Seeking advice on silent computer for streaming music! Please and Thank You!

[laurelkurt]

Hi All! This is my first post!

I recently discovered hi-res music streaming services, Qobuz, Tidal, Audirvana. I bought an HP laptop which works great, is fast, has great wifi, streams virtually flawlessly, BUT has a fan that I can hear quietly whining across the room during quiet/silent musical passages. I'm not a tech head and need something with good wifi, that's fast, requires only basic knowledge to set up and run, and is especially quiet.

I've been looking at Mac Minis. I've never had an Apple product, but it seems to have the right outputs (HDMI). I don't think I need audiophile quality innards as all I want is to send signal via USB or HDMI to my Integra Pre/pro and TV monitor. Does anyone have a Mac Mini w/ SSD and IS it quiet? My budget would $1300 max. I'm also thinking of possibly running ROON as well, but that may require more brain function than I currently possess. I already have mouse, keyboard, and monitor. THANKS in advance and Merry Christmas or whatever you prefer!

Any/all advice is welcomed, THANKS,

Kurt Schulwitz

 

[majingotan]

If you're going to go pure solid state setup, I'd go with the 12" Macbook since there are zero moving parts which makes a significant improvement in listening experience. No need for crazy fast CPU since music playback is not that demanding unless you're using computational upsampling to DSD 512 before it goes to your DAC. I myself use the Surface Pro 2.5 GHz dual core laptop (fanless thus no moving parts) with zero issues in hi-fi and master playback including DSD 256. WiFi is blazing fast and is able to keep my 350 Mbps plan bandwith.

Tidal is actually resource hog in my system, but I'd rather take a slight performance hit than have a fast system with noisy fans

 

[amirm]

I'm also thinking of possibly running ROON as well, but that may require more brain function than I currently possess.

Roon is dead easy to run. Just run it on your music server you are asking about and then you can have other instances of it running on tablets, other PCs, Macs, etc. and play anything from anywhere to anywhere.

 

[laurelkurt]

Roon is dead easy to run. Just run it on your music server you are asking about and then you can have other instances of it running on tablets, other PCs, Macs, etc. and play anything from anywhere to anywhere.

Thanks. I'm basically computer speak naive. Music server is the computer that will do the streaming or a separate device?

 

[laurelkurt]

Thanks. I'm basically computer speak naive. Music server is the computer that will do the streaming or a separate device?

Please don't give up on me!

 

[Shadrach]

You can buy silent PCs for very little money these days.
If you are happy to reserve a machine for primarily taking music from a hard drive and stream from the sites you mentioned you don't really need a powerful machine.
For about £300 of your £1300 available you could buy such a machine.
For under a thousand you could get a silent lap top built for you. It won't have the latest chip, not the greatest graphics (probably on the Mother Board rather than a separate card) but it will do what you're asking for.
Apple, and most of the main brands will just give you another laptop which may, or may not be any quieter than your current model.

 

[Wes]

if you are going to play CD res files (Redbook) a low cost and simple way to get complete acoustic silence is to buy a used mac mini and a use Apple TV-2 ($45) at the Apple refurb store

rip your CD to iTunes on the mac mini and put it in your office or a closet; then use AirPlay to shoot them to your listening room via WiFi - the Apple TV2 plugs into your DAC via Toslink

 

[renaudrenaud]

Atomic Pi ? 30$. Silent.

 

[laurelkurt]

if you are going to play CD res files (Redbook) a low cost and simple way to get complete acoustic silence is to buy a used mac mini and a use Apple TV-2 ($45) at the Apple refurb store

rip your CD to iTunes on the mac mini and put it in your office or a closet; then use AirPlay to shoot them to your listening room via WiFi - the Apple TV2 plugs into your DAC via Toslink

I'm streaming Tidal & Qobuz Hi-Res through Audirvana, which is 16-24/44-192 (generally). I have most my music already ripped to a USB hard drive, but I never use it as I can conveniently access 99% of it through the streaming apps and it sounds great and plays without gaps and in numerical song order.

 

[adc]

Does anyone have a Mac Mini w/ SSD and IS it quiet?

I have a 2014 Mac Mini that I purchased new from B&H Photo this year, when they were deeply discounted (they're all gone now, sadly). Despite having a Fusion drive, which is partly mechanical, it is completely silent when streaming video. If it has a fan, I've never heard it. I doubt you'd hear a peep from any of the Minis. HDMI out to the AVR works with no fuss. Apple Store purchases have a 14 day no-questions-asked return policy, so you would take no risk by auditioning a newer model.

For music, however, I use Raspberry Pis, which have zero moving parts. I pair mine with Modi 3s and MPD, and can't imagine a better jukebox for crazy cheap. Even with case and accessories, the Pi will cost less than the Modi 3.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[laurelkurt]

My young nephew sent me this link: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdel-Fanl...nics&sprefix=fanless+,electronics,165&sr=1-19

 

[amirm]

Thanks. I'm basically computer speak naive. Music server is the computer that will do the streaming or a separate device?

