

[mononoaware]

My non-M1 mini usually hovers around 40-50W when using (streaming, web, etc) and much less when it is just sitting there. I don't have it go to sleep,

Hopefully the M1’s efficiency will allow it to use ~20w, maybe even 10w if just audio file playback.
I will set it to be go to sleep when not in use, and it can do its automatic updates at 3am by itself when idle.

One thing I have been researching are the features that need setting in order for the M1 Mac Mini to function smoothly “headless”.
One I found was you need to turn “file vault” off in order for the Remote App to wake the Mac and auto-login.
And setting the Mac to auto-open the Music player application after log-in.
Also disabling certain system sounds, and using a HDMI dummy plug to make sure GPU stays enabled.

 

[Wicky]

From what I read i3, i5 and i7 Mac Mini all have fans.

Yes, sorry I think I was misinformed... I did see that i5 model was fanless on the site I linked to in my earlier post but have only found contradictory information since then.

Maybe it's back to the NUC option for me then!

Re. the NAS, definitely not needed in your case. If you did need extra storage and are going for the mini still you can purchase relatively cheap extendable usb ssd storage

 

[tgray]

Re. the NAS, definitely not needed in your case. If you did need extra storage and are going for the mini still you can purchase relatively cheap extendable usb ssd storage

Maybe things have changed, but I found music on an external SSD (Samsung T5) works better than on a NAS. Ultimately way less hassle for a variety of reasons.

 

[tmtomh]

I would prefer as silent as possible in a near-field situation. . .

Not exactly a mini, but I recently got an M1 iMac. The front surface of the iMac's screen is less than 2 feet away from the centers of my ears and I have yet to hear a single detectable sound out of the computer. I just tried putting my ear up to it. If I lower my head to be even with the bottom of the "chin" of the iMac - where the fans are - I can barely make out a faint sound with my ear parallel to the iMac and 7 inches away. If I just move my head towards the iMac without lowering it to where the fans are, I can't hear anything until I'm within 1-2 inches of the computer.

I have done this while using YouTube, and I just tried it again with Zoom and Outlook (both processor and RAM hogs) running simultaneously (plus Safari) - same deal, no noise.

 

[mononoaware]

the bottom of the "chin" of the iMac - where the fans are

Are you sure that is fan’s you are hearing?

As far as I am aware both M1 iMac 24” and M1 MacBook Air both use Passive-cooling system (no fan), it is even listed as one of the main features for both on Apple Official.

 

[tmtomh]

Are you sure that is fan’s you are hearing?

As far as I am aware both M1 iMac 24” and M1 MacBook Air both use Passive-cooling system (no fan), it is even listed as one of the main features for both on Apple Official.

The M1 Air has no fan. The bottom of the line M1 iMac has one fan. The midline and top line M1 iMacs have two fans.

 

[carlob]

The M1 has a 10 Watt TDP, there is a passive cooled variant for the MacBook Air and an active cooled variant for the MacBook Pro 13, Mac Mini and iMac. 10W TDP is nothing, you're not going to spin the fan(s) unless doing something *very* intensive like maybe editing 4k video