Question: Mac Mini SSD boot drive, 2.6gHz, 16GB Ram. Recording 16 tracks 24/96kHz....

[TimJones]

Hey Guys!
I am thinking of purchasing a Mac Mini 2.6gHz i7, with 16GB Ram, an SSD boot drive, and adding a second 2700rpm internal SATA drive to record to.
(The Benchmark rating for this setup is around 13,000)

NOTE: I don't want to use a USB or firewire interface. I want a serious pro setup, separate converters, pre-amps,

I have a few questions regarding this setup.

1. How would i even hook up a sound card (like an apogee symphony I/O) to a Mac Mini so i can get 16 channels I/O?

2. How well would a Mac Mini 2.6gHz i7 operate when tracking 16 channels at 24bit/96kHz?

3. Would i be able to overdub 10 tracks 24Bit/96kHz while 20 Native Instruments plugins are active? (for example live drums plus live vocals over a work in progress production using NI Plugins)

4. Will I be able to hook up any PCIe audio cards (like an Apogee Symphony I/O PCIe 64 card)

5. Is it possible to run Protools HD with HDX Cards and hardware off of a Mac Mini??

6. Does the size of the computer effect the sound quality? - For this question i would love the tweaky audiophile answers. I'm not interested in the answers from people who say "It doesn't matter cuz it's all 1's and 0's." Has anyone experienced better quality with a more pro type computer?
for example:

• a processor chip soldered to the motherboard vs clipped in (like on mac pro's).
• over heating issues leading to poor sound quality
• mobile laptop type motherboard vs a bigger mac pro motherboard

7. Is there any reason why i would want to go for mac pro over a mac mini with the similar specs?

Thanks all!

[Dism]

Originally Posted by TimJones

Hey Guys!
I am thinking of purchasing a Mac Mini 2.6gHz i7, with 16GB Ram, an SSD boot drive, and adding a second 2700rpm internal SATA drive to record to.
(The Benchmark rating for this setup is around 13,000)

NOTE: I don't want to use a USB or firewire interface. I want a serious pro setup, separate converters, pre-amps,

I woudn't use a Mac Mini, then. You are limited by your I/O. Besides... you're willing to invest 10s of thousands of $$$ in front end, but you want to buy the very lowest end Mac for the job? Doesn't really make sense to me.

Also: don't knock a good Firewire interface. Plenty of serious pros using them as the heart of their studio. So many studios out there who still have an 003 or 2626 running. I'm personally running a Saffire 56 with no plans on switching it for a PCIe solution.

Originally Posted by TimJones

I have a few questions regarding this setup.

1. How would i even hook up a sound card (like an apogee symphony I/O) to a Mac Mini so i can get 16 channels I/O?

In theory... Thunderbolt expansion chassis.

Originally Posted by TimJones

2. How well would a Mac Mini 2.6gHz i7 operate when tracking 16 channels at 24bit/96kHz?

Probably just fine. I was recording 16 @ 48/24 on my 2007 Macbook Pro for a number of years via Firewire.

Originally Posted by TimJones

3. Would i be able to overdub 10 tracks 24Bit/96kHz while 20 Native Instruments plugins are active? (for example live drums plus live vocals over a work in progress production using NI Plugins)

Possibly. This won't really be affected by the computer, though. Pro Tools still has a 4GB memory limit which can be reached very quicky with a lot of VIs. Current solutions involve extra software like VE Pro.

Originally Posted by TimJones

4. Will I be able to hook up any PCIe audio cards (like an Apogee Symphony I/O PCIe 64 card)

In theory. I dunno about 64, though. Really have to look up to see who is using TBolt expansion effectively.

Originally Posted by TimJones

5. Is it possible to run Protools HD with HDX Cards and hardware off of a Mac Mini??

Again, Thunderbolt.

Originally Posted by TimJones

6. Does the size of the computer effect the sound quality...?

No. The reason why people say, "It's all 1s and 0s," is because it IS. Anyone who tells you otherwise is talking out their rear end. I am certainly an audiophile and can tell you the computer itself has absolutely nothing to do with how a recording sounds... only the engineer.

Originally Posted by TimJones

7. Is there any reason why i would want to go for mac pro over a mac mini with the similar specs?

Thanks all!

A tower will always be more effective in the studio purely for expandability reasons. A hard drive dies... pop it open and stick in a new one. Need more RAM... stick in more RAM. New video card, etc. Having a few PCIe slots still outweights a TBolt port or two in my opinion, since expansion chassis are still expensive and not qualified for all purposes yet.

Now, I wouldn't go for ANY current Mac Pro, since they are all tragically out-dated and underpowered... not to mention lacking in any modern I/O. I am more a "build it yourself" kinda guy. I built my own system running OSX, but I realize that isn't for everyone.

If you are dead set on a Mac, I would wait until next Q if you can, since Apple has been promising to release the Mac Pro successor in the next few months.

Of course, YMMV and others may have different opinions. Just my two cents.

[TimJones]

Thanks for your quick reply! I appreciate all of the thoughts.

The reason I want to go Mac Mini is because it is super cheap compared to a Mac Pro.

I currently do not have any of the other outboard gear. I am on a budget and am planning on building my rig piece by piece. I need to upgrade my computer first because i am currently running a g5 Tower. I need Intel based if im gonna move forward and was trying to be as current as possible in terms of OSX so i can stay up to date.

I am definatly on a budget =-) and want to slowly get pro gear.

(another side note: i just sold my 003 rack because i dont like it at all, sound quality and the poor converters/preamps.)

[nst7]

The Symphony IO can also hook up directly via USB. I know you said you don't want USB, but this way would save you money and I haven't heard much complaints about it.

[TimJones]

Originally Posted by nst7

The Symphony IO can also hook up directly via USB. I know you said you don't want USB, but this way would save you money and I haven't heard much complaints about it.

I actually just came to this same conclusion while eating dinner! Im thinking this would be the best solution. I can then feel confident that at any moment i can upgrade to a PCIe card and still be pro, without settling for a cheap interface. Plus it hooks up via thunderbolt, so i think it will be fast enough data transfer that it wont crash often.

Thanks for the help!

[tribedescribe]

You have two things working against you that will limit your VI severely in PT. I do not think Native instruments support rewire, which would allow you to access more ram allowing a lower latency. This is why I really like Reason rewire. Also, PT is still 32 bit, but you already know this. These two facts will not improve your VI latency usage if you buy any computer. I own the 2.3ghz mac mini with 16gb of ram and in pt10 it is still very limited with Vi.

The sad fact is if you want to track 20 VI and/or plugs while tracking at a buffer of 64 you need a 64 bit DAW. Although maby you could enable LOW latency monitoring and use your interface's Dsp to monitor. I believer PT will align the track for you?

Personally I think your best option would be to use a 64 bit DAW like logic or wait it out till PT is 64 bit. You could also rewire reaper into pro tools and use reaper for your VI. Although I do not have any experience with this.

[TimJones]

Thanks Tribe,

I am hearing alot of rumors that protools 11 is 64bit. We will find out in the next few weeks. But yes, logic is my backup daw for the VI Production side. I was just hoping to skip that step and go straight to PT.

Thanks for the input! much appreciated.

[groundcontrol]

My interim solution, as many others, is to use VEP. Very solid and powerful.