Apple tv as music server?

[Sky Saw]

Hi - it's been a while since I have posted. Kids can really do a number on an audio hobby!

Anyway, my household has several iMacs, with several iTunes accounts. It seems that a good solution to bring them all together and have reasonable sound quality to my 2-channel stereo would be to get an Apple tv (which can aggregate up to 5 iTunes accounts), and use the optical digital out from the Apple tv to a separate DAC.

Is anyone doing this - how is it? Are there better solutions out there for a Mac setup?

For example, my wife recently got an iPad, and I thought that I could get a Mac mini as a music server and use the iPad as a remote and as a remote monitor for the mini. The advantage here is that the mini has a digital usb out, whereas the Apple tv only has the toslink digital out. The Apple tv is a lot cheaper than the mini, and so I don't think the usb digital out is worth that much more (or is it?).

My last question is - since I will be essentially streaming the music from one of my iMacs to the Apple tv, does anyone know if the process streams a digital signal from the remote computer to the Apple tv? In other words, is there a possibility for lower quality sound when streaming versus when keeping the music files on the Apple tv itself?


edit - I just realized that the Airport Express has the same optical digital out. So, the least expensive way to go would be to stream from my iMac accounts to an AE that has a toslink out to my DAC. Anyone doing this?

Mark

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Lots to discuss here but the basic idea is solid. I use an appleTV to be the front end to my iTunes collection which is nearing one TB in size and is a mix of TV, movies and music. Music is again a mix of fluff which is mostly in MP3 format and the better stuff is stored in AAC lossless (or in some cases high bitrate MP3).

You can use the express to do this as well and use the iPad/iPod Touch or iPhone as the 'remote' but it will only do songs where as the AppleTV will allow you to do more then music...such as view YouTube, rent movies, watch video from iTunes and view photo's from iPhoto etc.

There are also 3rd party plugins for the MacMini (Plex) that can replicate what the AppleTV gives you (and more) but the costs are substantially higher for the mini.

As for sound quality it largely depends on how you store the music...if its stored properly and then transferred digitally to a good DAC (or receiver / pre amp) it will sound very very good.

 

[amey01]

There are a few things I'd be aware of - firstly is the control, but it sounds like you have that sorted. The last thing you want is to need a monitor/screen in your listening room. Secondly, be aware that the Apple TV has a hard disk and might be a bit noisy for a listening room.

Once you're happy with those things, it sounds fine. The other options (such as Squeezebox/Sonos, et al) might technically be better but will be more cumbersome to integrate with your separate Macs and aggregate the disparate iTunes accounts of which you speak.

 

[cinematic]

I looked at Apple TV but decided to go for a Mac Mini for the added functionality. It's actually sitting in the room adjacent to my listening room with a DVI-HDMI cable running to my plasma TV and a toslink running to my DAC (Weiss DAC2). The sound is fabulous, even better than my Meridian CDP! See also http://www.computeraudiophile.com/ it has some great tutorials about computer audio.
The easy, low cost solution would be to get an Apple Airport and hook that up to your stereo, direct or via an external DAC via toslink. iphones and ipod touch are also great as remote controls. There is actually no special app for the ipad....

 

[tonepub]

I don't know what your exact requirements are, but as cute as the mac mini and Apple TV are, you can pick up used G5 macs for a song these days, like under $200. If it makes sense, you might want to consider one of those for a lot of inexpensive storage and get your hands on a squeezebox touch.

Just another alternative!

 

[MickeyVee]

I tried the AppleTV a few weeks ago and after 2 days, decided it was not for me.
All I wanted it for was music. I found the interface clunky and sorting inconsistent (it did not sort the same way as my master iTunes library).
yes, I do have an iPhone and an iPod Touch with the remote app.

I've tried streaming via an AirPort Express but seem to have a zone of inconsistency around my AV system. Sometimes it's great, sometimes I get dropouts like crazy.

On the other hand.. the sound from optical to my PS Audio DAC was pretty amazing. I was also impressed with the HDMI out into the receiver letting the receiver act as a DAC.

My current setup is an HP Mini 311 netbook with my iTunes library manually synced with my Mac Mini. I have a 15 foot USB cable (into the DAC) with the HP Mini on the side table beside my listening seat. I use iTunes exclusively and can find any song in seconds.

SQ wise, the AppleTV is awesome & I can highly recommend it. I went the HP Mini netbook route as my music server and this suits me the best from an interface & convenience perspective. Can also use my 'iOS' remote apps when I need to.

If you can flawlessly stream from your main Mac, the Airport Express with optical out to your DAC is the best, simplest and cheapest bet.

Let us know what you end up doing.

 

[amey01]

I don't know what your exact requirements are, but as cute as the mac mini and Apple TV are, you can pick up used G5 macs for a song these days, like under $200. If it makes sense, you might want to consider one of those for a lot of inexpensive storage and get your hands on a squeezebox touch.

Just another alternative!

For a lot of inexpensive storage, just use a NAS. The SB Touch will connect directly to them.....no computer!

 

[Sky Saw]

Wow, thanks for all the great info.

I had not thought of a few things mentioned here, like the possible noise levels of hard drives.

I'll probably try the Airport express route first, although I really like the idea of finding a used G5, and will look into that option as well.

My system is strictly 2-channel, so the Apple tv might not be the ideal choice. The remote app for the iphone/ipad allows you to switch interchangeably between all itunes accounts registered with the device, so the ability to aggregate all accounts is essentially done through the remote app.

Thanks again for all the help!

Mark

 

[SteveInNC]

FWIW, Apple has just released new versions of the mini. The latest ones have an HDMI output, and come in a smaller form-factor, and have the power supply in the box. It allegedly consumes 10W in standby, which is decent for a "real" computer.

The more expensive unit is designed as a small-scale server, with no optical drive, but with two internal 500M hard drives that can be configured as a RAID. It also comes with Mac OS Server edition, which is pretty expensive on its own ($500?).

The only problem with G5s is that they are no longer supported in the latest versions of the Mac OS. I believe that Leopard was the last supporting version, with Snow Leopard having dropped support.

 

[shakham]

I just use a pair of Airport Expresses (for my 2 systems) and use my iPhone and/or iPad to control them.

You can choose songs, playlists, can adjust volume, and choose which speakers you want it to play on. It's a very clean setup.

I have some of my music as compressed MP3, but all the new stuff is uncompressed ALAC (aka mp4) which sounds great.

Only thing missing (for me) is independent volume control for each setup.

All in all, I don't think there is a nicer way to do it.

 

[SteveInNC]

Computer porn: the guys at ifixit.com take apart the new Apple Mini, step by step with photos, here.