Dipping toes into the NAS (world) with no clue and getting rid of the CD player

I don't know your location, but if you're anywhere near the Bristol to Swindon area I could come and show you.  That's much easier then trying to work from a description.

Stephen Tate posted:

Please forgive me here chaps - my brain is so slow that last four posts to me are another world language - I don't understand any of it.

I may have to start thinking about abandoning this streaming malarkey, I am finding it just all too confusing. None of it (apart from ripping CDs using dBpoweramp) is easy. So far I have found the whole experience a ball ache to say the least.

A Rega P6 is starting to seem very appealing even though I have very little vinyl!

Stephen, honestly if it comes across as confusing then leave it - enjoy your phono or CD replay instead (if you want a giggle I found setting up my tonearm/crtridge weights, tensions, angles and pressures correctly quite challenging to understand on my TT) - there is no value in fretting. It is relatively straightforward once you know how..  but it sounds like you might need some one to show you first. Can your dealer not help here - they should be able to put your mind at rest and indeed confirm whether this as a music replay format is  appropriate for you or not.

Stephen Tate posted:

Please forgive me here chaps - my brain is so slow that last four posts to me are another world language - I don't understand any of it.

I may have to start thinking about abandoning this streaming malarkey, I am finding it just all too confusing. None of it (apart from ripping CDs using dBpoweramp) is easy. So far I have found the whole experience a ball ache to say the least.

A Rega P6 is starting to seem very appealing even though I have very little vinyl!

Get somebody to do a desktop share on your PC/MAC and guide you through it?

Or I'll say it again
"Ripping CDs is not for everyone and perhaps a preloved UnitiServe/Core & DAC may have been a better option."

And as your PC/MAC skills don't appear to be up to the job (no offense intended) I'd suggest the latter option.
It's not worth the stress - there a good reason Naim make devices that do this job.  The amount of time you've spend on here and at home trying to sort this.  You could have a device that all you need to do is feed it CDs - job done!

Stephen Tate posted:

Please forgive me here chaps - my brain is so slow that last four posts to me are another world language - I don't understand any of it.

I may have to start thinking about abandoning this streaming malarkey, I am finding it just all too confusing. None of it (apart from ripping CDs using dBpoweramp) is easy. So far I have found the whole experience a ball ache to say the least.

A Rega P6 is starting to seem very appealing even though I have very little vinyl!

Agh! I can feel your pain. Easy to forget sometimes, Stephen, our hobby is supposed to be a pleasure.

Thanks.

Well, it's not that i'm not trying to understand here, I just cannot get on with computers, nothing appears logical to me! I have always been a manual type of guy, give me a BMX and I will do the trick, easy!  Anything paper work and i'm stuffed, i'm just not wired up that way and I suspect there are many out there that are the same.

It's a shame, I really want to get a streaming system up and running. I have started a thread on here, visited a local forum member, had really helpful advice from others via e-mails, purchased a NAS, visited my local dealer and have tried understanding all from the great info & advice given kindly here. Guess what? i'm none the wiser! I have found dBpoweramp an absolute doddle to use, that's about it really.

Do you think I should send the NAS back and get a Core instead? Is it a matter of plugging it in, wiring it up and off you go, just like a CD player? 

Stephen. I will pop round one evening next week. Drop me an email. Once mastered it’s really easy, but the getting there can have a few challenges along the way! 

Stephen , as I said previously this is only easy if you know how to do it I struggled with it mainly when I started but when I purchased my new system about three years ago the dealer wiped my NAS and installed dBpoweramp ripping directly to the NAS with an external HDD connected to the NAS that did an automatic back up. I re ripped my CD collection finding this much easier and  user friendly maybe worth looking at this option.

You seem to have mastered the ripping process just need to sort the side you are struggling with.

Hopefully you will persevere and go on to enjoy streaming and like youI I nearly threw the towel in on numerous occasions but got it sorted in the end and really enjoy the ease of streaming.

Stephen Tate posted:

Please forgive me here chaps - my brain is so slow that last four posts to me are another world language - I don't understand any of it.

I may have to start thinking about abandoning this streaming malarkey, I am finding it just all too confusing. None of it (apart from ripping CDs using dBpoweramp) is easy. So far I have found the whole experience a ball ache to say the least.

