New M1 Mac Mini Music Server and HT PC?

[routlaw]

I received a new M1 Mac Mini to replace my Mac Book Pro this past week, configured with 16 GB of RAM and the base SS drive they offer since I already have an outboard SS Drive for music storage. Setup went easy and it performs thus far flawlessly albeit with one mystery issue associated with using it as a home theater PC. 

Setup follows: HDMI out to my XMC-1, preferences are set correctly for the sound, MIDI software recognizes the HDMI output however it does not allow me to set anything but 2 channel stereo in speaker setup, all of the other speaker possibilities are chalked out. Oddly enough the MIDI software however does allow one to choose a number of different setups in the drop down menu, everything from 2 Channel 24 bit to 8 more channel at 24 bit or even 16 bit if one prefers. The XMC-1 sees the signal as only 4.1 rather than the normal 5.1 however all controls on the XMC-1 perform perfectly as though its a 5.1 setup. By that I mean I can adjust the volume on each speaker up and down individually, the center performs as it should with primarily dialogue, and the two surrounds perform as they should. 

So the question, has anyone else ever experienced something like this? Perhaps I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill given that it works, but the 4.1 thing on the XMC-1 seems odd, not to mention no capability to set the speakers up within the MIDI software.

Now the good news. Picture and sound quality (notwithstanding the aforementioned issue) are noticeably better than my 4K Apple TV. User interface being a computer is not quite as fluid however.

Thanks

[ttocs]

Which "Format" did you choose from where you choose the 8 Channel audio format? I was just playing with my MacBook Pro with Big Sur and the XMC-2 shows PCM 5.1.

[routlaw]

Feb 20, 2021 20:22:14 GMT -5 ttocs said:

Which "Format" did you choose from where you choose the 8 Channel audio format? I was just playing with my MacBook Pro with Big Sur and the XMC-2 shows PCM 5.1.

Initially I chose 5.1 @ 24 bit but once I noticed the discrepancy tried several other iterations, 16 bit, also 3.1 and so forth and so on. Oddly the 3.1 which eliminated the rears, produced a 2.1 on the XMC-1 which meant I then had to choose one of the multi channel processing modes. This indicates to me for what ever reason the two main channels FR and FL are summed or seen as one channel, hard to tell with soundtracks vs music files. Maybe this is a hiccup with the XMC-1 vs the XMC-2 you have.

I never experimented with this on my MBP however since it only had the USB-C outputs. 

[ttocs]

Feb 20, 2021 20:28:32 GMT -5 routlaw said:

Feb 20, 2021 20:22:14 GMT -5 ttocs said:

Which "Format" did you choose from where you choose the 8 Channel audio format? I was just playing with my MacBook Pro with Big Sur and the XMC-2 shows PCM 5.1.

Initially I chose 5.1 @ 24 bit but once I noticed the discrepancy tried several other iterations, 16 bit, also 3.1 and so forth and so on. Oddly the 3.1 which eliminated the rears, produced a 2.1 on the XMC-1 which meant I then had to choose one of the multi channel processing modes. This indicates to me for what ever reason the two main channels FR and FL are summed or seen as one channel, hard to tell with soundtracks vs music files. Maybe this is a hiccup with the XMC-1 vs the XMC-2 you have.

I never experimented with this on my MBP however since it only had the USB-C outputs. 

This is what I meant about Format:


And then this is the Speaker Config screen.


Yes, there may be some differences with the XMC-1 in how it reacts to this, dunno.
Which OS did it come with?

[AudioHTIT]

Feb 20, 2021 20:37:08 GMT -5 ttocs said:

Which OS did it come with?

All M1 Macs come with Big Sur (11.x) and that’s their minimum OS requirement.

[routlaw]

Audio HTIT is correct all M1's come with Big Sur. 

ttocs yes I knew what you meant regarding format. Thought I answered appropriately but perhaps not, apologies. In any case I do NOT have all those options available to me when I drop those menus down other than being able to choose between sample rates, bit rates and how many channels. No matter what I choose I am not able to set the 5 individual speakers (in my case). Sort of a strange mystery to my way of thinking. 

However I stand by my original statement image quality is certainly improved using the Mac Mini vs the 4K Apple TV which might imply the ATV further compresses the video signal above and beyond what the streaming studios are providing. The Mac Mini image quality is sharper and more vivid and this isn't something one has to concentrate on to see. Sound quality even with the oddities I'm experiencing also seem better although the sub woofers seem to have yet more output than before and in fact the overall volume seems to increase by about 3 db though I've not done a measured scientific test totally subjective on the last comment.

[routlaw]

One last comment ttocs are you choosing 44.1 as your sample rate for home theater purposes? Its my understanding 48 KHZ is the normal sample rate for all film/video production. Perhaps I should try this sample rate to see what if any difference it makes. 

[routlaw]

Just for clarity screen grabs below. Turns out 48KHZ is the only sample rate available to me.

[ttocs]

Feb 21, 2021 16:54:46 GMT -5 routlaw said:

One last comment ttocs are you choosing 44.1 as your sample rate for home theater purposes? Its my understanding 48 KHZ is the normal sample rate for all film/video production. Perhaps I should try this sample rate to see what if any difference it makes. 

That screen shot is from my MacBook Pro. I just grabbed a sample rate for visual purposes only in case yours wouldn't go higher.