# Mac mini based a/v streaming system suggestions?



## daveinredondo (Jul 26, 2014)

I am downsizing into a 900 sq. ft. condo in Los Angeles and am trying to assemble a streaming system from what I have, without big ticket items.

- -Mac Mini (2012 release)mac mini
- I just bought a $750 60" samsung plasma 1080p w/ 600Hz refresh rate "dumb" TV w/2 hdmi inputs and 1 USB -- it Dolby Digital + & DTS out via Optical, but no WiFi either.
- also bought a DSD DAC iFi DSD nano for $180 for 2 channel audio
Older equipment:
- Parasound 2 channel amp A 23 w/ manual channel attenuators, or if I do surround sound, a Rotel 5 ch amp.
- 12 yr old Paradigm Studio 20 Monitors ( I also have Magnepan small HT speakers I probably can use
- I plan on acquiring an Apple TV 3 and using Airplay via an old Kyocera KR2 mobile router 
- TWCable Internet standard package
- HDTV indoor antenna (unless the condo is already wired for rooftop antenna) plus an existing Netflix account

I also have an old yamaha 5.1 receiver I could use for decoding DTS but the remote is missing, plus, I want to control the system via iPhone and iPad

This will be my first venture into streaming as my home only gets restricted data by mobile hotspot.

My main concerns:
-- whether I will also need a preamp for gain control (I understand that using the digital volume on the Mac is not a good solution)
-- How to decode surround sound so I can use my mini maggies once I get settled in. 

This is my first post, and I am looking for some thoughtful input and suggestions on how to make this work. Thanks. Daveinredondo.

-


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## gazoink (Apr 17, 2013)

daveinredondo said:


> I am downsizing into a 900 sq. ft. condo in Los Angeles and am trying to assemble a streaming system from what I have, without big ticket items.
> 
> - -Mac Mini (2012 release)mac mini


Good choice. Mac OS since Mountain Lion provides for screen sharing/mirroring via Airplay.


daveinredondo said:


> - I just bought a $750 60" samsung plasma 1080p w/ 600Hz refresh rate "dumb" TV w/2 hdmi inputs and 1 USB -- it Dolby Digital + & DTS out via Optical, but no WiFi either.


TV is fine.


daveinredondo said:


> - also bought a DSD DAC iFi DSD nano for $180 for 2 channel audio


Nice, but not of much use in a HT situation.


daveinredondo said:


> Older equipment:
> - Parasound 2 channel amp A 23 w/ manual channel attenuators, or if I do surround sound, a Rotel 5 ch amp.
> - 12 yr old Paradigm Studio 20 Monitors ( I also have Magnepan small HT speakers I probably can use


The speakers are OK, you'll have a much easier time if you divest the older amp and invest in a current model AVR.


daveinredondo said:


> - I plan on acquiring an Apple TV 3 and using Airplay via an old Kyocera KR2 mobile router
> - TWCable Internet standard package
> - HDTV indoor antenna (unless the condo is already wired for rooftop antenna) plus an existing Netflix account


Apple TV is a great choice. You can screen-share (mirror) your Mac Mini screen via AirPlay, as well as mirror/share your iPad, but once you sync Apple TV with your iTunes library and Apple ID, you won't need to screen share except for non-iTunes compatible files, which you can play out via VLC and and screen sharing, if necessary. The Apple TV user experience is quite good on its own. I have only rare needs to do anything from our Mac server. 

Can't comment on the TWCable, but you'll want 10Mbps minimum internet speed for good Apple TV performance.


daveinredondo said:


> I also have an old yamaha 5.1 receiver I could use for decoding DTS but the remote is missing, plus, I want to control the system via iPhone and iPad


Again, the old Yamaha is not worth the fight, sell it off and pool resources for a good modern AVR. I recommend Denon, the X-series has a slight edge over the E series, but I own both. Make sure you get one that can work with the Denon IOS App, some of the entry-level units don't support network control, but the better units do.


daveinredondo said:


> This will be my first venture into streaming as my home only gets restricted data by mobile hotspot.
> 
> My main concerns:
> -- whether I will also need a preamp for gain control (I understand that using the digital volume on the Mac is not a good solution)


Use the main volume control on your new AVR rather than a preamp or any software gain control


daveinredondo said:


> -- How to decode surround sound so I can use my mini maggies once I get settled in.


This depends on the video file type. If it's something iTunes can deal with, Apple TV will see the file and play it while sending the surround content as a bitstream to your AVR for decoding. That works pretty well. If the file is something that iTunes won't support, you'll probably be playing it in VLC and mirror the video to Apple TV. That probably won't get you surround at all, so you can also plug in a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adpater into your Mac Mini and connect it directly to your AVR. If you set up VLC to send audio via HDMI to your AVR, the AVR should decode the full surround channel count. I'll warn you, it's a bit clumsy that way, but it can work. For simplicity, using something Apple TV can see in your library is simplest.


daveinredondo said:


> This is my first post, and I am looking for some thoughtful input and suggestions on how to make this work. Thanks. Daveinredondo.
> 
> -


Welcome!

Based on the fact that you mention the DSD DAC, you may be interested in high resolution audio. Several cautions...

It's not possible to stream DSD or any audio above 48KHz over AirPlay. If you use an AVR with Audyssey (highy recommended!), the maximum sample rate for all audio will be 48KHz. Everything that arrives at the AVR as analog or higher rate digital will be resampled to 48KHz. Now, that may sound "bad", but the improvements to be had with Audyssey are highly audible, whereas the improvements to be had with high rate audio are often questionable. I would encourage you to try it the "easy way" and see how you enjoy playing your music using your iPad and Mac Mini and AirPlay.


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## daveinredondo (Jul 26, 2014)

Thanks for all the advice. Are you suggesting that I may find the Onkyo AVR 2-channel DAC will be good enough for Stereo HiFi? All my audio files are lossless FLAC or ALAC. I would not use the WiFi approach for my main speakers. Sounds like good advice. Anyone want an old Yamaha AVR without a remote?


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## gazoink (Apr 17, 2013)

daveinredondo said:


> Thanks for all the advice. Are you suggesting that I may find the Onkyo AVR 2-channel DAC will be good enough for Stereo HiFi? All my audio files are lossless FLAC or ALAC. I would not use the WiFi approach for my main speakers. Sounds like good advice. Anyone want an old Yamaha AVR without a remote?


Not necessarily, what I'm saying is you can't get high res FLAC or ALAC all the way through to the speakers and still have room correction on. However, room correction is always an audible improvement, where high-rate files are not. You turn off room correction and get high rate files out of the AVR's DAC, but not via AirPlay, which is limited to 48KHz.


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