I have thee late-2012 Mac Mini still. I don’t use it much. I have a mid-2018 MacBook Pro provided by my company. I retire in a year, so at the point I need a replacement for it, I may get the new Mac Mini (with M1x by that point). That will leave me with a Mac Mini and M1 iPad Pro 12.9. I still have to think about whether I want to be without a Mac laptop, but it’s starting to seem more reasonable for me.
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Probably wise to wait for the next ARM iteration, but I’m sorely tempted right now.
The video I linked to seems to suggest that for many things the M1 Mini may be 5x faster and consumes around 11W !
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A M1 Mini with a decent 4K monitor could be a really nice setup.
I’m a software engineer so I use two 24" HD monitors, but once I retire I can see have a single larger 4K monitor instead.
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Did you notice any improvements with the new Apple TV? The remote certainly looks better. I have one coming next week. I’m presently using the 1st gen 4k box to stream via my Oppo & Denafrips DAC and hoping for an improvement.
Which Oppo? Are you using an Oppo HDMI input to get optical out to a DAC by any chance?
Real shame the later AppleTVs got rid of optical out, and the touchpad remote is possibly the worst thing Apple ever designed. May have to update for the remote alone, but I think they can be purchased sepearately.
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I see Apple have updated their information and say AM Lossless will be coming to the HomePod in the future. This is good news as it opens the possibility AM Lossless will be possible on other products.
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I have set it up but haven’t watched it yet. My wife mostly watches that TV. Me, not so much. The remote is definitely a lot better. It is available separately for about $60 though.
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Intel have big problems with manufacturing right now and has hired in Samsung to help build their fastest CPU:s with a 10nm process. Last I read was the Intel management expected to be competitive again 2022 - 2023.
Apple and TSMC is said to be readying the M2 and will switch to 4nm process later this year.
Ah… no, not necessarily. Apple just mentions “lossless”, not “Hi-Res lossless”.
Lossless AirPlay (with CD quality) has existed all along - my AirPlay 1 devices streamed with 150kBytes/s 10 years ago. (Which is CD-1x-read-spead, as some people may remember.)
Ah, can these links be shared here?
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212183
Seems to also imply, that the iTunes store won’t support lossless; and surely not as a for-free update (like they did with movie upgrades, where you always get the latest/best version of a movie, as long as you got the HD version in the first place).
Just a thought: when my phone is not connected to neither power cord nor to Ethernet - isn’t it then the perfect streaming source, decoupled from generating noise anywhere in my home coppers? 
(And I don’t talk usability here, or being “adequate” as a server, relying on batteries and WiFi and stuff…)
Exactly my thinking. I am of the opinion that an iPad actually has the makings for a great server with Apple Music. I trust their ability to deliver clean, stable digital audio I just hope that the airplay system has the capability to support it. They have said that the HomePod will be updated to support lossless but this could just indicate CD quality.
Well yeah, “perfect” is of course relative - it will still emit radio signals. (Others no way to stream anything.)
And you’ll have to plug them into some power sooner or later - apart from potentially dedicating a device for the purpose, if you want to avoid any messing with your are usage of the phones and tablets.
What I always liked with iTunes: I can remote control it from all my mobile devices. Not sure, iOS offers this as well - but with my Nova I can control the inbuilt playback the same way from the different devices - so for anything it supports natively, the Nova is of course the perfect streamer.
Apple have released a new support page, having made such an arse of the announcement. It confirms that for hi-res you will need an external DAC that has a wired connection to an Apple device. Hopefully Airplay will be updated to at least allow proper CD quality streaming wirelessly from an iPhone or iPad.
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Airplay can already support CD quality. I can attach an airport express and stream CD quality files to my atom from my computer using Apple remote. It just isn’t as streamlined and I am obviously restricted to my file library.
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Why would you need an Airport Express for this? The Atom can receive AirPlay?
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I have the Oppo 205. My Apple TV HDMI out goes to the Oppo. Oppo’s coax SPDIF to my DAC. I’ve tried the optical from the Oppo to my DAC and thought the coax was a little better. This plus hardwiring the ATV to my mesh router solved the drop outs I was having with airplay. It’s not the best quality but very convenient.
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Agreed. It is definitely not the “perfect” solution but for someone who doesn’t mind using the same device to play music from, its a potentially great option to get at least CD quality as a bonus upgrade. I have a big iPad Pro and really just use this when in the house so it’s perfect for me. I think that the big iPad could handle a bit more stress on the battery.
This is the awesome thing about these streamers, they offer so many options so everyone can find what works for them. I get very frustrated when some people tell others what they should be doing.
The Atom also has Bluetooth. I had a friend use the Bluetooth to play from his Spotify. It still sounded ok. Just a really easy option for getting someone connected. Obviously not ideal but still good use of the versatility of the unit.
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Yeah; a friend has an Android with AptX, I think even the HD version.
Was the most painless way for her to present her favorite music, she anyway had along on her phone. (I usually put guests into the guest WiFi, and from there they don’t reach the few devices on the “home network” (computers and music streaming).)
Good point. I was thinking back to a time where this is what I used to supply a DAC without airplay. You are right, Apple Remote can be used to select airplay as the output from the Mac but whilst sat on the couch. Hmm… I know what I’ll be experimenting with this evening.
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