Ah, okay. Out of interest, what are you currently using as an endpoint?
I never had to do any updates or had any problems with a mini as a core, but using the dedicated nucleus now(nuc) I have had to hard restart several times in just a few months… if I didn’t feel I had to justify spending so much on the nucleus(far more than a mini), I would go back to the mini in a heartbeat.
Nucleus has 2 usb outs… one goes to my Klipsch Heritage Headphone Amp, and the other to a Parasound Halo Integrated Amplifier(version one) via a Project Pre-box S2 DAC then out to Magnapan mg1.7is and SVS SB3000 subwoofer.
Wow nice set up!
Do you know if there are any particular years where Apple used external power supplies? I’ve found this one from 2014 for £299 - is it any good?
Internal power supply, and extra £ if you want/need SSD instead of HDD…
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Thanks for the reply. Storage isn’t really an issue because I only have about 120 GB of stored music and I keep my Core on my 1 TB iMac.
Do you happen to know the years when the stock mac minis had good power supplies, like @Jennifer_Kellogg is talking about? (I have heard this rumour elsewhere as well.)
Cool. I wasn’t sure if you were still considering moving the core to a mini. Don’t forget an HDD may still be audible, even if the fan isn’t running on the mini; might be relevant if you ever want to not use headphones.
Sorry, no - I’d just be googling…
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I don‘t habe a spare Mini 
That’s why I‘m still interested going either the SonicTransporter i5 or the NUC route.
Chris,
I would recommend looking on E-Bay for a ~ 2008 vintage MAC Mini where you can swap out the RAM and hard drives your self. I installed a 1TB SSD and a 1TB HDD for backup! Check out ifixit.com for assistance with that. You can even easily convert it to run on 12VDC (it was designed to work with Automotive voltage) virtually eliminating any noise from the Mini.
I use a HD Plex LPS that furnish multiple outputs for different DC voltages.
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That’s great - thanks Larry!
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I second upgrading a MacMini with a sluggish 5400rpm HD to an SSD. I added a bootable 500gb Samsung T5 external to a 2014 MacMini. Like a new machine for 90 bucks.
Ridiculously easy to do and gave my system a much more stable Roon Core going forward - with the ability to have the machine double as a third home office space in the coronavirus world.
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I just recently moved my Core from 2018 Mac Mini to a dedicated NUC, and so glad I did. I was so frustrated with the mini with software updates, etc. and I do a lot of transcoding on mini, so I was having lots of dropouts, etc. when running Roon alongside it. It just works now having the NUC as the Core … the chains were removed once I did this transfer and it feels good 
I also bought a RPi4 to run my Roon extensions as well to keep that off the Mini … and again, the chains have been removed and everything just works now in the background without anything being tied to my Mini which is my main workhorse.
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All right, I might just as well switch to a dedicated system. Not from reasons of improving sound quality, I don’t much believe in that, but just out of convenience.
I think I‘ll be going ahead with a SonicTransporter i5 as it is quite flexible and it so much resembles my Mac Mini 2018!
Didn’t you have a Nucleus? What made you switch from it, and what is making you reconsider? A dedicated core is always going to be preferable, but not for it’s SQ. A NUC and Nucleus are pretty much identical, except one is plug and play and already in a fanless case, the other requires some DIY.
You are right! I did have a Nucleus and I was utterly disappointed by it as it just sounded like my Mac Book Pro. I sold it after just a few months of using it.
I must say my expectations were driven by the hype generated after the Nucleus had been introduced. Many seemed to hear sonic Nirvana when they replaced their laptops with the Nucleus. I am much more realistic these days. I‘ll replace my Mac Mini just out of convenience as I am doing a lot of R-based statistics, and I need to shuffle around the Roon window 
Never heard of the SonicTransporter before…but it looks nice after looking it up. A NUC would be far cheaper and all that you need assuming you will dedicate it to Roon Core only, and assuming that it’s hidden out of sight like mine (and connected via Ethernet to router/switch and not via wifi for stability purposes). If it will be out in the open to see, then I can see more of a case to maybe get the SonicTransporter (as I love the look of the Mac Mini that does sit out in the open at my place) Just my 2 cents …
Thanks for your input! I am aware that the SonicTransporter i5 is more expensive than a NUC i5. The nice thing about the SonicTransporter is that it has HQPlayer embedded (a Linux version) already installed. Therefore, it is possible to have both, Roon Server running and feeding into HQPlayer. I don‘t know if I have the nerve of installing Linux/Roon Server/HQPlayer on one NUC and having them talk to each other 
Also, I like a fan-less computer, this allows me to put it straight into my HiFi rack, without being disturbed by a fan going off all of a sudden.
2008 era MAC Mini’s do not have fans and can easily be had on E-Bay. They also can be easily modified to add your favorite SDD or HDD and room enough for 2 Drives. Mine is set up as a 1TB SSD and a 1TB HDD for back up. All of the conversion steps can be found online @ ifixit.com. Then you can also easily convert it to run on 12VDC to eliminate AC noise from the circuit.
I have repaired and upgraded many MacMinis and no machines of intel days are without fans AFAIK. PPC MM won’t work with Roon anyway so moot point there. And in fact there were no 2008 models and anything pre 2009 wont run 10.8.x which is a requirement for Roon. Dont even bother with a MacMini more than 8 years old, even 2012 is only running bare min spec for Roon. You are just asking for issues asa core machine unless the library is minuscule or streaming only.
Older MacMini’s do make a great Roon Bridge if you have one laying about, but forget anything pre 2012 for core.
there is a volume control sticking out the front. 
