USB to SPDIF converter

[esimms86]

I am considering purchasing an Audiophilleo 2 USB to SPDIF converter and Pure Power battery source for use with my spouse-friendly Peachtree Audio DACiT. I currently used the DACiT with a Sonos system which has a very high WAF. I, however, have some hi res files that I would like to play through the same DAC fed by a 2011 mac mini server (a future purchase that should be on my doorstep the first week of july). Aside from Barry Diament's Soundkeeper Recordings(highly recommended), the rest of my hi res files pre-date the addition of the async Phasure NOS1 to my system. What I am wondering is whether the Audiophilleo devices(both the Audiophilleo 2 and its companion piece, the Pure Power unit, are available for purchase from http://www.audiophilleo.com/Audiophilleo2.aspx) would be expected to produce excellent sound quality when connected between the mac mini and the NOS1. Theoretically, it would clean up the data feed from the Intel core i7 quad core mac mini server (run in boot camp mode with Windows Professional) to the NOS1.

Additionally, I am wondering whether XXHE would sound at its best if placed on the same hard drive but in a separate partition. What I would like to do is to purchase a mac mini server with a pair of 750 Gb hard drives and partition one of the hard drives as follows: 125 Gb Mac for OS X Snow Leopard with Audirvana Plus, 125 Gb for Windows 7 Professional running XXHE, 500 Gb for music files; the other 750 Gb hard drive would contain only music so that an external hard drive or NAS drive would not be needed with my music collection at its present size.

Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated. And, yes, I will be over the moon when I can run XXHE on a headless mac mini with the promised future XXHE update.

Esau

[PeterSt]

Hi Esau,

What I am wondering is whether the Audiophilleo devices(both the Audiophilleo 2 and its companion piece, the Pure Power unit, are available for purchase from http://www.audiophilleo.com/Audiophilleo2.aspx) would be expected to produce excellent sound quality when connected between the mac mini and the NOS1.

Well, what I wonder first is how you think you are going to connect this. The AudioPhilleo has USB input and SPDIF output. So ?


Your Mac Mini proposal seems all right to me.
Start out with the music on that second HDD and not on the OS' disc (even when it's outside the OS' partition like you propose), it will be very slow otherwise).

At this moment, personally I would not buy a Mini. I would definitely wait for the specs of the 2012 to be known (while the 2012 isn't even anounced yet ), and then assuming there will be a Quad Core (Hyperthreading, thus 8 cores) processor in there, integrated graphics again and USB3. This is all about the ivyBridge stuff which is only there for two weeks, but it should be a good thing to the Mini. The price probably won't differ much, but at least you will have some value for money then. The 2011 ? I think it is expensive only ... (and no reason to expect better sound with its two cores only).
Notice that USB3 will solve your HDD problem and you won't be needing the two-HDD version anymore (if that can be chosen at all).

Shoot if you have more questions !
Peter