The default setting for FLAC compression is often Level 5. Using high compression will take longer, which may slow the whole process down if you have a large number of CDs to rip or convert. Once done, it doesn’t really make that much difference. You don’t really save much storage space by selecting a higher compression level.
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I’m not a fan of Naim servers, I spent some time helping a disabled friend with his Unitiserve, apart from reliability which his suffered with, I found the software very limiting. For me it’s a pukka NAS & user friendly UPnP software.
You need to connect via your broadband hub to enable the Naim app to work & to get web streaming & iRadio. You do not need to add a LAN switch but you will probably find better SQ with one, plus they can be helpful with tidier ethernet wiring.
If you are ‘pretty IT literate’ all the above makes perfect sense in my book.
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Hey @Mike-B, yeah that makes sense. I thought maybe that a hardwired connection between a Naim Server and a Naim box may mean I could just play my music without the need for it all to be connected to a network! Obviously forfeiting the streaming services and internet radio etc.
So a simple (Good Quality) NAS plugged into the network either at router end or switch end will do the same as a music server? Whilst I have not followed with any level of real interest the discussions I seem to recall that Melco Servers get a lot of praise around here, do they do more than a NAS would? I note that some models are pretty expensive. I guess this is where the Naim Core idea came from. I figured that a Naim server would be about the best for an ND555 but maybe not!
Thanks @ChrisSU I have selected the highest setting and a rip takes about 30 mins! I have about 1500 CD’s to archive 
Hi again Steve, I can’t speak from experience on what can be done with your direct connect suggestion, but for me, not having the control & the browsing enhancements of the Naim app would be most unacceptable. Plus not having web-radio, especially when its for free, nah, no fanks.
I’ve read the Melco server reports, I’ve not had one on my own system but have heard it on a friends Linn system that I’m audibly familiar with. I could not hear much difference of note compared to his NAS, he said there was a difference but was undecided, he eventually decided not to buy it.
Re your post on ripping speed per CD. I use a laptop loaded with dBpoweramp connected with a desk DVD drive, & one CD rip takes just a few minutes.
When I first started ripping my library I ripped straight to my Synology NAS, but now with only a few CD as & when I get them, I rip to the laptop to check the metadata (rarely if ever wrong) & see if better art is available before uploading over wireless to my Synology NAS.
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That’s pretty much my workflow too. dbPoweramp really is a godsend with the speed it rips CDs compared to other software and if there are a lot of CDs to rip it is well worth the cost of a licence. So, dbPoweramp to rip to a local drive (can be an external HDD), check metadata, edit if necessary (usually not) and copy to NAS over wifi.
For the initial seeding of my NAS I ripped the CDs on to an external hard drive then plugged that in to the NAS as that was far quicker than trying to copy 200GB+ using wifi. Any new CDs still get ripped to an external drive and copied to the NAS over wifi, the external HDD basically being my backup.
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Hmmm, I don’t think I would have the patience for that! My Unitiserve will rip a CD, then if I save as FLAC, it processes the file in the background and I can start ripping another CD.
@jmtennapel I did have an entire music collection on iTunes (original version) but that was all ripped as 320mp3 back some years ago so I could use it on phone/car/computer etc. I really do not like the new Apple Music and it feels so alien to use it. I love almost all Apple products but Apple Music 
.
So if I rip to Alac my benefits would be that I can play them back on my phone and computer etc? I don’t actually do that anymore. I only listen to my main system.
The files I rip this time would be specifically to store on a music server to feed a Naim streamer now and who knows what in the future. Based on some suggestions that the Naim system likes to to fed Flac files which it will then decode to WAV I chose that option. On the basis that Flac is more widely compatible that the Apple proprietary codec I also saw that as a win also.
Happy to admit I am very new to this and I could be wrong.
That’s how simple it is in dbPoweramp so it comes down to a question of rip speed and metadata quality. I haven’t used Apple Music on a Mac but on Windows dbPoweramp is by far the fastest and simplest CD ripper I have used and the metadata it extracts is the best of any I’ve tried.
No I wasn’t suggesting that at all. All I’m getting at is that if the OP finds Apple Music too slow or the metadata not meeting his needs then given my experiences of dbPoweramp on Windows it might be worth looking at on a Mac. He’s already said that XLD is too slow. I really don’t want to get started on the Mac vs Windows war 
These are my XLD settings. I prefer XLD to Apple Music as it rips to FLAC and I had problems with early versions of iTunes, which may or may not have gone away. XLD does a nice report, which has caught a few ripping errors. I use Metadatics for editing metadata and have my own tagging scheme that works for me. I use JRiver MC26 to play and serve music - I get it to do an audio-analysis and lookup-lyrics. I’ve used this method for years. I’m not saying it’s better and certainly not faster than an other way. but simply that I’m delighted with the results.
I don’t use the Apple software because, for me, it doesn’t do a perfect job or even come close to it, at least with classical. The metadata is far worse than dBpoweramp and quite often with some older CDs it fails to find any external metadata at all. Also as far as I know it doesn’t check the rip with Accurate Rip and I prefer to be confident that my rip is error free.
BTW can you give a reference to support the claim that ALAC and FLAC use the same compression algorithm? I thought ALAC files were around 5% larger than FLAC which doesn’t seem consistent with that.
Roger
I have a Mac and use to use iTunes to rip and store. I’ve since moved to a Uniti Core, which in my system with a NDX2 and XPS DR gives better sound quality. Other than that, it’s much simpler to use. I like having the hi-fi separate to my computer, less noise and all that.
For many years I have stored FLAC files on a Qnap NAS ripped with EAC and tags modified with mp3tag.
It works for me.
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