Another good point - I have a few logistical challenges with its positioning (and want to keep it out of sight), thinking over to the right corner, or perhaps behind the TV.
Speaking of cooling, does anyone have an external cooler that will fit my 2014 MacMini that they like?
Is the MacMini shape similar to a NUC, solid on top with vents on the sides?
Most component coolers I’ve seen are made to sit on top of receivers/amps and draw heat out and away through the top vents then blow the heat upwards or to the front/rear.
With the extreme heat we been experiencing in Texas my active cooling setup can’t keep up. The heat is getting in my media closet through a side wall that is next to attic space and it gets over 100 in the closet during the day. I have to keep the door open with a fan blowing in to keep the heat down in the high 80s. On the lookout for something better myself.
MacMini venting is on the base of case.
I keep my Wi-Fi hub behind the tv.
Thanks for that. I use all AC Infinity fan systems in the media closet. A through the wall active intake system at the bottom of the closet draws in chilled air from the foyer. Through the wall active exhaust system at the top rear of the closet blows the warm air out. Have a top exhaust component system on top of the receiver and a rear exhaust on top of the amp. With normal temps that we had been having the total of all the fans systems worked very well to keep the closet and equipment cabinet at house temp with the system powered up all day. Now with this heat wave we’ve had for the last 2 months, over 105 every day and no rain, the extreme heat from the attic is seeping through the wall.
When I remodeled the Media closet last year I used 5/8 and 3/4 plywood for the walls instead of sheetrock so I had hard surfaces all around. There wasn’t any insulation there and I didn’t add any. That was a big mistake. Glad I user screws to secure the plywood. I’ll have to remove the equipment and open up the walls to add insulation. The active air intake can’t overcome the heat seeping though the wall. Thanks again.
Now running a 30ft pair of Blue Jeans Cables LC-1 interconnects. These eliminated some noise I was getting with the XLR cables, which allowed me to plug the amps back into the front wall, hence why they’re moved back a little further.
Sounds a lot better now because of the new interconnects, no noise, and because the amps are plugged directly into the wall instead of that extension cable.
A slight invasion. LOL
Running a couple of older minis for various functions - I gained a 10degree cooler bonus when I cleaned them out. How long since it has had a solid dust cleanout - remove fan etc.
I keep mine clean. Been using computers for a few years. ; )
My system consists of:
Mac mini 2018 (Intel) - Roon core
NAD T778
NAD M27
Sonus faber Sonetto V
Sonus faber Center II
Sonus faber Wall - a pair for surrounds, and another pair in the kitchen for 2nd zone
Subwoofer Martin Logan Descent i
I also have Sonus faber Omnia for use in the bedroom or patio.
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It matches the white plant pot
Those are the two biggest scratch posts I have ever seen. Your cat must really enjoy them
Here’s the rest of my desktop setup from left to right. Dan Clark Aeon Noire 2 headphones, Eurorack stuff (Expert Sleepers ES-8, Cwejman stuff, Mordax DATA oscilloscope, etc.), Bottlehead S.E.X. Tube Amp, Topping PA5 II, Fio BTA30 Pro, Little Dot Mk 3 Tube Amp, Drop THX 789, Antelope Audio Zen Q, Mackie 402 VLZ4 Mixer, Amazon Echo 5 Show as a mini display for Roon, Three Monitors, Micca RB42 (needed some small passive speakers for the Bottlehead). (headphones you don’t see, Senheiser HD6XX, HiFiman Planar something or other, a pair of Beyerdynamics, AKG forgot the model number, ton of IEM’s, blah blah blah.
Mine was running a bit hot so I removes the bottom plastic disc, put some feet bumpers on it, and installer a 3rd party fan management app to speed up it fan (tg pro) and dropped internal chip temps dramatically
Great room… I’d be tempted to nuke the whole av system, drop another window in, and add a drink cart
Honestly, they’ve never bothered the Maggies.
Latest addition to my setup, integrating my turntable to Roon wirelessly using the most excellent RooExtend RooPlay extension.
The turntable connects to RooExtend running on a Rasberry Pi4, which is connected to my wifi network. Multi-rooming is a big focus of my Roon setup as I just love having music piped through the whole house, but until now I wasn’t able to find a good solution to integrate vinyl.
It sounds great, and not only do I get to play a vinyl record everywhere across the house, because the Pi4 connects wirelessly, I can put the turntable anywhere. It’s on an antique tea trolley on the opposite side of the room from speakers, and close to the couch (listening position), so easier to get up and change the record!