Synology NAS - transcoding flac to wav...

Same thing happened to me: I opened a support ticket with Synology and am waiting for a response.

DSM 3 worked well with Hirez Flac; only DSM 4 has this issue.

Thank you sbilotta, for an answer at last. I'm also sure it is the dsm 4 which does not transcode like it used to. I have not contacted Synology, but I'm very curious about their answer. I would be very gratefull if I was able to share their information with you. I wonder if any othrs here have had the same issue?

Regards Fred

I have a 212J but updated to DSM 4 prior to loading music files. Transcoded FLAC is being shown on my UQ as 16 bit 44kHz as the OP has reported and consequently I have switched transcoding off as I have a fair number of 24 bit files. I was unaware that the DSM 3 transcoded the higher bit FLAC correctly and this makes me all the more annoyed as the ability to transcode was a major factor in my choice of NAS.

Let's hope they will get it fixed. I will open a support ticket as well.

Have any of you tried the new DSM 4.1 beta?  Does this make any difference?

Thought about it but not tried it as I don't want to make things worse.

Actually on their 4.1 Beta discussion, someone last Friday reported that UPNP (Media Server) does not work anymore with 4.1 ...

I will wait for Synology's feedback re my support ticket.

No answer from Synology re my ticket (yet) so downgraded to 3.2 and all is fine again

Here's the response I received from Synology today:

"After consulting with our related engineers, we change the format of transcoded files is to improve more compatibility on DMA players. Some player could not play hi-res files. We will forward your information to our related members as a feature request (to have an option to choose the format). Currently it is not possible to provide it."

What is the procedure for reverting to DSM 3? I thought is was only possible to update to a higher version of the firmware!

Hi Ian,

see below: I followed this procedure.

http://forum.synology.com/wiki...or_previous_firmware

And to download the 3.2 version, see the below link:

http://ukdl.synology.com/download/DiskStation/

All the best.

Stefano

Thanks for figuring the problem out. Hope they will sort out the transoding-issue in the future. 

Fred

Thanks Stefano,

I think those instructions may refer to Windows, I couldn't find the VERSION file using MAC OSX.

Instead, I used the synology instructions.

They worked fine and I'm now happily back with 3.2 and the ability to transcode hi-res FLAC files.

All the best,

Ian

Folks,

I had the same issue: my Synology 112 with DSM4.1 software transcoded all HiRes files to 16/44.1 quality. The only thing I had to do was to untick the box "Enable Transcoder" on the tab "DMA compatibility" under the icon "Mediaserver". Now the HiRes files are played perfectly on my NAC-N 172XS.

So what is the issue for you guys, why do you need to keep the Transcoding option ticked on? Is that the only way to play your HiRes files?

Bert, I believe that transcoding provided (back at 3.2) the best of both worlds, you store in FLAC, the NAS transcodes (converts) those FLAC files to WAV before they reach the streamer, allegedly the best format for Naim, and back at 3.2 also allowed high res files to be played. The newer software still converts from FLAC to WAV if the transcoder is enabled but does not allow the higher res files to be played in their native resolution.

I currently have my Synology set like yours, FLAC and High res, but it would have been nice to have the option that was available in 3.2

With 3tb and 4tb drives now available, I feel there is no need to use FLAC and just use wav or aiff. This eliminates need for transcoding from one format to another.

HDtracks allows you to choose from aiff,

alac,flac and wav.

In the past flac was only option , which was a pain if using iTunes or only using Mac computers.

If using Netgear ReadyDNLA it supports music formats (wav, wma, pcm, ogg, mp3, m4a, flac, aac) and no transcoding needed at all.

Dan

Maccaa,

so do you (or others) believe that a Naim streamer is sounding better on a WAV stream rather than a FLAC stream? Do you have some reference to this claim? 

I don't hear any difference, which is obvious since the Naim converts the FLAC signal internally to WAV, correct? Why would WAV sound better?

Hi Bert -- Your name is close to mine

There are been many many threads about the eternal "wav vs flac debate with Naim streamers" here on the forum.  Many many.  If you're interested, I definitely recommend searching the forum for them and reading them.  That will get you a good background in this issue that arises ever few weeks it seems.

All the best,

Bart

Hi Bert,

Please notice my "allegedly the best format for Naim" and I concur with Bart as to searching on this particularly sticky subject.

Maccaa

Well . . . you did ask!