A Rega P6 is starting to seem very appealing even though I have very little vinyl!

Stephen,

I don't know anything about Asset, because I use a different music server (minimsrver) and nothing specifically about QNAP because I have a couple of Synology NASs. However, the general process of using them should be much the same. Don't give up quite yet. 

There is a little section in the bottom left hand corner of dbPoweramp that allows you to specify or browse for a folder into which your rips will be saved. If you press the 'set' button on the right hand side of the 'path' option, you will be able to specify the folder (either on your laptop, or directly in to a folder on your NAS). I also 'set' the 'Naming' option (just under the path option in dbPoweramp) to an entry of 'save in dynamic artist folder'. This will be fine (or at least is for me) for most non classical CDs. However if you have a lot of classical music you might eventually want to fine tune this at a later stage.  

I rip my CDs directly into a folder on my NAS simply under a 'Music' folder that I have selected in the 'path' option in dbPoweramp. However, cut & paste of music folders from your laptop to your NAS will also be just fine. 

If you have a problem seeing the albums you have placed on the NAS in the Naim App (remember - this is what you will use to browse and select items to play on your streamer, not Asset itself), this may be because you need to 're-scan' your NAS to allow new entries to be displayed and picked up by the Naim App/Streamer. And of course you won't be able to use the Naim app until you have your Naim streamer installed in your system, so you may be actually getting ahead of yourself. Don't worry about the term 're-scan' itself. On minimserver it is simply a menu option that you select, and the re-scanning process takes just a matter of a few seconds to complete. I am sure that one of the Asset/QNAP users on the forum will be able to explain how to do this with a QNAP/Asset set-up.

It really isn't difficult at all, but it can initially be very confusing.

As Huge has suggested, if there are any users of network music streaming near you, then they would be able to talk you through the process very easily once you have your streamer connected to your system and network.

Hope I haven't confused matters more, and please don't give up just yet.

I echo Simon's post, because I have just had to rebuild & re-calibrate my Michell Orbe/Tecnoarm turntable set up, and getting VTA and other settings just right was for me infinitely more difficult than installing a music streamer and NAS in my system. It was something I had been dreading and putting off for weeks. It's now done and my turntable sounds great, but still no substitute for a good streaming system.        

Stephen Tate posted:

Please forgive me here chaps - my brain is so slow that last four posts to me are another world language - I don't understand any of it.

I may have to start thinking about abandoning this streaming malarkey, I am finding it just all too confusing. None of it (apart from ripping CDs using dBpoweramp) is easy. So far I have found the whole experience a ball ache to say the least.

A Rega P6 is starting to seem very appealing even though I have very little vinyl!

My earlier suggestion of an Innuos Zen Mini was aimed at avoiding exactly this situation. Like the more expensive Naim Core, you don’t need a NAS, Asset, dbPoweramp etc. Just shove the CD in the slot, wait for it to rip, and play it. 

I was trying to resist saying exactly that.......I know my limitations after Windows 10 downloaded itself for free without drivers for mouse or keyboard.....now on iMac and of course Uniti Core for music, no computers involved.

Hungryhalibut posted:

Stephen. I will pop round one evening next week. Drop me an email. Once mastered it’s really easy, but the getting there can have a few challenges along the way! 

Thanks for kind reply here Nigel!

I am away on my hols for the next two weeks or so. If I am still in no mans land when I return then, if I may, will further contact you. Thanks again.

Kind regards,

Stephen

ChrisSU posted:

Stephen Tate posted:

Please forgive me here chaps - my brain is so slow that last four posts to me are another world language - I don't understand any of it.

I may have to start thinking about abandoning this streaming malarkey, I am finding it just all too confusing. None of it (apart from ripping CDs using dBpoweramp) is easy. So far I have found the whole experience a ball ache to say the least.

A Rega P6 is starting to seem very appealing even though I have very little vinyl!

My earlier suggestion of an Innuos Zen Mini was aimed at avoiding exactly this situation. Like the more expensive Naim Core, you don’t need a NAS, Asset, dbPoweramp etc. Just shove the CD in the slot, wait for it to rip, and play it. 

