In the world of high-end digital audio, this isn’t so much eye-watering as it is a false economy. The 2018 Mac Mini’s USB output, like most Macs before it, will more likely than not benefit from the decrapification of an interceding USB fixer-upper (see UpTone, Wyred 4 Sound, Schiit) or USB-S/PDIF converter, plus deluxe USB cable and playback software, whose addition will push the total cost of a Mac Mini-centric digital front end beyond that of bespoke solutions offered by the likes of AURALiC, Wyred 4 Sound, Innuos, Antipodes, Aurender, Melco, Roon et al whose engineers have paid close/r attention to keeping electrical noise spillage (over USB) to a minimum and whose work has come a long, long way in the four years since Apple’s 2014 Mac Mini refresh.Ĭonsider how going all out on 2018 Mac Mini specification – 3.2GHz 6-Core CPU, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD, 10Gb Ethernet – pushes the price to US$4199. Listeners whose direct experience tells them otherwise – that digital audio sources don’t all sound alike – or who heed the advice of long-time digital audio engineer Gordon Rankin – who claims that electrical noise remains a problem worth solving for manufacturers looking to build a better-sounding server/streamer – might want to pause for a moment to consider that, no surprises, the Mac Mini isn’t built with audiophile sensitivities in mind. And if you’re a “bits are bits” kind of guy/gal, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better all-in-one solution this side of an Intel NUC. That Apple have also opted to retain a pair of USB 3.0 Type A sockets is good news for audiophiles looking to deploy the Mac Mini as a server/streamer, directly feeding a DAC over USB. On the right-hand side, select the Output tab. The 2018 Mac Mini spec sheet is impressive. On the left-hand sidebar click on Built-In Output.
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