Chris can you please tell me how to spare the screen (monitor) of my iMac with headless MacMini ? I have ordered to buy a Mac mini M2 but I cannot afford to buy another monitor
Thanks
Is someone having experience how moving from QNAP/Synology to a M2 Mini has improved also sound quality ?
Not Chris but I too use a âheadlessâ Mac Mini as my core.
It does require a monitor to set it up but once itâs up and running thereâs no need. The M2 has an HDMI port so if you have access to a TV that will work for the initial set up.
Set up requires the Mini have Screen Sharing and File Sharing enabled, then it can be connected to by other Macs on the network.
Thank you very much BCBC
This is what I thought. So I can set up with HDMI cable connected to my TV to install Roon core etc⌠then I can share the screen of my iMac or command with the Roon app from iPhone. Is this correct ?
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Yes, thatâs correct - youâll also need a mouse/keyboard for set up. Once youâre using your mini headless, make sure all the energy saver/display settings on it are set to never go to sleep, disable power nap, donât switch off disks when sleeping etc. etc.
Ok thank you Rockhound
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I get the impression that most of you are keeping your music files outside the Mac Mini. Is that because an external storage solution is cheaper than buying a Mini with extra capacity? Or is there a performance advantage in keeping it external?
I am using the slow 1 tb internal hard drive of my 2014 Mac mini for storing my music files. It is more than fast enough to handle that.
The OS, Linux Mint in my case, runs from a USB 3.0 connected SSD.
But if you have a more modern Mac mini then chances are that they will have far less internal storage as Apple charges insane prices for that. Much cheaper to use external storage for your music.
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Ok, that makes sense. Thanks
I keep the music files in a NAS because my Mac Mini M2 only has 512GB. The music library size is too big to fit the tiny storage for me.
Possibly the TimeMachine one depending on your circumstances.
If you have a direct attached disk as your backup disk I would say no.
If you use a network attached disk as the backup target I would say yes.
Itâs not the CPU cycles but the ability of Time Machine to clobber the network periodically that messes with Roon playback. In my experience.
Fair point. My time machine drive is directly attached so I donât have experience of it running it to a networked drive.
I have my Library run as a server on a 2012 MAC Mini and my core on a M1 MAC Mini. I get my iPad Pro or my iPhone 14 Pro to choose the music I want and it all work flawlesslyâŚeven in my Truck or walking my dog daily. I use my iPad w/attached Apple Key pad the most for my main systemâŚcould not get any easierâŚ
I put the m1 mini on an (internal) timer. It switches on in the morning and off at midnight. Thus I save a bit on electricity and the mini gets rebooted once a day.
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May I ask why you are considering this? I too have a 2014 Mac mini with 8GB RAM. I see no performance issues with Roon or Plex. Its able do DSP (for room correction), convert DSD to FLAC, process the highest bit depth / sample frequency. The CPU load is very light. Only thing is, search is very slightly sluggish, perhaps that will benefit from the upgrade.
Iâll upgrade to the M2 Mac mini (or M3) when Apple stops providing software patches for the 2014 Mac mini. This is probably going to be later this year.
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I saw slow performance when I was streaming to multiple endpoints with DSP, particularly when each endpoint had a unique stream. I suspect the 2014 Mini is fine for most normal loads.
The base storage is only 256GB. Upgrading to 512GB, 1TB, 2TB costs $200, $400 and $800 respectively! An external 2TB SSD can be had for less than $150. I donât think thereâs any performance penalty, at least not for Roon.
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None at all. I would suggest 16gb ram if you are getting a new unit but just for roon and a small to medium size library base line models should be fine. Add external media drives for local library if you need it.
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Hi,
I have Roon running on a Synology NAS. A friend of mine also wants to install Roon, but - which is certainly a good idea - on a Mac mini. Which model is still open, whether used or newâŚ
He has a music database of about 2,500 albums.
What would you recommend for a mini or what storage configuration?
Are there any instructions on what to set up on the Mac if it is only used for Roon and is in the basement and he has an iMac in the apartment?
Iâm supposed to help, but Iâm not an expertâŚ
Thanks and regards
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I would advise an Apple Silicon Mac Mini (so with an M1, M2 or M3 processor). From my experience the internal memory does not really matter for the performance. I am using an M1 8Gb myself with my music stored on my NAS and it works like a breeze.