Depends on the NAS, My first one, bought specifically as a music server when I got my ND5XS in 2013, was about the cheapest I could find: (NSA325), to which I added a couple of 1TB drives. Yes, it was noisy: not excessively at first, but after a year it was noisier. It sat in the far corner of the music room and was just audible during the quietest music passages. QNAP do silent NASs, and I planned to replace my NAS with one, but then the Mac Mini idea came up, and as part of a package of other system changes it was better value - and silent. It apparently has a fan, but I’ve never heard it. My old NAS is still in service, but now not on music duty other than backup, and is in a location where its noise is immaterial.
Would you like to share your expertise on how to set up a Mac Mini to serve as a NAS per the OP’s question?
As I thought my post indicated, there isn’t actually an ‘idiot’s guide’ to setting up a Mac Mini as a NAS;
- A MM is not a NAS, therefore not focussed on file serving. As others have suggested an actual NAS could be cheaper and more reliable.
- Setting up the MM will require a second computer to configure headless operation on the MM or an additional keyboard, mouse and monitor.
- On going management, eg backup, ditto and somewhere to store the data, eg external USB storage or indeed a NAS.
- A good understanding of networking, file sharing (SMB etc.) and how to fix things that go wrong.
The above is probably not a complete list, hence my post, but of course YMMV.
ATB, J
It’s actually very simple.
I plugged my Mac mini into the TV using HDMI. Plugged in the keyboard from the iMac and turned on remote access. Plug in a standalone SSD. Install Asset UPnP and that’s really…
Access via screen sharing on the iMac on the same network.
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Exactly my point, it’s not difficult if you already know what to do.
However, the OP’s post suggested they would be starting from a much less informed position……
ATB, J
Then please advise him, tip him the idiot guide.
For the last time, there is no idiot’s guide. Read all the different comments and suggestions above, there are too many variables to enable such a guide to be made. End of.
ATB, J
I’ve been running a Mac Mini as my music server for years (on my 3rd iteration M1 chip). It doesn’t need to be high spec and it is fairly easy to change the internal hard drive (checkout YouTube) for a SDD (noiseless and faster). But if you are uncomfortable with doing that then you can either get an external SSD drive or a docking station where you can fit any size SSD you want.
I have Asset uPnP installed on the MM and this is ‘seen’ by my Limetree Bridge (streamer). Ripping CDs is done with AccurateRip (both pieces of software are from dBpoweramp) which is installed on the MM as well. You configure the software to how you want it ripped (format etc) and where you want it to be stored. All this is done ‘headlessly’ - the MM is in the corner with no screen or keyboard attached - the MM is screen shared on my MacBook Air which enables me to control the MM remotely. I just plug in a CD SuperDrive to the MM when I want to rip a new CD (I do it in batches).
It may seem a little daunting Aston but there is a little learning and trial & error but once set up it just works.
Just ask if you have further questions.
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I think this is the key piece of info re the OP’s question. Whatever UPnP server software you choose, a general purpose fileserver like Serviio that I had first used, or a music-specific one like Asset, or Audirvana which can be used as a UPnP music server, you just install the softwre, using the default settings initially, put some music files on the internal hard disk/ssd, connect to the same network as the streamer, and the streamer should ‘see’ it - job done! You can then refine settings etc if you wish. Doing with the Mac Mini is really no different from whatever the OP has already done with a Macbook.
Or is the question more about which of the various UPnP software options to choose, or about setting up headless operation on the MM, or networking perhaps?
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Thanks. I’ll give that a whirl. The sound is not really an issue for me because of the NAS’s location, but would be in the listening room.
Roger
If you Google “setting up a Mac mini as a music server” you get list of helpful videos and threads. Some are really recent. It does take a little work. I did it years ago with Audirvana, and disabled a bunch of things per an Internet video. It worked great. I’d tell you how I did it, but don’t remember!
