I recently had cause to be using the Synology app to access my DiskStation (for reasons which don’t matter) rather than the Naim app. On balance, it is nowhere near as good as the Naim app but, for someone with a classical music collection, the ability to search By Composer was a joy. So, how about it Naim? How about some recognition of the needs of (what must be a significant number) of your customers with classical collections for whom Composers are the principal currency. I would happily trade “Recently added”! (PS. I appreciate that many, like me, will have used workarounds involving “By Folder” or whatever, but I suspect that not even the very best will come close to the joy of that Synology app.)
I’m a trifle confused as to what you are trying to do. I have Asset on my nas and can search by composer on the Naim app. If the upnp server is set to show composer, the Naim app shows it.
Thanks for the ultra fast reply. Clearly, I am missing something here. I shall flaunt my ignorance by saying that I don’t know whether I “have Asset on my nas”. I have got whatever my Synology DS214 came equipped with as standard! But, as I said, I was able to search by Composer using the Synology app, but I am not given that option with the Naim app.
I suspect you are using the basic Synology UPnP server that you get with the NAS. I don’t know if that has the option to display the composer field, but if it does, then the Naim app will be able to see it.
For classical music collections, the consensus is generally that Minimserver is the best UPnP server, although Asset is probably easier to use. I suggest you give one of them a try.
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Synology can use Asset and minimserver so that the NAS serves the files to the client ( your naim streamer).
I have both on my 218 plus, but use Asset mostly.
The diskstation app really only serves up music on your nas to your phone. Sort of usefull. I played with it, but found little use.
Thank you so much for this, NogBadTheBad.
Your understated excellence is an example to us all.
You have not let my obvious ignorance get in the way of understanding my problem, and presented me with the perfect solution. Moreover, you presented it in the most succinct, but nonetheless comprehensive, manner. You are clearly someone with deep knowledge and a skill set to match!
I am grateful too for the other contributions which certainly served to put me on the path to a tiny bit more understanding. I have concluded that I am using Media Server (which was included in the Package Centre in the DS) as my UPnP server, but that Asset and Minimserver offer more sophisticated alternatives, if I should ever be brave enough to explore them.
There is some other learning here for me too. I was too quick to blame Naim for a problem which arose solely as a result of my lack of knowledge. A bit more humility might be appropriate in the future! Sorry Naim.
Thank you once again, NogBadTheBad, and I hope that your generosity will be rewarded, because I cannot imagine that anyone can prepare that sort of response without investing some time in it.
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Hi, I have a Synology NAS containing my music, on which I run both Asset and MinimServer. A substantial portion of my collection (well over half) is classical and I find MinimServer ideal. But and it’s a big but, it does take time to get to grips with using it. There’s a very good user guide but you do have to read it carefully and do a little experimentation to find what works for you. Asset is certainly easier to use from the off, but Minim was specifically designed with classical in mind and if you are prepared to make the investment, the reward is a smooth and efficient browsing experience. Minim has a very helpful user forum and I think Asset does as well, so if you run into problems there’s a community of folk to help you.
Roger
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Your welcome 
Thank you, PeakMan. If I were being, honest, however, I would admit that I find the prospect of Minimserver somewhat daunting. Does the User Guide cater for real dummies eg. telling me how to get it onto my NAS in the first place and then how to swap from using Media Server? Feel free not to reply to this post if it is all just too painful for you! And finally I should say that NogBadTheBad has opened my eyes to a level of flexibility in Media Server that I had not previously appreciated, and that might just be enough to keep me happy (at least for the time being).
The Synology folks provide basic info here, however this is still talking only about the outdated Minimserver version 0.8: https://www.synology.com/en-global/dsm/packages/MinimServer
The Minimserver documentation pages are not pretty, but they are functional and helpful. Here is the installation info: https://minimserver.com/install-synology.html
And here additional info: https://minimserver.com/synology/
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I’ve found that many albums are given the composer name at the beginning of the album title. Where they aren’t automatically named in this way, I do it myself through n-serve or the DTC. For instance, I have 140 albums on my Naim server called “Wagner- title”. There are repeats with different versions, but these are differentiated by Conductor (which is in the Artist field). I’m not sure if this is the most effective solution, but it’s simple and works for me.
Not painful at all. Many folk are put off the whole business of ripping, storing and serving and instead buy something like a Uniti Star. I think I’m just too mean to spend money on something I can do for myself a good deal cheaper and I like the extra control it gives me. But you’re right, it can be daunting at first. I was lucky and my first serious streamer (272) arrived not long before I retired and getting to grips with the intricacies of streaming was in part a retirement project. Like others, I suspect, I made some mistakes along the way but ultimately enjoyed the challenge and the results.
If you do decide to take the plunge you’ll find there’s lots of folk happy to help if you run into difficulties you can’t solve. Best of luck!
Roger
This is helpful, thank you, Suedkiez. If I do take the Minimserver plunge, then I imagine that “pretty” will be the least of my worries.
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Thank you Clive. What I was particularly interested in was the ability to have sight in one place of all the pieces by a single composer – including those pieces which appear on, for example, the Julian Bream compilation CDs. It is that ability which NogBadTheBad provided me with in his marvellous response.
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