I went to Mac’s 12 years ago because of airport, airplay and optical outs on computers and such, I moved to roon last year because it’s what airplay and iTunes should be by now, then over to bluos this year for the same reason.
Guess I’ll replace my mini with a nuc for the same reason again.
James
Hi, it looks to me like you have quite a lot going on with all those endpoints on your LAN. A mixture of homeplugs and WiFi is a potential area for problems, and I’m not sure that getting a higher spec Core machine is necessarily going to solve your problem.
Homeplugs work by putting a very high level of RFI on your entire mains wiring, and then modulating it. Quite apart from the potential health risks this poses, it does not conform to any recognised standard such as Ethernet, and while it can work, it can often cause problems too.
People are often put off running a proper wired network around the house because it can be disruptive, but it’s a cheap thing to do, and it’s the gold standard of network building.
Not at all. A complete misunderstanding.
It’s just a PC in a smaller case with it’s own graphics chip and without options to add any extra cards.
It will run any OS you put on it, except for macOS.
Roon or not, a mainstream PC for many people, except gamers.
[Warning: didn’t read all responses]. If your core is running on an HDD, that needs to change. Either with a Mini modification kit, or buying a dedicated NUC/Rock. I recommend a NUC unless you are just mildly interested in the app.
I’ve got a Roon Core running on a Gigabyte BRIX, which is the Gigabyte equivalent of a NUC. It’s a MOCK because it’s running ROCK on unsupported hardware, but I’ve been very pleasantly surprised at how hassle free it has been.
There are some helpful resources about getting ROCK up and running on a NUC. Hans Beekuyzen’s 3 part videos are very comprehensive. Chris Connaker’s video has helpful screenshots for a Mac user.
The ROCK Install Guide has links to the resources you need.
As John v says you really need an SSD running Roon
I use a bog std desktop.i7, 16 g Ram, 256 SSD for system , then internal 4tb HDD for music, all on Windows 10
Never a blip
That said , if that crashes I would go for A NUC for compactness
What year is your Mac Mini? Is the storage a mechanical hard drive or a SSD? 4 Gb of RAM is too low for a Mini. An upgrade to an SSD and 8 Gb of RAM may solve your problems with no hassles. My Mini works perfectly with a SSD upgrade and sufficient RAM
I suggest you don’t rule out upgrading your Mac Mini or replacing it with another (possibly used) Mac Mini, if that is what you are used to (and if you like it, aside from the reported glitches). Mac is a pretty good multi-function platform for music, not just for Roon but also for HQPlayer, Audirvana, Bit Perfect, REW, etc.
My Mini is a late 2014 model, i5, 16GB RAM, 1 TB fusion drive.
It runs Roon Core reliably, even with DSP processes (convolution etc). There are pros/cons compared to a Nucleus or a NUC. If I had to replace mine, I’d consider various options (weighing price, features, etc.) The newest Mac Mini models have become quite expensive, so you might get more bang for your buck from a NUC (if you’re willing to switch platforms.) Personally, I’d probably be willing to spend some price premium for a new Mini over a NUC.
I finished my NUC/ROCK build this past week. For me, the NUC8I7BEH seemed like the best option (4 core i7) with 16GB ram, Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 250GB for OS/Database, and Samsung 2.5” 860 EVO SATA 1TB drive for my music files (currently less than 100GB). Just personal preferences.
My cousin built the desktop, 10 years ago, that I originally had Roon running on and I had previously communicated with him about the Roon music server. The following text is from an email I sent to him describing my experience with the build process.
Installing the 16GB memory, M.2 250GB SSD drive and Sata 2.5 1TB drive was simple enough. Or so I thought.
I had to download and copy the latest Bios version to a flash drive, Boot that in, and make a few changes listed in the Roon build instructions. My main concern was the M.2 drive and Boot order since that is where the OS and Database goes.
Then I had to download ROCK (Roon OS and software) to my PC, download a program to install that on the flash drive, and Boot that in. I was surprised when it booted up in about 5 seconds the first time. The M.2 drive is PCIe NVMe with 3500 MB/s read speed and the OS is built to just run the music software. It’s fast.
