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Post by dandeurloo on Mar 1, 2015 11:30:33 GMT -6
I'm wanting to try and run a mac mini as my main computer for recording. Has anyone had any success doing so? What are you using? The newer mac mini's or the later 2012 mac mini's. I will be running PT 11/12 with it and my new Motu interfaces over thunderbolt that BLA just modded for me.
Thanks
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Post by thesoundmotel on Mar 1, 2015 12:36:20 GMT -6
I'm running my PTHD 11 mix rig on one ( with the magma chasis ) . Also , I put 2 SSD's ( one for playback , one for the OS ) on it . It runs fine ( did have to change the fan speed to optimize it ) . Haven't run with mayor issues with it , just the normal PT stuff .
PS I don't know how effective it would be in a more intensive situation ( live multi tracking , virtual instruments , etc. )
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Post by dandeurloo on Mar 1, 2015 12:38:38 GMT -6
Which CPU are you using? How much ramm?
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Post by thesoundmotel on Mar 1, 2015 13:06:32 GMT -6
Intel Core i7 , 16 GB ram . Late 2013 model .
Apogee Symphony - HDX card - Magma Chasis - Mac mini's thunderbolt port .
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 16,107 
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Post by ericn on Mar 1, 2015 14:04:32 GMT -6
In most benchmarks the last 2 generations of I7 Mac mini out preform the first couple of generations of quad core Mac Pro!
So unless we are talking a 100 plus tracks or tons of VI s
I7 Mac Mini should be a pretty good fit!
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Post by mulmany on Mar 1, 2015 14:29:55 GMT -6
I'm wanting to try and run a mac mini as my main computer for recording. Has anyone had any success doing so? What are you using? The newer mac mini's or the later 2012 mac mini's. I will be running PT 11/12 with it and my new Motu interfaces over thunderbolt that BLA just modded for me. Thanks Dan, Never saw your comments on the Motu's... I guess you saw a reason to mod them. Reasons please? The only thing I have heard negative about the Mini is heat. You have to keep them cool when running them or the fan noise is excessive. |
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Post by formatcyes on Mar 1, 2015 14:44:47 GMT -6
opps
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Post by formatcyes on Mar 1, 2015 14:47:00 GMT -6
i7 16gb ram SSD and it works great Supper stable pt11. I run omnisphere, Complete 10, ezydrummer all works. They do have a fan which runs under load but its not to loud. BTW buy the base model i7 Uograde the ram and HDD your self eazy as.. |
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Post by lpedrum on Mar 1, 2015 18:14:22 GMT -6
The general consensus was that when the new Minis came out last fall they were a severe downgrade--check out threads on this site and other sites. I found a NOS Mini and I'm loving it.
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Post by RicFoxx on Mar 1, 2015 18:17:01 GMT -6
MacMini is a perfect cheap solution. I have the I7 quad with 16gb of RAM and it doesn't sweat (even though it gets very hot!)
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Post by dandeurloo on Mar 1, 2015 18:51:11 GMT -6
Dan, Never saw your comments on the Motu's... I guess you saw a reason to mod them. Reasons please? The only thing I have heard negative about the Mini is heat. You have to keep them cool when running them or the fan noise is excessive. I'm one of those guys. If it can be made better I'll do it. The only reason I bought the MOTU's was that they seemed like a solid design for modding with a solid foot in new technology. My thought was if I could get the sonics improved then I should have a set of converters that can last a long time. The MOTU's are great new pieces at great prices. Stock they sound pretty ok, actually good. Even BLA said they where shocked how good they sounded stock (the 24AO sounding better then the 16A). I haven't done any side by side comparisons. I know enough about DAC and ADC design to know what can have positive and negative effects on the sound. Some simple modding of some of the SMT parts would really help. I am now thinking about taking them even one step further then what BLA did. It's actually a big step but should have a nice impact once completed. I will have to see when I can get to that mod. It will require some help from a friend of mine. I actually took them over to his place today and we looked them over and decided it should be pretty easy to do once we have the time to do it. Once those mods are done these should be pretty stellar converters for really reasonable money and time. |
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Post by mulmany on Mar 1, 2015 19:52:21 GMT -6
Dan, Never saw your comments on the Motu's... I guess you saw a reason to mod them. Reasons please? The only thing I have heard negative about the Mini is heat. You have to keep them cool when running them or the fan noise is excessive. I'm one of those guys. If it can be made better I'll do it. The only reason I bought the MOTU's was that they seemed like a solid design for modding with a solid foot in new technology. My thought was if I could get the sonics improved then I should have a set of converters that can last a long time. The MOTU's are great new pieces at great prices. Stock they sound pretty ok, actually good. Even BLA said they where shocked how good they sounded stock (the 24AO sounding better then the 16A). I haven't done any side by side comparisons. I know enough about DAC and ADC design to know what can have positive and negative effects on the sound. Some simple modding of some of the SMT parts would really help. I am now thinking about taking them even one step further then what BLA did. It's actually a big step but should have a nice impact once completed. I will have to see when I can get to that mod. It will require some help from a friend of mine. I actually took them over to his place today and we looked them over and decided it should be pretty easy to do once we have the time to do it. Once those mods are done these should be pretty stellar converters for really reasonable money and time. Cool, One more question... How is the latency on these with USB? I assume that your current mac does not have TB. I have an older MacBook pro that I use for mobile and it only has USB. THanks Dan. |
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Post by dandeurloo on Mar 1, 2015 20:29:30 GMT -6
I haven't really had them fully installed yet to check. Just simple testing on my laptop. I am in the middle a huge move and re setting up my studio until I build the new one. So, all this is going on at once. I think I am getting close on a mac mini. Which does have thunderbolt so that should be cool. I hear the latency is better with thunderbolt vs USB 2.
