Mini Mac v. iMac...?

[IanA2]

Any ideas? I'm considering getting either a Mini Mac & screen or an iMac. Can't decide. The thunderbolt screen could be the clincher, although 27" seems a bit large for my needs.

Anybody got experience of either/both. Positives/negatives? I've only ever had MBP's etc.

Thanks.

[Don]

Have you seen the iMac with the 5K screen?

It's a no brainer. (And I am sat in front of a mac Mini with Thunderbolt screen...(

[IanA2]

Thanks, no I've read about them, will need to eyeball one.

[IanA2]

A follow up question.

What do folks think of the speakers on iMacs. I've only heard MBP & Air speakers which are not good.

If there are naff, as I suspect they will be, what speaker to folks have that have form and function?

The only one I've seen so far, form wise, is the B&O BeoPlay A8 AirPlay which cost a bloody fortune.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[steveatesh]

I've had a retina imac just under three weeks. Fabulous monitor, so so clear with text and gorgeous for pictures.

No problem with the sound, it's not Bose but certainly good enough for everyday use, including the odd game and Skype.

[Disco_Biscuit]

could always get dedicated speakers

[Encantada]

Just bought an eBay special. 27 IMac, and am selling my old mini with a 22 monitor.

No comparison. IMac all the way.

K

[cheddar]

As abpve.

Had the 27" for 5 years and love it, so does anyone else that uses it.

[Baldinho]

IanA2 said:

A follow up question.

What do folks think of the speakers on iMacs. I've only heard MBP & Air speakers which are not good.

If there are naff, as I suspect they will be, what speaker to folks have that have form and function?

The only one I've seen so far, form wise, is the B&O BeoPlay A8 AirPlay which cost a bloody fortune.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Speakers aren't too bad on an iMac but depends what you're expecting and what you're using them for so best to listen for yourself. I've got a B&W Z2 on my desk which I listen to music on via Airplay. Jawbone BIg Jambox packs a punch too for its size. Both around £150ish from memory

[IanA2]

Baldinho said:

Speakers aren't too bad on an iMac but depends what you're expecting and what you're using them for so best to listen for yourself. I've got a B&W Z2 on my desk which I listen to music on via Airplay. Jawbone BIg Jambox packs a punch too for its size. Both around £150ish from memory

Thanks, how is the syncing on Airplay? I ask as I have a Logitech Boombox which while excellent for music is hopeless for DVD's. The bluetooth doesn't seem to keep up with the visuals so I need to use a wired mini sound bar which is ok (ish).

I suspect in the end I'll just order several from Amazon and try each out till I find on that suits.

[qube_TA]

airplay for sound is lovely, less useful for video though as it lags a little behind the picture.

[IanA2]

qube_TA said:

airplay for sound is lovely, less useful for video though as it lags a little behind the picture.

Yup...that's the problem I have, hence need for hardwired sound bar. Anyone know of a decent one that will suit 21 or 27 inch Mac screen?

[Baldinho]

IanA2 said:

Thanks, how is the syncing on Airplay? I ask as I have a Logitech Boombox which while excellent for music is hopeless for DVD's. The bluetooth doesn't seem to keep up with the visuals so I need to use a wired mini sound bar which is ok (ish).

I suspect in the end I'll just order several from Amazon and try each out till I find on that suits.

Sorry not used it for DVDs, only for music

[Tom_C76]

If you want hifi quality sound, use hifi kit. I have a 3.5mm to twin phono lead from my iMac into a cheap amp (Cambridge Audio something or other) then a pair of cheap Celestion hifi speakers I got 20 years ago. It sounds as good as you could wish and syncs fine. Anything involving transcoding, wireless etc will always add some lag and loss of quality IMHO. I accept this is a rather larger solution though

[IanA2]

Tom_C76 said:

If you want hifi quality sound, use hifi kit. I have a 3.5mm to twin phono lead from my iMac into a cheap amp (Cambridge Audio something or other) then a pair of cheap Celestion hifi speakers I got 20 years ago. It sounds as good as you could wish and syncs fine. Anything involving transcoding, wireless etc will always add some lag and loss of quality IMHO. I accept this is a rather larger solution though

Nice solution as you say.....but as you say, rather large, indeed too large for where my kit's going.

Thanks anyway.

[Marchutch]

All depends what you want to do and what kit you already have. I bought the cheapest new mac mini back in 2011, brought it home, immediately dismantled it, and put in an SSD, making it plenty quick for day to day tasks. Then plugged it into a 55" plasma via HDMI and a 7.1 surround sound amp, giving me a snappy mac with a huge screen and great sound for about £500. It is now primarily being used as a machine to feed content from a 20TB NAS to Apple TVs around the house....

[IanA2]

Marchutch said:

All depends what you want to do and what kit you already have. I bought the cheapest new mac mini back in 2011, brought it home, immediately dismantled it, and put in an SSD, making it plenty quick for day to day tasks. Then plugged it into a 55" plasma via HDMI and a 7.1 surround sound amp, giving me a snappy mac with a huge screen and great sound for about £500. It is now primarily being used as a machine to feed content from a 20TB NAS to Apple TVs around the house....

Hm.."sounds" nice. Sorry, couldn't resist that! Seriously, that may well be an excellent solution for another part of the house. At the moment I spend a lot of time in bedroom as I'm disabled. Most of my computer time is on a MBP at the end of my bed. What I'm thinking of is replacing this, so a bigger screen (not sure how much bigger tho) and decent sound for films (which I haven't got at the mo) would be nice. But I do like your idea for when I can use the lounge.

[Marchutch]

IanA2 said:

Hm.."sounds" nice. Sorry, couldn't resist that! Seriously, that may well be an excellent solution for another part of the house. At the moment I spend a lot of time in bedroom as I'm disabled. Most of my computer time is on a MBP at the end of my bed. What I'm thinking of is replacing this, so a bigger screen (not sure how much bigger tho) and decent sound for films (which I haven't got at the mo) would be nice. But I do like your idea for when I can use the lounge.

Ha! :-) You could store all your movies/tv shows/music on the existing MBP, buy an Apple TV for relatively little money and have the MBP stream everything to the bedroom. Second hand medium sized flat screens are a bargain these days. Add in the ATV and a sound bar and you'd be good to go I reckon!

Or get the mac mini, a wireless keyboard and the screen and the soundbar. Lots of possibilities just depends on exactly what you want to do and how flexible the budget is.

[IanA2]

Marchutch said:

IanA2 said:

Hm.."sounds" nice. Sorry, couldn't resist that! Seriously, that may well be an excellent solution for another part of the house. At the moment I spend a lot of time in bedroom as I'm disabled. Most of my computer time is on a MBP at the end of my bed. What I'm thinking of is replacing this, so a bigger screen (not sure how much bigger tho) and decent sound for films (which I haven't got at the mo) would be nice. But I do like your idea for when I can use the lounge.

Ha! :-) You could store all your movies/tv shows/music on the existing MBP, buy an Apple TV for relatively little money and have the MBP stream everything to the bedroom. Second hand medium sized flat screens are a bargain these days. Add in the ATV and a sound bar and you'd be good to go I reckon!

Or get the mac mini, a wireless keyboard and the screen and the soundbar. Lots of possibilities just depends on exactly what you want to do and how flexible the budget is.

Thanks, you've given me alternatives on which I can cogitate.....said with a Wallace & Gromit accent!