Macs have some of the best sounding outputs between the two platforms, when used just straight out of the box, but there are issues. Using the Mac Mini for sound reproduction Sitting in your listening chair with the iPad mini controlling everything you listen to (except the volume) is a real treat. However, in my experience, it takes a bit of the fun and splendor out of the experience. You can save $100 by going with the iPod Touch if you want really small (or use your iPhone if you have one), and this will work just as well. This little gem fits easily in the pocket, connects seamlessly with your new server and costs only $299. So while you’re in the Apple store, decide how much you want to spend on the user interface device. To do this, stay within the walled garden Apple has created. Yes, iTunes works on Windows, but nothing about it is native, the mobile devices that connect with a Windows platform aren’t native and, well, the whole thing is just messy and too fiddly for me. Perhaps better than any other concoction you can imagine. Once you’ve made the choice to go with iTunes for your library management and user interface tools, it then makes perfect sense to stay with the ecosystem Apple has created. No program is perfect, and there’s a small learning curve needed to manage your library in iTunes, but we’ll get you past these small hurdles quickly.Īnother reason I chose the Mini as the platform of choice is iTunes and the Apple ecosystem. That’s one of the reasons I chose it over any number of other choices.
The good news about iTunes is that once our server’s built, library’s been added and edited to be the way we want, the program is awesome as a simple, gorgeous, easy to use controller. Most of those tricks are included in this How To section of our website. But once you learn a few tricks, it’s easy. That was a big mistake on their part, dumbing the product down to the point of frustration for anyone wanting to do anything like manage their library. iTunes used to be very intuitive in its operation, but they’ve simplified the thing down to the point where it no longer is so. I’ll put together a tutorial of how to effectively use it as a powerful ally in building your library. iTunes isn’t perfect, but it’s damn good. In our music server we’re going to use iTunes as the user interface. All in I spent $734.30 with Boulder city tax of 8%. For me, staying cool and matching’s important, so I spent the $80 to get the rig I showed in the picture yesterday. You can use any USB DVD/CD ROM drive you wish. Don’t setup anything other than the basic computer.įor my setup I also purchased Apple’s Super Drive because it looks cool, matches the mini and works great. Apples are brainless to setup, just follow the instructions that appear on the screen and you’re done. You’ll need internet access to setup the computer and perhaps 15 minutes. Remember, you’re only going to need these for setup and perhaps those times when you want to load a big library, but never in use as a music server. Apple makes different adapters if yours is ancient enough to not have DVI, check with the guys at the Apple store if you have questions. If you don’t have a monitor, you can buy one cheap from Amazon: here’s one for $39 used. The monitor needs a DVI input (or HDMI) which most in the last 5-years have. To set this product up you will need an old monitor, USB keyboard and mouse (any brand will do). It does have a fan inside but you’d never know it. Measuring a mere 1.4″ tall and 7″ wide and deep, this little faceless unit weighs in at 2.7 lbs, is machined from a solid billet of aluminum and is about as elegant a “computer” as you can get. Retailing for $599 with a 500Gb storage drive inside, this little baby is all you need. In fact, they are so easy, many Windows users don’t like them because of their simplicity. Say what you will about Apple products, they are dead easy to setup and use. Why? Well, if we ignore my dislike for Windows and Windows based machines and focus back on our design goals that include ease of use and setup, that really narrows the choice down. I don’t want a computer, I want a dedicated music server.
Even a small 13″ laptop is huge, relative to what we have in mind for our project, and doubles in size when you open it up exposing the screen and keyboard. I nixed this choice immediately because of size. With the goal of a small, quiet, affordable, lightweight box without a keyboard, mouse or screen, the choices available to us narrow down quickly. This article is distilled from Paul’s Post series, starting here. easy to use Music Server for less than $1,000. Here are instructions on how to build a high quality.
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