Newbie DAC V1 Help

Posted by: Scubadvr2001 on 21 August 2014

I called a dealer today to audition the V1 and told him my expected setup was a Synology 213j NAS>V1>NAP100 and he said that I also needed to buy a streamer to operate this combo.  I want to control this system using an iPad.  He specifically said that I had to have the streamer to control the volume on the  V1.  Is the dealer correct?  Thank you for your help.

Posted on: 21 August 2014 by hungryhalibut

The V1 is designed to accept a signal from a computer source. A NAS is used to send signal to a streamer. If you put the music on a NAC mini you can control it from an iPad app. If you want to use a NAS, an nd5xs and Nait XS would make more sense.

Posted on: 21 August 2014 by charlesphoto

Or if you can swing it then find a used UQ version 1 (probably $1300-1500) and use it just as a streamer with digital out to the V1/100. Figure in another $100-200 for a decent coax cable. Sounds fantastic, look cool, and easily sold off/added to/used elsewhere. I use a James Neal rebuilt/modded (no preamp power) chrome bumper 110 that really boogies and was half the price of a 100. So lots of options.

Posted on: 21 August 2014 by james n

I thought the Synology 213 could be used as a USB source (appearing like a USB port on a computer to a USB input on a DAC) when running its Audio station app. I know a few Devialet owners who are using it this way so i don't see why it shouldn't work with the DAC V1.

 

Perhaps the dealer isn't aware of its capabilities ?

 

James

 

Posted on: 21 August 2014 by Fredrik A
Originally Posted by james n:

I thought the Synology 213 could be used as a USB source (appearing like a USB port on a computer to a USB input on a DAC) when running its Audio station app. I know a few Devialet owners who are using it this way so i don't see why it shouldn't work with the DAC V1.

 

Perhaps the dealer isn't aware of its capabilities ?

 

James

 

+1

Posted on: 21 August 2014 by alan33
Originally Posted by Fredrik A:
Originally Posted by james n:

I thought the Synology 213 could be used as a USB source (appearing like a USB port on a computer to a USB input on a DAC) when running its Audio station app. I know a few Devialet owners who are using it this way so i don't see why it shouldn't work with the DAC V1.

 

Perhaps the dealer isn't aware of its capabilities ?

 

James

 

+1

+2

 

Can tell Audio Station not to look for DLNA devices and instead output digital audio up to 24 bit through the USB. 

 

A Mac mini is also nice, but in this context the Synology would be better considered as a small linux computer (running headless and controlled via a device running a web browser) rather than as "just" a NAS. 

 

Regards alan

Posted on: 22 August 2014 by Fredrik A

I haven't tried to connect a DAC to my Synology but before my Unities I used an iPad with the Audio Station app to play music from my NAS via AirPlay. It worked great! The Audio Station app is quite good. 

Posted on: 23 August 2014 by Beorn
Originally Posted by Wat:

I don't think connecting a DAC to a Synology USB would be a good solution.

 

James is right about Audio Station.

 

My Synology is very noisy - I only use it for backup and turn it off when not in use. 

[I'm biased as I think the Synology is the worst piece of computer kit I've ever bought. i expect a lot better reading the praise heaped on it]

 

My Mac Mini is silent and just works. 

I haven't tried this with the DAC-V1. But I have to disagree with that general statement. A friend of mine was running a MacBook Pro to his Wadia 121, but switched to feeding the DAC from a Synology and it sounds great.

Posted on: 12 September 2014 by Beorn

Well now I have tried this. I plugged the DAC-V1 into my Synology 2413+ and the result was, in a word, perfect. Seamless playback, you name it, it just worked. The Audio Station apps for ipad and iphone work great. I had one problem, with Audio Station, but I found a fix on the web.

 

Playing something like 24/192 FLAC does take some power, so I don't know how the simpler Synology "j" models would handle it.

Posted on: 13 September 2014 by Paul Meakin
Originally Posted by Beorn:

Well now I have tried this. I plugged the DAC-V1 into my Synology 2413+ and the result was, in a word, perfect. Seamless playback, you name it, it just worked. The Audio Station apps for ipad and iphone work great. I had one problem, with Audio Station, but I found a fix on the web.

 

Playing something like 24/192 FLAC does take some power, so I don't know how the simpler Synology "j" models would handle it.

Thanks for trying this, I've been wondering for a while if it would work.

 

How does it compare with your usual source for the V1?

Posted on: 15 September 2014 by Beorn
Originally Posted by Paul Meakin:
Thanks for trying this, I've been wondering for a while if it would work.

 

How does it compare with your usual source for the V1?

Well I've only had it a few weeks, but compared to my desktop PC the Synology sounds better. I just did the BitPerfect tests and it passed all of them. I'm gonna compare the Synology to CD over coax later on.

Posted on: 15 September 2014 by George J
Originally Posted by Wat:

I don't think connecting a DAC to a Synology USB would be a good solution.

 

James is right about Audio Station.

 

My Synology is very noisy - I only use it for backup and turn it off when not in use. 

[I'm biased as I think the Synology is the worst piece of computer kit I've ever bought. i expect a lot better reading the praise heaped on it]

 

My Mac Mini is silent and just works. 

Quite. ... superbly ...

Posted on: 16 September 2014 by Paul Meakin
Originally Posted by Beorn:
I'm gonna compare the Synology to CD over coax later on.

I'm definitely interested in the outcome of that.

 

If I go down the Synology route I'll probably go for the 214play; does that sound like a reasonable option?

Posted on: 16 September 2014 by dayjay

You could get an Assetnas,  similar to a vortexbox but running asset upnp. Mine works brilliantly. although I use mine to connect to a streamer you can plug it straight into a hugo, or any other dac and it will work brilliantly.  Unlike a mac mini its capable of storing large collections of music, or video and pictures,  without needing another drive to do so, and once its running its virtually invisible. Highely recommended