Hi!
I've been prompted to write something on this topic due to the number of
private emails I've received over the last couple of hours, we've been
discussing Exact Audio Copy and CD rippers and it seems that my mention
of the Mac and XLD has stimulated some interest so here goes.
I'm going to discuss the Mac from an audio viewpoint as much as is
possible here.
So what Mac should you buy? Well obviously that's up to you but I warn
you now! a Mac is going to cut deeply into your budget if you're after
the latest and - when it comes to audio - the latest may not always be
the best and you'll see why I say this as you read on.
So the latest Mac is expensive thus a great turnoff for anyone wanting
to buy one but who said you had to have the latest Mac? You don't and
who said you needed a Mac with its own built-in screen? Well, you don't
but it is advisable that you have a Mac connected to some sort of modern
day monitor at the very least for the Mac to function correctly so this
narrows our field down quite considerably to the Mac Mini.
I've never been a fan of the latest Mac Mini models as the Specs aren't
all that good for the technology you pay for so let's take ourselves
back in time exactly fours to late 2012 when Apple released possibly the
finest Mac Mini machine ever built though -given the quality of build
and the high specs of the late 2012 Mac Mini you'll pay a bit of a price
for one if you can still get one -.
These machines featured an Intel I7 Quad Core Processor in the top model
with 16GB of RAM.
The Late 2012 Mac Mini was the last to boast separate analogue/digital
audio in and out, the latter models now having one socket for both, an
absolute pain in the but.
4 USB 3.0 ports are a welcome addition along with the Thunderbolt port
which can be used for just about everything from a display to extra USB
ports, sound devices, high performance hard drives and so on.
I like the built-in HDMI port so - given its size - the Mac Mini could
be a very welcome edition to a Home Theater/multi media setup.
Going wireless is part and parcel of the Mac mini with its 2.4/5.0GHZ
built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity.
Storage isn't a problem here either and nor is performance with the
1.2TB fusion drive packed into the metal housing and - with all those
USB and other ports? - Well adding hard drives is second nature.
The lack of a DVD drive might be a nuisance to some but what are all
those uSB ports for if you an't gonna use em? Might as well get an
external DVD drive, place it on top of your Mac Mini and plug-in.
I run both Mac OSX Sierra and Windows 10 on my Mac Mini thanks to VMware
Fusion.
So why do I really like the Mac for audio work? Because its far easier
to separate and work with all your audio sources, you don't have the
conflicts between say software speech and capturing streams on the Mac
as you often encounter when recording with Windows but I'm not going to
turn this post into a complicated ramble.
I've pasted a link to a review of the late 2012 Mac Mini below. Your
local Apple Store may know where you can get one of these particular
machines, thankfully I knew someone who had one which had hardly ever
been used so I snapped it up some time ago and I know a couple of other
people who have found them on eBay but as time goes on they're becoming
a little more difficult to find and the price is going up.
http://au.pcmag.com/apple-mac-mini-late-2012/5809/review/apple-mac-mini-late-2012
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“Oh, I’m an activist and I’m OK / I sleep all night and I tweet all day.”
