And you do not get satisfactory results with that setup? 
Thanks. I use Mac OS screen sharing. I set up the machine when it arrives on another KB/screen I have then boot it up and control from my other mac going forward
I was just wondering what you would get from a Mac mini M2 compared to a 12th gen NUC in a fancy fanless enclosure.
Over 1 year I used m1 mini 16g headless… Very ok
the single core performance is really no contest, so there’s that. the mac is faster even if it is so in ways Roon might not capitalize on
I’m also not a big DIY fan. It’d be fun, maybe, but the Mini (Apple silicon ones) is so easy and the thing no one mentions, quiet. You literally can’t hear the fans unless you press your ear right up to it. Even then they are so much quieter than the room let alone the music
I’d have to price a 12th gen DIY NUC in an Akasa case but I’d be surprised if it was 100s less than $1299. I could be wrong. I haven’t compared.
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I wish people on this forum would stop being so critical of other people and their choices. If I was going to purchase a Mac Mini, I would probably purchase the best also. $1299 is not that much money anyway.
Also, some people, including myself, don’t purchase much, but when we do, we like to get the best. That way it usually last longer, and you never know what you might use it for in the future.
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I’m not critical, I’m trying to get educated and learn if I could do better myself, but I need valid arguments to do so.
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Im also a MacOS fan. I’m very used to it and while I can navigate my way through Windows, and the Nucleus+ was straightforward enough, this is what I know well.
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I try real hard on the internet to be descriptive rather than prescriptive. I chose $1299 mac mini because it held a lot of appeal to me for the reasons I described.
It’s entirely possible someone else could look at the same set of circumstances and not find it persuasive.
I would try very hard to not assert this is the “best” way. And, it hasn’t gotten here yet so we will see how well it goes! I may be going back to something else if I have issues.
So, I thought your questions were valid
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The OP does not need to justify his purchase to anyone.
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It is ok to be critical. I did go for the mini just because I use apple, over 15 years now, I’m a little scared by linux. But what you have said about the web interface makes me think again 
Of course. I’m into apple too, and as I’ve said before my dream would be stock ROCK on a Mac mini.
The NUC12WSHi7 NUC costs 1/3 the price of the Mac mini you mention. You have to add ram and m.2 and an enclosure. I guess that’s considerably cheaper than the Mac mini M2, but you would have to fiddle a bit with that setup.
Rock is os? That would be deleting the osx and install ROCK? I would like that
Me too. A Mac mini for ROCK only 
No question, a “top end” Mac Mini is not the cheapest way to get going. A NUC usually beats it in price.
If one spends $599 for the entry level Mac, I think it’s a real horse race and then it comes down to what your preference is.
OsX uses about 1.2 to 3% of m1 mini cpu and roon maxim 4%. But if I can go lighter why not?
I’m just trying to figure out, hat you would get from a M2. What have you got now as your Roon server?
I totally agree. The Mac mini M1 base model is an absolute bargain. I got mine 2nd hand for 350$. I’m not complaining
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I have a 2020 M1 Mac Mini
I am getting more single core performance and I am getting 16GB of RAM which Roon on Mac OS will definitely make use of as my library grows. And as I said earlier it caught me at a juncture where I had literally just bought and returned a Nucleus Plus.
I am not trying to assert that there is any part of the roon experience I would miss out on if I didn’t get this. Its more about a performance bump and future proofing.
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