[boomhaur]

If I remember correctly back when I first joined here a lot of people went the Mac Mini route as it was small and quiet and either upgraded the HDD or used an external.

It seemed there was a few guys from what I recall wanting to build quiet PCs but most thought it meant having to go on a fanless build instead of the easier route with controlling fan through the motherboard and maybe some rubber fan screws to reduce vibration.

Now days apple is far less user upgrade friendly and that may or may not have crossed over to their desktop lines.

Either OS can get the job done, it's just a matter of preference on software since let's be honest most of us are not using their on board audio.

 

[Deaj]

All other factors being equal (same audio files / media, same DAC, same amp, same headphone / speakers) one may achieve identical results under either OS.

Personally, I could never get behind Apple's proprietary hardware requirements. If I can't select my own hardware then I'm out.

 

[jcn3]

Personally, I could never get behind Apple's proprietary hardware requirements. If I can't select my own hardware then I'm out.

i agree with this completely -- apple's entire ecosystem is too closed and proprietary, not to mention more expensive. i've never had any issues with windows and am learning linux -- will continue down that path.

 

[TopPop]

am learning linux -- will continue down that path

Keep at it, it's fun! I don't think audio under Linux is as dire as some say. Just make sure you realize that there are usually two levels to manage: PulseAudio (software level) and ALSA (kernel/hardware level). If you run alternative bit-depths and sampling frequencies, you can change them in Pulse... only to have them reconfigured at the kernel level without your knowledge. Both need to be managed properly in order in order for everything to run as you intend.

 

[audiobomber]

Keep at it, it's fun! I don't think audio under Linux is as dire as some say.

It's dead simple to configure if you use a music streaming software like Volumio.

 

[TopPop]

It's dead simple to configure if you use a music streaming software like Volumio.

True, but a bit of tweaking is needed for streaming services.