Hello, Hell Yes a Mac Mini can handle the job!
I bought a 2nd Mac Mini 2011 version and both are running Roon without problems. I a 2TB Solid State drive on both and have over 2000 albums.
The bigger issue is having a WiFi or internet connection that doesn’t drop out from time to time. I also have Qobuz running to complement my library with new tunes to listen to ALL WITH NO PROBLEMS!
Happy Listening!
yup definitely. I searched around for a used mid 2010 with a solid state hard drive and maxed out RAM. Its a 2.66 Core 2 Duo (way behind) and still works without issues. Only trouble I had back when I used audirvana is the upsampling to DSD256.
Replacing a Mac Hard Drive with a Sold State Hard Drive concern: BE CAREFUL! Apple has a Temp sensor in some of the Hard Drives they use and hence you will need an after market Hard Drive cable with a Temp Sensor as well.
You can quickly see if this is the case by running the Apple Diagnostics and get a Hard Drive TEMP Sensor coded error. You may also hear the computer fan spin up loudly even when the unit is cool.
JUST A BEWARE CAUTION WHEN REPLACING AN APPLE ORIGINAL HARD DRIVE WITH A SOLID STATE ONE!!!
Thanks. But doesn’t every (modern, as in made in this century) HDD or SSD have a temperature sensor built-in?
They do, but the Mac has an additional one I think. I replaced my spinning drive with an SSD in my 2010 iMac and the fans went nuts at full speed (sounded like a hoover). I had to add a temp sensor, which I faked with a simple diode. As I recall (it’s been a while) there was a second little cable that went to the drive, but there wasn’t a stick-on sensor that I could easily move over. So I took a TO-92 transistor and cut one leg off and used that as my temp sensor. The remaining two leads fit the connector perfectly.
Sheldon
If I find some time this weekend I will check the temperatures in my MacMini.
Edwin
btw: smart solution 
Some drives (mainly in the iMac IIRC) had an additional sensor in the drive connector end of things that OWC and maybe iFixIt sold a kit/cable insert to fix this.
I don’t recall this being used on the mini’s drives, external sensors maybe tho
I think you are correct. I have a 2010 mini as well (still going strong as a headless server), and it was the “server” version with double 500gb drives. I pulled out those two and put in a 500gb ssd and a 2tb spinning drive about 4 years ago. That 2TB drive is one of the backup destinations for my music library. I don’t recall having any issues with swapping drives, but it’s been a while and my brain is like a sieve these days.
I distinctly remember the iMac because I had to reverse engineer what the drive temp sensor was and I replaced it with half of a 2N2222.
Sheldon
I’ve done ssd upgrades to 2010, 11, 12, 14 minis and never any issues only iMacs in the 2009 and above vintage
I forgot I installed iStat Menu’s on both my Mac’s so finding the temperature was real easy
Temperatures of both SDD’s in my Late 2012 MacMini are 23 and 25˚C respectively. Room temperature is 18˚C and the temperatures don’t change if I play music or not.
I wonder if I can just use my mackboook pro or an old 2017 mackboook?’’’…
…untill I want to get into a headless rig?
This kids do some online tutoring on the old mackboook twice a week. But that’s at times I won’t be listening to music.
Can you have 2 cores?
Or alternate between cores on 2 machines?
Is it a pain to move a core?
Presently Ihave zero music files. I might get20 or so albums on DSD I suppose.
Yes, but not simultaneously activated. (well, almost)
Absolutely!
None at all, it’s very straightforward.
Thanks
With no audio files to play I am struggling to see my need for Roon.
I could just stream music.
Hmmmm…
I am not digging MConnect app for my UPnP enabled DAC.
So perhaps i might like roon app better?
I was trying to get away from using a computer or Roon Core.
Could I trial it and the iOS app using a laptop as a Roon core?
If I get to like it what’s the most painless and cheapest way for a non pc guy to have an always on roon core? A oldish Mac mini?
Why do you want to pay for Roon if you’re only going to stream? And yes, there’s a free Roon trial.
My converter has both Roon endpoint capabilities as well as UPnP built in
I thought I could get away with not using Roon however the app to control Qobuz over UPnP it is less than optimal. (MConnect)
I hear glowing reports of Roon’s app and it’s ability to work with Qobuz.
Over time I may also want to collect a few DSD’s of my favourite band (Rolling Stones)
And if I can play Spotify occasionally, without having to switch over inputs (as I do now to a Chromecast Audio puck) that would also be good.
So basically I would be using Roon to get a better user experience controlling my music playback with my iPhone.
Roon doesn’t support Spotify - only Tidal and Qobuz at this time plus local files of course plus internet radio.
You may find a trial on a laptop enough to like or not but experience says that a poor performing core base system will not give the best experience - thats not to say that it won’t work tho. Roon Core can only run on a PC/Mac/Linux platform, the remote interface can run on those too and iOS/android as well (but not Linux for remote)
If you are Mac literate then any Mac after around 2014 should get you off to fairly painless start. Likewise for most PC’s of that era or better. An SSD for system boot drive is desirable and will not be ideal if you only have a spinning HDD. 8GB ram should be fine.
DSD playback can be taxing under some situations so hardware choice becomes more important for that when up or downsampling might be a requirement.
Lots of help here if you need it.
Many thanks
An afternoon running the core on a spare 2017 (thin) Macbook connected to the network via wifi - has me sold already. It’s light years ahead of the dreary user experience of operating UPNP via the MConnect app. I had seen John Darko rave about it. Now I can see his point. Never thought Iwouks be interested in the write ups and similar artist links & auto plays. But here I am loving it.
(I am only using Qobuz)
Seems to all work with core and iphone both running via wifi. Not an ethernet cable in sight.
Let’s see what happens when my kids need this laptop for their homework. (That will wipe the smile off my face - back to MConnect…)
And the core streaming over wifi might mess up the house wifi for my 4 kid’s online gaming?
Mac mini might be in my future.
Thanks
Yeah if you’ve got an old Mac mini or access to one, try it. I ran Roon headless on a 2010 Mac Mini for about three years. Worked fine most of the time, but was occasionally fussy and required changing settings. This year I upgraded to a NUC ROCK. No regrets. Much more stable. It requires a bit of mucking about to set up, but I’ve had zero issues since I got it up and running.
Sound-wise I’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two.
Hope this helps. To sum up: Mac—okay but a little fussy; ROCK requires some effort to build and set up, but works flawlessly. Sound quality the same.