Isn’t your router wi-fi enabled? can’t you add a wi-fi switch near your Uniti Qute then connect with an ethernet cable.
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Thanks, the answer I was looking for
Thanks again
Thanks to all the people who responded - I now have the answer
I used an airport express, worked a treat.
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I assume you mean a Mac Mini! If you had used the search facility you would find quite a bit on this…
I use a Mac Mini as my music store running Audirvana as renderer. Dedicated USB bus is better sound quality than Apple’s optical output. I originally used with Chord Hugo, having to use a Gustard U12 isolator/convertor because the Hugo was adversely affected by RF from the computer - the Gustard costs around £130 and converts the excellent USB signal into either optical or Toslink or AES/IBU. (I now use Mac Mini / Audirvana with Dave DAC, without needing Gustard.
A few links follow with more info:
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Many thanks, a lot to take in .
Best wishes
Yep, you are right, @StephenPacker. The unthinkable has happened!!! Should we get the guy who designed it this way examined by the psychiatrist?
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Other than on the processing front the Mac Mini has been steadily worsening in function and user-friendliness, with features removed at each revision. The ‘late 2012’ version seems to be generally held as the best for balance of features, performance and DIY upgradeability.
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Thanks, yes Apple seem to be making it user unfriendly .
Learnt an awful lot thanks to this thread. I have a much better understanding of what I have done wrong, and the solutions.
A very, very big THANK YOU to all who answered
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Earlier this year I bought a used Mac Mini 2012 to run Roon and Tidal and store my ripped FLACs. No need for anything more fancy. I considered a NUC i7 as a Roon Rock but I don’t have a huge collection of files and the Mac, with an i5 processor is plenty. What’s more, it was £200 cheaper. I have it plugged into the router via an ethernet cable and it serves the music to a NDX2 seamlessly via the network .
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me too with a 2014 model.
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I’m using a Late 2012 Mac Mini Server as a store for ripped CD’s and to run Roon Core.
I replaced both the internal Apple SSD’s with 2x Samsung EVO 2TB drives, apart from that and a fresh OS install, not much else required.
I ended up going that route rather than getting a dedicated music store/serve device, it sits silently doing its tasks without issue, I imagine you could pick up something similar used for reasonable money, most of them from around that age can take 2x internal drives as well.
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Similar story over here. I bought my Mac Mini Server in 2011, that is the version with two HDDs. Connected it to several USB DACs over the years and ended up spending 500+ Euro on a USB cable to improve sound. Also used TosLink into my HT processor when I still had that. This all changed when I bought the Atom and connected both the Mac Mini and the Atom to the wired network, sold the USB cable and never looked back. It is much more convenient and it sound even better I think.
In the Energy Saver setttings of the Mac Mini I configured it to go to sleep every day at 1am. And I have now also replaced both HDDs with SSDs and the speed increased and the sound level went down (but it is in a cabinet anyhow). The Mac Mini is only turned on remotely when I use Roon to play music. Otherwise it stays nicely asleep. I have been totally happy with this setup for years now.
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Just had to look this up: the 2010/2011 models are supported until macOS 10.13, 2012 until 10.14?
Any concerns, when they will stop receiving updates? (They won’t stop working, of course; but won’t get may security updates any more?)
I have a MacBook (Pro) from 2011, and I expect that 10.13 will stop getting updates, when 10.15 is released. (This October?)
Generally I have been happy with Apple updates, though not all the time.
This has been a fantastically useful thread for me, I have learnt so much. I have been a Mac user for some time, it isn’t as cutting edge as Microsoft but is far more stable, user friendly and seamless between devices. This has enabled me clarification of what to do next.
I have a good TT, an excellent CD player and a very good Naim tuner plus a Uniti Qute as a DAC for my Skybox an Blu Ray
Innocent Bystander has shown me the software I need, plus if I want to remain with my Uniti Qute I know it’s limitations…
I.m.o. not really a big deal. Depends of course on the type of activities for which you use the ‘older/outdated’ Mac. I’m running a late 2012 MacMini (headless) only as a Roon-core as well as Minim-server for locally stored audio-files. I expect (and hope🤔) security-exposures are limited, as Apple continuously distributes security updates related to severe security vulnerabilities, even for recently outdated OSX-versions.
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The most amusing thing about the latest mini’s is they are £800 for a 2 gen old i3.
They do it, because they can.
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These models can go up to High Sierra. However, with a small patch you can even install Catalina onto them (at least the Server models that I own) as both have 64 bit processors inside (Core2Duo and i7 in my case).
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2012 Mac mini support Catalina (10.15) without patch. However they won’t support the new Big Sur OS coming this fall.
I have an i7, upgraded the RAM (16go) and installed a Samsung SSD for the OS, and a big HDD for the music/movie. (2 disc inside).
I use Asset Upnp server to stream my local file.
It’s working perfectly.
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