I’m looking to get my first NAS to take the pressure of my iMac and increase my capacity.
I’ve been looking at Synology DS215J and a QNAP HS 251+
This will be feeding an NDX. The QNAP looks higher CPU & RAM spec. But my question is how much spec do I really need ? I’m only looking to play hi res 24/96 Flac files. Will the Synology be good enough spec ? I have no experience in this 
I have a Synology DS214, its spec is
Dual Core 1.066 GHz
System Memory 512MB DDR3
This has more than enough to play 24/192kHz easily
The DS215j is very similar
Dual Core 800 MHz.
System Memory 512MB DDR3.
Once you get up & running & familiar with how it all works, consider changing media server software to Asset UPnP
Cheers Mike. Will plump for the Synology then, the QNAP did feel a little overkill for what I’d be doing. Plus from what I can tell the interface on the Synology looks more friendly too.
Upgraded to a Synology DS220 last year which has 2GB RAM as standard, but I fitted more RAM to run virtual machines.
Using Asset uPNP with several thousand albums without issue, including hi-res.
Plenty newer DS218 and DS220 on common shopping and auction sites, would recommend. Easy to setup storage and can backup any rips or downloaded music to cloud (we use Google cloud storage) via easy to use built in software and scheduling.
Even hi-res audio is a small CPU and network load (1 MB/s at worst) and any NAS can serve that. I have a 10 year old Qnap with an Intel Atom, no issues whatsoever.
Nothing wrong with overkill with CPU power, but Synology is a good choice (IMO)
I help a disabled buddy with his QNAP & although its straightforward enough, I’m happier with Synology.
I run a QNAP HS251 and when I recently added a second NAS to the network, decided to try a Synology DS220. The company I bought the QNAP from several years ago supplied it pretty much ready-to-go for audio streaming duties, whereas I had to set the Synology up myself. I actually found using the Syn a little less intuitive than the QNAP. But then I also find MinimServer more intuitive than Asset, in contrast to most here, it would appear. In both cases, the systems I learnt on seemed easier than the ones I encountered later. Perhaps I’m not alone in this.
Roger
Thanks for that Roger. Yes I know what you mean. Sometimes what you learn on becomes the benchmark. I’m still open to both. Have been trying to ‘win’ one on eBay tonight but to no avail just yet … will see what fate decides for me I could end up QNAP after all at this rate.
I have owned the Qnap TS251+ for a number of years and have been very pleased with its reliability and performance. As well as MinimServer, I run cctv using QVRPro and use it for backup of my clients.
With any NAS I would recommend not opening ports and disabling upnp on your router.
The synology software is much friendlier and easier to follow. I am happy with my synology ds718 +, in addition to the Unitiserve 2tb. The only problem is that if unitiserve is turned on, the synology does not go into suspension! I wonder why. But synology is great.
Synology 218+ with an extra 4gb of memory. All you need and more. Ran roon off it too via an external ssd.
I use asset to serve to my ndx2.
If you’re only using the NAS to stream, 256mb of ram works fine for HiRes.
However, if your going to run a music library, auto backup, music server that constantly scan the NAS and other apps that run in the back ground, you’ll need more memory and processing power.
I run 256mb, no music library (no organisation of the music files required, asset or minim take care of that), no auto scans (backup or server) and remove all unused apps.
My aim is to have the NAS sat doing nothing, except wait for a request from my steamer to transfer a few music files a day. 
FYI if you’re looking at Synology, the last 2 digits is the year it was introduced and the number/numbers to the left are the total number of hard disks that the device can support.
I’ve just got a DS1821+, it has 8 disk slots and I could attach 2 x 5 disk expansion units.
** avoid 2015 devices they have an Intel CPU that’s prone to failure, I had to replace my DS415+ **
I’ve been happy with my QNAP and it’s worked without a hitch. My issues have been self inflicted or related to getting server apps to function properly.
PS - I’m running Asset, Minimserver, and a Bubble container for legacy streaming. My local library is approx 7K albums of AIF and FLAC.
I think mine is 2G RAM and it seems fast enough.
been using a synology ds218j for a couple years now and never had an issue streaming anything, whether thats spotify, qobus hd or just my own rips on a hard drive. You dont need a huge amount to enjoy your music.
I use a TS-112. 256mb Ram 1.2Mhz processor. Below is CPU performance streaming 96/24 to a SBT.
It’s just ticking over. 
Memory
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