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Post by matt on Mar 2, 2015 8:03:14 GMT -6
The only weakness in the (Late 2012) Mini, IMHO, is the video chip (Intel HD 4000). On my Late 2012 i7/16gb/dual SSDs, screen redraw gets sluggish, and I have wondered if it contributes to the occasional PT crash. Also, the HDMI port will not do above 1920x1080. But Thunderbolt is great, far beyond USB 2 or 3 speed-wise. And stable, too. If only Apple would do a hex-core Mini Pro with a dedicated GPU . . . .
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Post by dandeurloo on Mar 2, 2015 8:46:23 GMT -6
I purchased a 2.6 quad i7 with 16 gigs of ramm. I am having them put 2 big SSD drives in and a fresh install of Yosemite so I can start new with it and PT 11 or whatever the heck they say it is now. So it should be about the same CPU but 2 gens newer then what I am currently running and 12 gigs more of ram and better drives. I should do ok for a number of years with this hopefully.
I'm thinking of buy a 1RU rack mount chassis for it so I can mount my UAD quad card as well.
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Post by dandeurloo on Mar 2, 2015 11:52:49 GMT -6
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Post by kcatthedog on Mar 2, 2015 17:34:47 GMT -6
I think pro tools expert did a feature on this about a year ago, they were favourable.
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Post by wiz on Mar 2, 2015 17:51:45 GMT -6
Dan, Never saw your comments on the Motu's... I guess you saw a reason to mod them. Reasons please? The only thing I have heard negative about the Mini is heat. You have to keep them cool when running them or the fan noise is excessive. I'm one of those guys. If it can be made better I'll do it. The only reason I bought the MOTU's was that they seemed like a solid design for modding with a solid foot in new technology. My thought was if I could get the sonics improved then I should have a set of converters that can last a long time. The MOTU's are great new pieces at great prices. Stock they sound pretty ok, actually good. Even BLA said they where shocked how good they sounded stock (the 24AO sounding better then the 16A). I haven't done any side by side comparisons. I know enough about DAC and ADC design to know what can have positive and negative effects on the sound. Some simple modding of some of the SMT parts would really help. I am now thinking about taking them even one step further then what BLA did. It's actually a big step but should have a nice impact once completed. I will have to see when I can get to that mod. It will require some help from a friend of mine. I actually took them over to his place today and we looked them over and decided it should be pretty easy to do once we have the time to do it. Once those mods are done these should be pretty stellar converters for really reasonable money and time. Interesting.. I thought the 16A and 24Ao shared the same output design.. probably not by the sound of this. cheers Wiz |
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Post by dandeurloo on Mar 2, 2015 18:12:17 GMT -6
Well, the 24AO is a much simpler design. A few less chips in the way of screwing things up sonically. The 24Ao is just a simple design with limited parts and most of the parts they used are pretty decent. The 16A has a little more going on because it does more stuff in general. In any case they things are great bang for buck!
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Post by dandeurloo on Mar 3, 2015 15:40:42 GMT -6
So I bought a simpler Sonnet expansion chassis for my UAD card. Hopefully I will be ready to get this new little set up rocking once everything gets here.
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