Audirvana of course is more than just a UPnP server creating a NAS out of a Mac Mini! I recall that when I set it up there was very clear written step by step guidance on Audirvana’s website, primarily to do with maximising sound quality for direct USB output to DAC (that was before they offered the option of serving over a network). Everything from setting automatic disabling of other software when playing music, disabling bluetooth, dedicating a USB bus, and enabling direct mode byassing the MM’s own sound circuitry and drivers. I haven’t looked, but I assume the same info is still available from them.
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Hi, @Aston .
Speaking as a fellow idiot, I suggest you might be happiest storing all your files on a huge hard drive in your Mac without a NAS.
A NAS is a box that specializes in mass storage, so the Mac can focus on processing jobs. A NAS is a relatively “stupid” computer that depends on smarter computers on your network for full functions.
Some say getting your files off the Mac and onto a NAS is better. You need to decide if “separates” are for you.
I have been running a 2 TB Synology NAS and Minim Server since 2013, while Macs have come and gone.
Admittedly, I am about due for a fresh NAS before this one fails. Totally reliable to date, but it has needed periodic OS updates, similar to a Mac.
In parallel, I also tried an external USB hard drive attached to my Mac Mini running Audirvana. With that setup I wired the Mac to a Naim DAC through a Meridian digital interface. Very good! But it does not leverage the Naim streamer functions
Good luck.
Nick
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An added benefit to using a MacMini
I’ve been using a 2011 MacMini server (Intel i7) — the one that came with two hard drives and the old Snow Leopard Server OS — since it was new. Although I’ve replaced both drives with 500GB SSDs and now run High Sierra OS, I actually use two 3TB USB drives for the music library (they are always-on/always-attached mirrors of each other with a third backup offsite). Ever since I migrated from Linn to Naim in 2018, I’ve run Asset Server with absolutely no hiccups, and I totally concur with others that using dBpoweramp from the same publisher is the way to go.
Now, that added benefit of using a MacMini: you can use it for serving video, running something like Serviio, which is what I use. If you own DVDs of TV shows, ripping them to a video server is the equivalent (convenience-wise) of ripping your CDs, which I suspect most of us here have done. No more fumbling with discs and trying to determine which episode is on which disc. Free video streaming apps (like Roku’s own) allow quick and easy browsing of your video library. While many of you may be disinterested in running a video server, just know that now I can pull up any Diana Rigg episode of The Avengers in seconds! And I’m in the US!
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Thank you all for the input, lots to think about and read before making any decisions. It may well be that @NickSeattle is right and I just need to carry on keeping my music in one big drive on the Mac until I start to run out of space and then rethink!.
Thank you all 
When you can always change to a bigger drive!
N.B. Apologies if the advice is unnecessary, but do remember to keep a backup copy of your music files, and separate from the MacBook
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I have the opportunity of a 2012 i7, 16Gb MM using Mojave, which I think would suit my needs/budget just to try this out. Then using my everyday MacBook M1 to control this with Asset… would this work?
Or would a newer lower spec MM be better
Additionally, would Asset be installed on the Mac Mini or my MacBook?
Thanks from the idiot
I don’t understand why you don’t just use your MacBook. Just install the Asset programme for uPnP on the Mac and your Muso will see the music via the Naim app. If you need extra storage, add an external drive to the Mac and use that (transfer the files across and point Asset to the new drive).
I used Asset on an iMac for years before I got a Uniti Core.
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I have a Mac Mini and a MacBook Air. It is more convenient to have a dedicated, standalone MM as a music server rather than using a MB. I imagine an external HD would be needed for the MB as big internal memory is expensive. And then does the MB need to be plugged in? Is the battery low? My MB is used for work and I don’t want the 2 mixing. The MM is always on and ready to serve. Like I said, more convenient.
@Aston Install Asset on the MM. Your network will then ‘see’ it. Use the MB for screen sharing for headless control of the MM. Skso, suggest you read over the thread and make notes 
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You are right laptops are the most inappropriate servers. I do t understand why audiophiles spend thousands on hifi then cheap out with the rest of it.
Regards 2012 mini. That’s old, I would avoid and get an m1 minimum.
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