A 2012 MM will run Asset no problems actually; but lack of memory means you’ll almost certainly want a plug-in SSD.
Use the MacBook to control the MM once running headless…you should be pretty much able to forget about it.
I bought a used 2018 MM (base i3) for what it’s worth to do exactly this. It’s been pain free and runs Asset instantaneously when demanded. Much faster than a Synology 2018 generation NAS.
I would be more concerned with security. I cannot remember if Linux or windows can be installed on a 2012. Certainly for Mac OS you will eventually run into issues with certificates and stuff. Had to swap out a mates 2010 Mac’s because sites like this were being rejected for man in the middle attacks (not true just very old operating systems)
Mac’s don’t make great servers because they are desktop operating systems same for windows desktop. Would wort seeing if the 2012 will run Linux
Why on Earth would you want an ancient 13 year old general purpose computer which will steadily lose the ability to run current apps as it continues to age, when for well under £200 you can get a brand new NAS, designed specifically to do what you want it to, put in a HDD or SSD to suit your needs, stick it in a cupboard and forget about it?
A Mac Mini can be wholly dedicated to music play, nothing else happening. For that it can be run headless, no display, no keyboard or mouse, bluetooth turned off. And it is small and, if using SSDs, silent. (Also if using direct output to DAC rather than playing over a network it can bypass all Mac sound circuitry and drivers, and have a USB bus dedicated, though I don’t think that is what the OP wants to do.)
Well, the Mac Mini with Audirvana, duly optimised and dedicated, playing direct to a DAC that has exemplary RF rejection is pretty good (however some DACs are far more susceptible to RF than others). How good it is as a UPnP server compared to other NASs more commonly used by “audiophiles” I have no idea.
As for age, the 2012 is indeed getting long in the tooth, and whilst I hope mine will keep going for maybe another 5 or 10 years there’s no guarantee, and I would hesitate to buy one now unless negligible cost. The “late 2012” model was particularly popular because it was the last that was user upgradeable with plug-in RAM chips, allowing maximisation. Drives were also easy to change. I haven’t kept up with Apple’s Mac Mini development though J seem to recall hearing that they may have gone back to plug-in RAM.
No ram is part of the chip now, its part of why M series is killing it, graphics, cpu, ram all on the same die.
There is a threat you can swap out the SSD though, but not officially by apple and requires some messing.
My personal preference is if you want a server then get a server, they dont have to be enormous. I used to have an all powerful one but electric costs put pay to that. I have a roon rock server running on an i5 Gen10 processor, that’s all that server does. Flawless. I also have a gen 8 HP micro server, absolutely marvellous and can be picked up cheaper than an M1 mini. But you need to get your hands dirty there. Advantage over QNAP etc if you are willing is bang for buck, just much more powerful and configurable.
I personally wouldn’t get hung up on ram etc in the minis, the latest base model is widely regarded to be the best value desktop PC available, nothing is coming close to it at 600 quid. MacOS is not really server software though.
If running Audirvana, sufficient RAM is criticsl as I believe each track’s entire file is loaded into memory before playing, even when hi res and half an hour long. Also might be significant for anyone having the device do upsampling or room correction.
The new minis are 16gig minimum, I don’t think even Wagner is going to be hitting 16gigs. I believe you can up the memory in a 2012 mini, but the rest of it is a compromise.
The OP wants to run a UPnP server for his rips. The lowest spec NAS you can buy will do that easily (as I’m sure you understand). He won’t need to worry about whether he needs to upgrade the 16 gig when half a gig would give him loads of headroom.
16GB could be OK for Audirvana depending how much more the latest Mini system resources use compared to old. Last time I looked Audirvana recommended 8GB minimum: I use 16 and haven’t had any trouble - but I might not have any individual tracks of this resolution more than 20 minutes or so long to know. (Once extracted, 24 bit 192 KHz is 0.55GB per minute length of track… ) Other UPnP server software may be less memory criticsl.
You would have to assume though that audiovarna would buffer into memory as needed, pretty poor if it does not. I guess the argument is it ‘sounds’ better because reasons.
Yes I think the idea is it sounds better because the only process happening after loading is playing (and Audirvana is renowned for sound quality). Whether it buffers part instead if RAM inadequate I’fe no idea - I would hope so as otherwise very annoying if insufficient memory for very long hi res track!
Guys guys.
He’s streaming tracks that he has digitised from vinyl to a muso.
He’s asked for advice on a good way to do this.
Yes…and he has been offered advice and opinions .
Again in my view, simplest and most effective solution is a NAS.
I’d forgotten he/she is only using a Muso!
But the simplest/cheapest way that would likely sound perfectly good into a Muso is just to continue with her/his existing Macbook, but if the desir is to free up the Zmacbook then indeed a NAS - if there’s somewhere to put it away from living space then a cheap one, othewisw for a solent one a Qnap.
That is what I said 