From my PC, in the Roon Remote Software setup, there is a link that brings up a page to control the NUC. It was supposed to have a section for the internal storage 2.5 SSD with a format button. It was not there. I had to hook the monitor/keyboard/mouse back up to check the BIOS and that is when I noticed the SATA drive was not showing up. Should have caught that in the beginning. Opened it up, removed/reinstalled the drive, the SATA cable and the power cable then it showed up in the BIOS. Either the drive connection or one of the tiny cables wasn’t in right.
After that I was able to format the drive and import my music files from my PC with a drag and drop. Yea!!
I had previously replaced memory modules, and HDD’s with SSD’s, in my desktop, but this was my first build and the first time I had installed any OS.
I don’t see how it could be any easier except for the issue with the 2.5 drive. I should have caught that in the beginning.
Thanks for the update and glad to hear you got things going so quickly.
Do you recall if the settings for the boot order was as described in the instructions, or if you had to do some hunting?
I’m curious, because some people have a real problem there. Since we all do this just once, its hard to tell if its an ‘instruction problem’, a ‘user problem’, or ‘differences in BIOS’ problem.
I do recall 2 items in the boot order. The m.2 drive and one other. I don’t recall what the second one was named, seems like it was LAN: or SAN: something but I mistakenly associated it as the SATA drive. The m.2 drive was second in the list so I moved it to the top. I believe after resetting the SATA drive only the m.2 and sata was listed. Sorry, my recall mechanism is not what it used to be.
Hi Jeff its 2014 from memory, the one you can’t upgrade the memory on.500Gb HHD. The bog standard mini at the time it was/is sat on the rack and I wanted the optical out fir my DAC.
Why not just buy a new mini? You’re already used to it, and any of this year’s models will work fine.
As someone else has mentioned, you could of course go for a used Mini such as a late 2012 ‘6,2’ config with an i7 Quad Core processor, upgradable RAM and the option to add an internal SSD. They appear on auction sites quite frequently. This would allow you to dabble with DSP and/or permit quite a large library before Roon begins to struggle.
If you went this way, Uptone Audio do a tweak for it to allow you to replace the AC supply with a DC socket (to permit use of an LPSU) and it also provides better control of the fan to reduce electrical noise. I believe they supply step-by-step fitting instructions and the iFixit website also has information to help you with the tinkering.
I set up ROCK on a NUC recently. The how to do everything guide is very easy to follow. I am the idiot that it was written for. I was running Roon from an iMac across a wireless network to my Oppo 205D. It ran reasonably well but unsurprisingly from time to time I would have network issues plus the demands of the iMac getting in the way of Roon. Now that I have a dedicated machine, which is also connected by Ethernet, I have flawless performance. I really should have taken the plunge years ago.
Great post. Running Roon on a shared machine is fine for assessing it, but if you’re serious, a dedicated and wired NUC/Rock or Nucleus is definitely the way to go. Enjoy the music 
If all you ever wanted to do with a computer is play Roon, and if the costs of the Nucleus you needed were similar to the costs of the Mini (or NUC) you needed, I’d go for the Nucleus. However, if you need a Nucleus+, it may cost much more than a similarly-configured Mini. And what happens if, in a few months, there is (for example) an Audirvana release with a UI as good as Roon’s – plus, clearly better SQ? With a Mini you can switch; with a Nucleus, you can’t.
A NUC may be the way to get the best of both at a manageable price (provided you’re comfortable setting up and using a new platform). Then again, a well configured NUC might run you close to $1000. You should be able to get a very well equipped, used Mini for that. In that case, IMO, the choice probably does not come down to real-world SQ. It’s more a question of which one gives you the features, ease of use, and trouble-free operation you want.
Emphasis on “you”, because the answer partly depends on your own needs and what you are comfortable using.
If you’re locked into Roon, a NUC with Rock is the way to go, or a nucleus if you’re put off by a bit of diy.
Thanks for all the feedback guys, it’s looking more and more like the i5 mac mini. Laptop, tablet and phone are all Apple. Weighing it all up the only real issue is the mini is just so damn slow when I have to do anything with it.
I’m thinking the i5 mini is going to be faster than my mid 2014 i7 2.2 dual core.
Thanks again