Every couple of weeks Costco is selling the base M1 mini for $100 off. Probably clearing stock for the new M2 mini in the near future.
Big deal if Rock is a lighter OS. If you want to run Linux, on an older Mac mini, run any of the virtual apps (VMware, virtual box, Parallels) and load any of the many versions of Linux you are comfortable with and run Roon on it. Iāve done that, in the end, went back to Mac OS. I have close to 150k tracks and running on an older 2012 Mac mini with 16G of ram, no problem. If you look at the system resources, the system wasnāt working hard at all. In the old days when running pure music and/or Audirvana on a Mac, you turned some of the features of the Mac OS off to save resources which helped back then, now, not a big deal.
1 more clarification, the new M1 macās have different architecture than the old intel Macs and treat ram differently. 8G of ram will go much further in allowing your system to run efficiently compared to the intel 8G Macs.
Thanks this thread has helped me as i look to upgrade my Roon Core running on an old MacBook Air 2011. I donāt have a library i only use for streaming. This may be a bit sacrilege here but im also keen to know if anyone uses the M1 to stream Apple Music in hi-res?
This new app (link below) makes this possible and im keen to know if it works with the M1. I will have the M1 in my main listening room connected to an External DAC via USB.
Also because im only using Roon Core to stream - would anyone recommend an older Mac Mini ā¦ 2014 or 2018 and above i3 / i5/ i7 ? Thanks
Any of those minis should be fine
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I returned the M1 for just that reason. Bought a used/renewed 2012, saved some money, and eliminated the 5.1 choke. I am a dedicated Mac guy, disappointed in the M1 Mini.
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The 2014 i7 I use works fine although the 2012 is replaced also didnāt have any problems.
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I can get a deal on a Mac mini 2020 3.6ghz i3 ā¦ i3 2020 ok?
I would get an older Mac mini only if you are a multichannel user. The M1 Mac mini is far better for 2-channel usesā¦
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I currently run Roon on a late model 2012 Mac Mini with 16 GB of ram. Apple suggests the 8 GB of unified memory with the M1 could be close to equal to the 16 gigs I have on the 2012 Mac. Iām running the i7 2.3 GHz proc. True or not? I am using the Mac mini exclusively for Roon and nothing else, so in your opinion will 8 GB be enough or would I experience a downgrade in performance?
Is there evidence that 2 channel audio is āfar betterā with the M1? My dedicated 2012 mini shows full resolutions in 2.0 or 5.1 and playback of both formats sound great. Educate me, please.
The M1 Mac mini has a much more powerful processor so you use more of the Roon DSP features or you can use HQPlayer. So, not better sounding but better because it is more powerful.
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I use a M1 MacBook air with 8gb ram . DSP, upsampling, multiroomā¦all over 5ghz WiFi and zero issues at all.
Most memory that I have seen roon use up so far was 2.3gb and about 30% cpu on one core.
And roon is still running as intel software. Once roon updates their software it should be even less demanding
Thatās great, and appreciate the feedback. Iām still amazed that this Mac Mini from 2012 still works like a champ. And no doubt at some near future point Apple will offer an upgraded M1 chip, the frosting on the cake.
M2 will be out this autumn
I run Roon server on a late 2014 i7 Mac Mini. Roon Server still has some memory issues on my model running the latest Monterey and Roon. I scheduled a daily reboot to avoid Roon server using up all the memory. When starting it just allocates about 500mb but after day itās already over 1gb. Besides that the 2014 Mini runs perfectly with dsp in my 2 channel setupā¦
Good thing I can wait! Iāll be among first customers. Intention is to replace 6 year old loaded iMac with the new Mini w/16 GB RAM AND upon failure (inevitable I suppose) will replace the MacMini w/8 GB RAM. Thx again for the info. 
Letās hope roon upgrades their software to a native Apple silicon version before the M2 is out 
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The extra performance of the M2 is kinda unnecessary at the moment anyway If room uses only 2-30% of one core per Zone.
Even if I use DSP and upsample to 768khz itās no issue for the M1
Alternatively, youāll be able to get a really good deal on an M1 when the M2s come out. Iām currently running Roon on a 16GB M1, alongside a whole bunch of other stuff (work related apps, Photoshop and Lightroom, Dropbox, Google Drive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and have around 200k tracks. Roon is RAM hungry (currently running at just under 6GB for the server and 1GB for the client), but it now runs without any issues, and should be even better when Roon get around to bringing out a native silicon version. If youāre intending to get a mini to just run your core, the M2 would probably be overkill.
Point well taken. And another option for those unfamiliar with Apple, great deals can often be had from their refurbished department. Most every unit sold there is absolutely nothing wrong with it but represent nothing more than a customer return and by law no manufacturer can resell as new a computer that has been opened by another person. These items typically offer savings in excess of 20%. And they carry an āas new warranty.ā
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