PC or NAS for streaming to NDX
Posted by: stk42 on 17 November 2013
Hi
I've had a quick look around but can't find quite the post to answer this - please re-direct me if it has already been answered..!!
UK resident and I am waiting to demo an NDX as a trade in replacement for my CDX2. Will use the NDX with my existing XPS-2. Amplification is bait XS and speakers ar PMC GB-1 with Tellurium green cables.
Why do I want to change from CDX2 to NDX? I would like to feed my Sky HD through a DAC and also stream radio to a DAC. I am hoping that CD's streamed to the NDX will be as good as natively through the CDX2. Steaming will be ethernet throughout. So that's about me, the question...
What is the best Streaming setup?
I have considered the HDX and Unitiserrve but neither have DAC inputs so don't meet my needs.
I normally store on a PC (I5 with SSD), generally not used too much and have ASSET installed (my preferred solution)
I could use a NAS but have no idea what is available in the UK that is easy to use, has media server software and sounds good.
Any advice would be very much appreciated - particularly if I am going the wrong way entirely!
Best
Steve
The NDS is currently far out of my reach, especially with the 555ps, and my system is much lower down the ladder, with XS2 and tannoy DC6 floorstanders.
The other option is to buy a high end DAC, such as Naim DAC-which I do not prefer due to no USB input and old design- or Qute HD. I could also wait for the NDX and/or the NDac to be renewed.
Appreciate your thoughts.
Unitiqute (new no used available where I live)+ ndac + xps would almost cost as much as an NDS + XPS. So again, does it make sense using an XPS for the NDS?
The chord HD seems like a good choice if used with a NAS, no?
I use an XPS2 (non-DR) with my NDS and it sounds great. Maybe a 555PS would be even better, I haven't tried. Certainly, for me the XPS is fine with the NDS and much better than the NDX with XPS2.
I much prefer the NDS or NDX over the nDAC due to its networked flexibility. Don't discount internet radio, the NDS really handles this well and quality is surprisingly good even at 128k. Also, what I really found surprising was how the NDS handles CD. It sounds almost hi-res and analogue like and I personally find very little difference between CD and Hi-Res.
I have just traded my Nait XS for a new Supernait2. With the NDS/XPS and Supernait2 together, it sounds great to my ears.The XS was good, but the SN2 much better.
Give the NDS with XPS a try, it is very good. You can probably get a second hand XPS, though NDS is much harder to find
Cheers
Steve
The NDS is currently far out of my reach, especially with the 555ps, and my system is much lower down the ladder, with XS2 and tannoy DC6 floorstanders.
The other option is to buy a high end DAC, such as Naim DAC-which I do not prefer due to no USB input and old design- or Qute HD. I could also wait for the NDX and/or the NDac to be renewed.
Appreciate your thoughts.
Hi Tariqv
from a recent demo 2 weeks ago definitely SOURCE 1st!
Try to place as much funds as you can towards this.
my demo was the following:
Supernait 2 driving Spendor A6 remained the constant.
streamers were: NDX, Lumin, Chord DSX1000
1. NDX was better than my ND5. Just more of everything. Really nice sound. Powered by XP5XS
2. Lumin - WOW, blew the NDX away. Same tracks played. I couldn't believe the sound coming from the Spendors.
3. DSX1000 - again, better than the Lewmin. It's the best sound my ears have heard to date!
Of course, the above units cost different sums but what astounded me was the amplification and speakers above really showed the difference in quality. This is to my ears of course and opinion.
So, I have a new demo booked:
DSX1000 vs NDS (powered by XP5XS)
same setup as above for speakers and amp. I'm quite intrigued as to what my ears will make of the above shoot out. I have already created a test album, 1 hour long with different genres of music.
My advice to you is please demo if you can but I can heartily recommend SOURCE 1st.
atb, Anton
Whether or not you want to go the computer-y route or the Naim route, one point that ought to be made is - do you really want Windows to be part of your music experience? I think not, and as such, I have gone the Synology route. Having said that, I have not heard the Naim route, but with 7.5tb of music, this is a bit impractical in my system.
If I were to purchase a Synology or any NAS, how would I connect it to my DAC and would I be able to play the music without a player?
Please accept my appologies for the ignorant questions!
Hi Tariq,
The synology is a network attached device, so it is connected to my router via ethernet. My streamer (not a dac), in turn, is also connected to ethernet and the streamer plays it. If you want to avoid buying the streamer, you could buy a little cheapie used laptop and a doodad to convert usb to whatever format your DAC accepts, but these doodads are of varying quality. You will not necessarily need to connect your computer via Ethernet either - its just that I have a fair bit of 24/192 music, and the bandwidth of wireless is insufficient to stream that.
Does that help?
Tariq
Some routers e.g. The BT Homehub2 have a USB port alongside the usual Ethernet/LAN ports so you could try checking that.
My original question was whether there is a way to upload new music onto the network without physically detaching the HDD from the laptop which acts as the server.
Thanks a lot.
Tariq
Some routers e.g. The BT Homehub2 have a USB port alongside the usual Ethernet/LAN ports so you could try checking that.
+1 I sold a router a while back with a usb port which effectively allows it to work as a nas with the hd connected
Tariqv
If both laptops are on the same network, what issue are you having copying from one to the other? On the question of a DAC, if you are intending to use a laptop as a source, you could save some money from not buying the top Chord offering...
Tariq,
I should have explained my comment better. As dayjay has said if you connect your external HDD to the USB port on your router you will be able to use it as a network drive and access it from both your laptops and from a streamer if you decide to go down that route. You will also be able to download content direct to the HDD.
A further advantage is that you won't have to have one laptop (the one you currently have the HDD attached to) powered up to be able to access the networked drive.
Hi Tariq, apologies for the delay in replying...
When the Naim DAC was launched there was much discussion about the importance of the transport feeding it. The final conclusion then still stands today, the transport matters. For system balance the Chord DAC would probably be better served with a quality transport in my opinion.
Hi Tariq,
From your other thread I see your system is a Nait XS into Tannoy speakers. I would suggest that for the cost of the high end Chord DAC a better balance would be a Naim streamer with a Chord HD or EX DAC using a upnp server. A dealer will help you here but from my listening the Chord DACs offer a nice refinement to a streamer and offer USB for other experimentation too.
Tariq
A NAS is really used for storage of your music/media files and also usually have media server software preloaded. However you still need to have some type of networked hardware to play the files. This can either be a computer linked by USB to a DAC which is fitted with an asynchronous USB port e.g. the Naim V1 DAC or a network streamer such as the Naim ND5XS, NDX and NDS which are equipped with their own internal DAC.
Tariq
The NDX is indeed a quality product and much discussion has gone on about its virtues with and without external power supplies. One thing is certain, the Naim product hierarchy does exist but personal preference is also important. To DAC or not to DAC is yet another choice, I have made my decision and it is shown in my profile... I hope this helps!