Hi Chris,

I have never heard a Innuos Zen Mini, do these sound any good? 

I will have a look online. Many thanks.

Hmack posted:

Stephen Tate posted:

Please forgive me here chaps - my brain is so slow that last four posts to me are another world language - I don't understand any of it.

I may have to start thinking about abandoning this streaming malarkey, I am finding it just all too confusing. None of it (apart from ripping CDs using dBpoweramp) is easy. So far I have found the whole experience a ball ache to say the least.

A Rega P6 is starting to seem very appealing even though I have very little vinyl!

Stephen,

I don't know anything about Asset, because I use a different music server (minimsrver) and nothing specifically about QNAP because I have a couple of Synology NASs. However, the general process of using them should be much the same. Don't give up quite yet. 

There is a little section in the bottom left hand corner of dbPoweramp that allows you to specify or browse for a folder into which your rips will be saved. If you press the 'set' button on the right hand side of the 'path' option, you will be able to specify the folder (either on your laptop, or directly in to a folder on your NAS). I also 'set' the 'Naming' option (just under the path option in dbPoweramp) to an entry of 'save in dynamic artist folder'. This will be fine (or at least is for me) for most non classical CDs. However if you have a lot of classical music you might eventually want to fine tune this at a later stage.  

I rip my CDs directly into a folder on my NAS simply under a 'Music' folder that I have selected in the 'path' option in dbPoweramp. However, cut & paste of music folders from your laptop to your NAS will also be just fine. 

If you have a problem seeing the albums you have placed on the NAS in the Naim App (remember - this is what you will use to browse and select items to play on your streamer, not Asset itself), this may be because you need to 're-scan' your NAS to allow new entries to be displayed and picked up by the Naim App/Streamer. And of course you won't be able to use the Naim app until you have your Naim streamer installed in your system, so you may be actually getting ahead of yourself. Don't worry about the term 're-scan' itself. On minimserver it is simply a menu option that you select, and the re-scanning process takes just a matter of a few seconds to complete. I am sure that one of the Asset/QNAP users on the forum will be able to explain how to do this with a QNAP/Asset set-up.

It really isn't difficult at all, but it can initially be very confusing.

As Huge has suggested, if there are any users of network music streaming near you, then they would be able to talk you through the process very easily once you have your streamer connected to your system and network.

Hope I haven't confused matters more, and please don't give up just yet.

I echo Simon's post, because I have just had to rebuild & re-calibrate my Michell Orbe/Tecnoarm turntable set up, and getting VTA and other settings just right was for me infinitely more difficult than installing a music streamer and NAS in my system. It was something I had been dreading and putting off for weeks. It's now done and my turntable sounds great, but still no substitute for a good streaming system.        

 

Hmack, you're are genius!

Thankyou very much for this very helpful post, I think you may have helped me overcome something here! 

I have just tried what you have suggested me to do and it has worked! 

Thanks Hmack! 

Hey Stephen, you have done the most difficult now.  Don’t give up, you are near the end.  Also with the naim app, when the streamer will be at your home, all will be easier to see.

I'm off NASes. I had a Synology NAS which replaced one before it and both met the same end. You can RAID it to whatever level you want and have as many internal disks as you want, but if the control unit goes, guess what happens? I have managed to recover at no small expense the data from the Synology and am now backing all my PCs and Apple gear to Google Drive. It took a few days for all devices to be synced but am reasonably confident of being able to recover all my data. 

I guess most of you want to store your large music collections but am quite happy at the moment using Tidal via Roon as I don't have to buy remastered copies or listen to poorly recorded CDs that I bought twenty years ago. My recorded music is also on Google Drive but trying to play it from there might be an interesting non event. 

Isn't it funny how the most obvious of things can stare at you in hidden plain sight!

Yes, I shall not give up now. It's a bit like solving a Rubiks cube I suppose (something I can actually do) and one is on the verge of giving up just when one is a knat's whisker from solving the final sequence!

I cannot praise this forum enough, everyone has been so helpful & patient in getting me up and running with a streaming solution. Thank you all!

That is a potential problem with all NASs, and is why a 'separate' and preferably off-site backup in the form of something like a USB drive is pretty much essential in my view.

