I think my post was a little misleading. Sorry about that!
I was already able to control Roon with my mobile gadgets (using Roon remote).
What I was in fact asking was how to control other functions on the Mac Mini such as files, folders, disks, etc…
@Vladislav_Dobrev gave me advice to download RVNC Viewer app for either iPad or iPhone, and now I can share the MacMini screen at my mobile devices, and also control most of the MacMini functions (even turning it off, or restarting it).
Thanks guys!
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I’ve run a 2012 Mac Mini, followed by a 2014.
Flawless operation. It’s on 24/7 apart from updates
Never misses a beat and I’m no techie either
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I think the MAC Mini is the BEST way to store and play your library! Currently using a MAC Mini M1 and a 2012 MAC Mini that has my entire library on it! I can control my Main system on my iPad Pro and it works great! I also can control/change my Room Correction as well all from my iPad.
I’m running Roon Server on a 16GB RAM, 2.6GHz quad-core i7 late 2012 fusion Mac Mini. I’ve also replaced the spinning HDD with a 1TB SSD and reconfigured the Fusion Drive. I run convolution filters loaded from here, as well.
It is connected via ethernet to my ASUS RT-AX 86U wireless router which streams all music content (local files and Qobuz) to my Auralic Altair G1 (in another room) via wifi. No problems whatsoever. Upscaling is done by the G1.
If Roon ever discontinues support for Catalina I would definitely move to an M2 Mac Mini.
My local music files are stored on a dedicated Synology NAS, also connected by ethernet to the wireless router.
Anyone have any thoughts about just storing local music files on the 1TB SSD in the M1 and forgoing the NAS under the KISS principle? Anyone tried this and found it sounded better?
I copied a couple of albums I know well to the M1 SSD and compared it to the NAS (HDD) and I “think” it sounds a touch better…
Kind regards,
Peter
Yes another happy M1 Mini user here. Dedicated with absolutely no other SW in sight. Ethernet to a Cisco optical switch with a 4TB SSD connected to the Mac. With the Roon stability issues mainly a thing of the past, it is a joy to use. I really hope you get yours sorted as it’s a brilliant and economical solution IMO. Certainly more so than the new Nucleus Titan…ouch!!!
There will be no difference in sound whatsoever. Even KISSier approach might be to run Roon on the Synology itself, if it has an appropriate CPU. Keeping music local to the server (whether Mac or anything else) would lessen the network load, although even that should not be a factor, but is definitely a simplest apprioach, as long as the files are backed up somewhere.
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Happy Mac M1 user here.
I bought a cheap, used basic one (256 gb DSD, 8 gb ram) 1.5 years ago. Connected to Ethernet (nothing fancy, long cat 5e cable to the IP router), configured user automatic login, installed only Roon Server and Plex, starting up automatically at login, disabled all the sleep functionalities, screen saver, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and similar.
External ssd for my local roon library and that’s it.
No scheduled reboot. It only restarts when I decide to upgrade the OS, which I normally do from command line, connecting via ssh. This can happen 3 or 4 times a year, when I remember. For info, it is running Sonoma.
If I need to connect graphically, very very rarely, I use the screen sharing from my work iMac.
Since then it runs in the leaving room, 24/7, headless, quiet, flawless.
For me it was a very convenient and cheap solution, couldn’t be happier!
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I am extremely happy using a M2 Mac mini as my Roon server. It operates significantly better than my previous 2018 Intel based Mac mini
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I’ve been using a M1 Mac Mini to run Roon Server and HQPlayer Desktop for well over a year now and the experience has been completely trouble free with excellent performance. I could not be happier with the setup. I came from running Roon and then HQPlayer on a dedicated linux box (sonicTransporter i9) and find the M1 Mac Mini to be a superior experience!
The only reason I would change my setup is if Apple ever releases a Mac Mini with an M chip powerful enough to allow HQPlayer to upsample to DSD512 with the modulators and filters I use. Otherwise, I am super happy!
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I know it has been a while since your post. Does your M1 output DSD via USB? Which rate can it output? I have a Toppind D90LE DAC.
No not native. Only DoP … if you want native you need to use a raspberry pi as endpoint with roopie for example. 
Run a small Linux VM (I use Debian on Parallels) headless in the backgroud, map the USB device to the VM, install RoonBridge – problem solved.
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No direct USB output from the Mac Mini M1 in my current setup, only Ethernet.
I use not only a 2012 MAC Mini for my Library, I also use a M1 MAC Mini (bought new when they were released) as my Core to run another system in my office…They work great if can keep the software up to date…
I’ve ran a 2014 Mac Mini with Linux as OS. Rock solid and always up to date Now my Roon Server runs from a Lenovo laptop with Linux and 16 gb of RAM. Rock solid and way snappier compared to the 2017 MacBook Air, 2014 Mac Mini and 2020 M1 MacBook Pro that preceded it. They all came with 8 gb of RAM. I reckon that would have been the culprit.
Why did you use Linux over MacOS?
Do not want to answer for @SandsOfArrakis so don’t consider this an answer - take it as an opinion/comment, because I tend to see this forums as conversation and some time you just have to chime in.
My guess is because the 2014 Mac Mini will stop (and probably already has) getting OS updates (security or otherwise), even though it may still be a capable machine, depending on the application. As such, Linux seems to be a good bet for extending the useful life of a Mac… in fact, I would say of any older machine.
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MacOS was still getting security updates but nothing else.
The second reason for me was RAM usage. Just like Windows MacOS claims a lot of RAM for itself. And Roon also uses a lot of RAM. Linux isn’t as RAM hungry.
Back then my library was just over 80k tracks in size. And Linux + Roon were using around 7 gb of RAM. MacOS + Roon went beyond the available 8 gb of RAM.
Making for both a very sluggish computer and Roon. The same thing happened with its successor an 8 gb 2020 M1 MacBook Pro running the latest MacOS.
With my current server Roon runs much faster. A Lenovo Ideapad laptop with an 8th gen i7 quad core CPU, 16 gb of RAM and 1 tb SSD. My local library sits on a 2 tb external USB hard drive. Just over 70k local tracks. And Qobuz and Tidal bring my Roon’s library currently up to just over 101k tracks and about 7.5k albums.
The Lenovo + Linux (LMDE 6) makes for a very pleasant Roon experience. 3 streamers at home using volume leveling. And Roon ARC on my iPhone when at work or on the road .
Every few weeks I’ll update Linux and give the system a fresh reboot. Which takes only a few minutes at most. 
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Well I’m happy for you to be improving your sound system. Improvements always raises the enjoyment of Music listening!
Which is way more than I can say of ROON Support I get when having issues like I currently have. I have been trying to get their attention for more than a week with ZERO RESPONSE …this is what I get for being a Lifetime menber for almost 8 years?
Thanks. I’m considering to buy an M4 and probably will choose 32b RAM (though expensive…) to ensure smooth running and being future proof. So this is good info for me.
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