A music server can be many things. You can use a computer, put all your music on it, and then play those in addition to streaming services. With Roon, you can then connect to it using your phone or tablet and control what plays.

There are more complicated setups where you can put your music on a NAS (back up device) and then stream that using a PC, or dedicated device.

 

[captain paranoia]

Streaming music is a very simple task. It doesn't need a powerful processor (provided you're not doing transcoding or room equalisation with it).

A simple windows tablet, accessing a NAS via WiFi would do. I run three Intel Atom-based PCs (7"tablet, 10" netbook & 19" all-in-one), running MusicBee to stream my music collection from my NAS. They're low power and cheap.

The RaspberryPi is also a good choice, costing very little, taking very little power, but being perfectly capable of running a music server.

 

[Doodski]

I've never heard of Kingdel but then I see new names in electronics near everyday. It will surely be silent although the SSD looks to be limited in size and the slot that is available in the pic appears to be a shorter length. You maybe need a longer slot length for the bigger SSD. Perhaps a different model and brand will have more capacity.

Regarding product>
https://www.amazon.com/Kingdel-Fanl...nics&sprefix=fanless+,electronics,165&sr=1-19

 

[laurelkurt]

I've never heard of Kingdel but then I see new names in electronics near everyday. It will surely be silent although the SSD looks to be limited in size and the slot that is available in the pic appears to be a shorter length. You maybe need a longer slot length for the bigger SSD. Perhaps a different model and brand will have more capacity.

Regarding product>
https://www.amazon.com/Kingdel-Fanless-Powerful-Computer-4096x2304/dp/B07PH5X868/ref=sr_1_19?crid=2FGF7VNF4G4ZE&keywords=fanless+mini+pc&qid=1577055003&s=electronics&sprefix=fanless+,electronics,165&sr=1-19

I don't think I need lots of storage as this would be just for streaming from Tidal, Qobuz, or maybe Amazon HD. He also recommended NUCs but I'm not sure that's a simpleton solution or even know what it is. I just figured out what a NAS is on YouTube. I need to find some videos on NUCs. I'm definitely behind the times as far as computers go. Thanks.

 

[Doodski]

I don't think I need lots of storage as this would be just for streaming from Tidal, Qobuz, or maybe Amazon HD. He also recommended NUCs but I'm not sure that's a simpleton solution or even know what it is. I just figured out what a NAS is on YouTube. I need to find some videos on NUCs. I'm definitely behind the times as far as computers go. Thanks.

I have Win10 Home installed on a 500 GB SSD that formatted to 418GB. I use ~211GB for games, 1.57 GB for 35 FLAC audio files with 74.9 GB Free Space. I can easily eat up GB's of storage just saving some audio files. The video files will take up drive space like crazy on a 500 GB drive. If you want some emergency backup that is available then you will need a bigger drive. Otherwise the basic specs appear OK but again I would check the options and weigh them. You don't have to worry about defragging reserves with the SSD.

 

[WHQL]

You can also look at the Windows Power Options settings on your HP Laptop. Specifically the Processor power management - System cooling policy. If this is set to Active, the computer will increase the CPU Fan speed before slowing down the processor. You can try setting this to Passive and see if it quiets down the CPU fan while still providing enough performance. Alternatively, you can try a different power plan such as Power saver to see if that quiets it down any.

 

[Cahudson42]

If you are just streaming and not going to create a local library, you could do so with an Echo Input and Fire 7" tablet/LG Rebel 4 cellphone..

The Input is still being sold for $10:
Echo Input - Bring Alexa to your own speaker- White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BFRKV9K/

The Fire 7" has been as low as $30, but currently is $40:
Fire 7 Tablet (7" display, 16 GB) - Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FKR6KXF/

The LG Rebel 4 can be bought for $30:
Net10 LG Rebel 4 4G LTE Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) - Black - 16GB - Sim Card Included - CDMA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QHQ79XH/
You throw away the Net 10 sim card and other stuff and use it on wifi.

You simply use a 3.5mm male to dual male RCA to connect the Input to your Integra open line input. Alexa app on the Fire 7/LG sets it up. You can then give it verbal commands, or 'cast' to it from the Fire 7 or LG. I use a similar setup for streaming from Amazon Music HD.

 

[laurelkurt]

You can also look at the Windows Power Options settings on your HP Laptop. Specifically the Processor power management - System cooling policy. If this is set to Active, the computer will increase the CPU Fan speed before slowing down the processor. You can try setting this to Passive and see if it quiets down the CPU fan while still providing enough performance. Alternatively, you can try a different power plan such as Power saver to see if that quiets it down any.

Woah! This sounds like a great idea. I'll try it and I can always reset it to active. And I always thought power saver was just for battery life. I'll try that too. Besides I paid for the 3 year repair service. THANKS.

 

[WHQL]

Woah! This sounds like a great idea. I'll try it and I can always reset it to active. And I always thought power saver was just for battery life. I'll try that too. THANKS.

You are welcome. Good Luck!