Dedicated music servers vs NAS

I’ve got Roon set up on my computer, with a separate SSD for the music library. It’s just using a standard cat 6 cable to the switch, then it’s C-Stream to the NDX2. Tidal Lossless via Roon sounds slightly better than when using the Naim ap, local music files sound better from the UnitiServe - though they are being transcoded from FLAC to WAV, whereas the Roon library is just playing FLAC…

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RAID-1 which is what you describe as mirror imaged 2 bay, still has vulnerable issues that can cause both drives to loose data, therefore it’s still recommended a separate backup is maintained. A single drive NAS does have some benefits in that regard.

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That’s interesting @fps1k. I wonder how much difference trascoding is making in the process. Or maybe it’s the electrical isolation of the UnitiServe that’s making the difference.
How much better does the music sound from the UnitiServe? Is it a little or big improvement?

My cable setup is similar to yours, except I play music from JRiver Media Server. So far it sounds pretty good, even thought I’m always looking for improvements when possibile.

Sure. I have two complete copies in addition to the double drive NAS. Just don’t depend on one drive!

Bruce

Adding to that, don’t rely on a multidisk NAS either!
I had a decent spec 4 drive ReadyNAS and two drives failed in quick succession rendering the entire library inaccessible.
Ideally have at least 1 local backup and if possible
something online. Most of my music is backed up to Dropbox as an example, I’d think it unlikely that will break, worse case scenario.

I went from a 4 bay Qnap TS 453Pro to an Innuos Zen Mini 3 server. It is a nice simple solution that rips, stores and serves my music to the SuperUniti. Without any hassle. It can also runs Roon. However, comparing the two I find very difficult to hear a difference in SQ.
I’ve recently tried the LPSU for the Zen and again did not hear a huge difference in my system, in contrast to what others have said. Listening on a much more expensive system, (Chord TT, B&W 802D) however, the LPSU did open up the sound and gave a more natural sound to some instruments.

Nope Roon converts all files to pure PCM at the core end and sends that raw to NDX2 so the streamers DAC has no converting to do at all. It never receives flac files from Roon.

So, does this have any effect on the quality of the PCM file that goes to the streamer? Does it affect sound quality or otherwise? For instance, I would have thought my Atom DAC would be better than my Zen Mini 3 DAC and should be doing any conversion or does it matter?

It might sound like a very basic question but I am only learning about all this stuff through this great forum.

Peter

It shouldn’t make any difference really as it’s a lossless process, you just converting one lossless digital format to another. Can’t say I have heard any differences compared to Asset transcoding to WAV from my NAS or via my Roon core converting to PCM. I could never discern the difference between flac or wav either to the Atom but others swear they do. This conversion has nothing to do with a DAC it’s done before it gets to it, DACs can only handle PCM audio data.

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I remember these days, and @Harry and HH’s posts def. motivated me to try and then learn for myself that MinimServer on a nas was a fine solution.

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I’ve got my Synology nas set up to automatically push files up to Dropbox. It would take a few days to download onto new hdd’s but it’s all up there at least.

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My take on the flac to wav transcoding is that it must be related to the system, how it’s setup, and your ability to detect subtle changes. In my case, I’ve trialed Roon from my laptop, I own Audirvana running on the same laptop, and have a NAS (Raspi/Asset) transcoding to wav. I can’t tell any difference between any of those methods. If I que a song from my NAS, another from Tidal via Roon or Audirvana, I just can’t reliably say one is better than the other, but I like the idea of presenting the dac with wav/pcm. Kudos to those that can.

Again, with Roon, it doesn’t matter which format the file is stored in; Roon always sends your dac/player the same data.

I am aware of that.

And if you will forgive a very slight thread detour - are you still finding that your Russ Andrews Power Bar/Yellow cable has improved your Atom sound quality? I am awaiting delivery of both at the moment.
Many thanks.

Peter

Hi LSLFAN,

Hope this assists.

I think their are layers of complexity and context here …but, the good news is that I THINK things are getting simpler, perhaps, a bit.

When Naim first got into digital they produced what they called their servers, the HDX, NS01 and UnitiServe. These boxes contained HDD and also, in the case of the HDX and NS01, DACs. I owned an NS01 and used it to access files on my NAS and then output the result via its SPDIF into my nDAC/XPS; for a fair few years.

With THAT setup I could easily tell the difference between flac and WAV, the latter being better.

IF I had been able to stream a transcoded flac file to the NS01 I would NOT have expected the transcoded flac to be different from the WAV.

Naim bought out their streamers, but I went off into the world of Sonore, SOtM and NUCs. In that kingdom i found that EVERYTHING made a difference. The formats and the source server. Not to mention cables et al.

In due course I replaced my three shelf Heath Robinson front end with a Linn Klimax. This was innured to file format types and remote servers; so I went back to using flac from my NAS.

I can come up with all sorts of theories about WHY. But, I think the bald observations are of more use. However, I believe that manufacturers are getting better and better at identifying and handling issues that affect sound quality.

So, I would expect your Naim Atom to be more agnostic to file formats and servers than older kit.

WRT DACs …a DAC consists of more than the central convertor. There are many analogue, digital and power components that make up the whole. Ultimately, the only way to know which is better is to listen and see what you think.

Of course this then brings us to another rabbit hole: how well set up is your system? Is your power sorted? What cables …I’m sure you know the routine!

M

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Tbh it’s very hard to tell, I have not swapped it out since installing it. I felt it improved things at the time, but who knows. It wasnt a massive change just a little tighter.

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Thanks for your excellent and informative reply, much appreciated.

There are so many interesting threads on the forum regarding equipment, cables and all points in between that might affect the overall sound. I am much lower down the chain but appreciating what the Atom can produce from hi res streams from JB Radio-2 or Qobuz.

And the one significant sound improvement I got recently by moving the speakers back a little in my small listening room and a minor declutter cost me nothing at all!

Kind regards,

Peter

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Hi Peter,

Yes. It is generally a relaxed, informative and good humoured place. Naim are FAR more relaxed about other makes being discussed & recommended than ANY other manufacturers forum I have been on.

Speaker positioning is critical, glad you got a good result, interesting looking speakers. If you want to get more scientific about it you can look into REW.

When you are comparing the DACs a couple of things I associate with ‘better’ digital audio: Relaxation, not in the music per se, in me - I get less tense; and, the quality of the bass line, in terms of dynamics and clarity.

It is a crazy hobby/interest, and we are all set about with slippery slopes!

ATB,

M

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Hi Blacknote. My experience (and I tested it again last night just to be sure), is that using the same files streamed from my Unitiserve (transcoded from Flac to Wav), vs the same Flac files from my PC via Roon, sound significantly better - more detail, better bass control and definition, more PRAT, sound is fleshed out with more dimensionality, and just more interesting. But if you were just listening via Roon, without doing a comparison, then I’m sure you’d be fairly happy with the way it sounded. And I do like the Roon interface for non-critical listening…