I had a similar problem recently with a NAS in which I hadn't set up a sophisticated RAID level. I simply mirrored drives in the NAS (some would say this is pointless) and kept a USB drive backup off-site with a relative. When my replacement NAS arrived I simply had to insert the original drives in the new NAS and I was up and running without any real intervention on my part. However, I had the comfort of knowing that my off-site backup was available if I needed it.

Still, I can well understand why you are happy simply to live with Tidal via Roon, albeit a pretty pricy option when you take into account the Tidal subscription cost and the cost of implementing Roon itself. I also use Tidal, and whilst I wouldn't want to be without my NAS and the option to download hi-res files, I do think Tidal is a very decent and much maligned (at times) service.   

Stephen Tate posted:

It's a bit like solving a Rubiks cube I suppose (something I can actually do)

I'm impressed. I have never come close to solving a Rubiks cube. 

Hmack posted:

That is a potential problem with all NASs, and is why a 'separate' and preferably off-site backup in the form of something like a USB drive is pretty much essential in my view.

I had a similar problem recently with a NAS in which I hadn't set up a sophisticated RAID level. I simply mirrored drives in the NAS (some would say this is pointless) and kept a USB drive backup off-site with a relative. When my replacement NAS arrived I simply had to insert the original drives in the new NAS and I was up and running without any real intervention on my part. However, I had the comfort of knowing that my off-site backup was available if I needed it.

Still, I can well understand why you are happy simply to live with Tidal via Roon, albeit a pretty pricy option when you take into account the Tidal subscription cost and the cost of implementing Roon itself. I also use Tidal, and whilst I wouldn't want to be without my NAS and the option to download hi-res files, I do think Tidal is a very decent and much maligned (at times) service.   

Yes, Kanye West is not necessarily my favourite person or music streaming service owner. Interestingly,  you can now buy 2TB flash drives, albeit for about £1,300 but I think I would trust the portability and flexibility of one of those than a single NAS. Obviously having more than one NAS on your network would work adequately. 

Hmack posted:

Stephen Tate posted:

It's a bit like solving a Rubiks cube I suppose (something I can actually do)

I'm impressed. I have never come close to solving a Rubiks cube. 

Stephen Tate posted:

ChrisSU posted:

Stephen Tate posted:

Please forgive me here chaps - my brain is so slow that last four posts to me are another world language - I don't understand any of it.

I may have to start thinking about abandoning this streaming malarkey, I am finding it just all too confusing. None of it (apart from ripping CDs using dBpoweramp) is easy. So far I have found the whole experience a ball ache to say the least.

A Rega P6 is starting to seem very appealing even though I have very little vinyl!

My earlier suggestion of an Innuos Zen Mini was aimed at avoiding exactly this situation. Like the more expensive Naim Core, you don’t need a NAS, Asset, dbPoweramp etc. Just shove the CD in the slot, wait for it to rip, and play it. 

Hi Chris,

I have never heard a Innuos Zen Mini, do these sound any good? 

I will have a look online. Many thanks.

I’m sure there is a dealer near you that sells Innuos, so it would be easy to check out. My experience of music storage devices, either off the shelf products like the Core and Innuos Zen, or NAS drives, is that if there is any difference in sound quality at all, it is quite subtle. I was thinking more of the ease of use of a product that does everything from riping to editing, storage and serving music files, without the need to ever fire up a computer or instal a piece of software  

A Zen Mini costs £699. A Naim Core costs £2k and has a smaller set of features. I would go for the Zen. 

Resurrection posted:

Yes, Kanye West is not necessarily my favourite person or music streaming service owner. Interestingly,  you can now buy 2TB flash drives, albeit for about £1,300 but I think I would trust the portability and flexibility of one of those than a single NAS. Obviously having more than one NAS on your network would work adequately. 

My goodness, Resurrection - you're brave! I've lost so many USB flash drives over the years, I would be terrified to take it out of the house/streamer USB socket!

I'm wrestling with the NAS backup problem currently, having just acquired a new QNAP NAS to run as a Roon Core. The QNAP expansion units are ideal as a backup solution, but eye waveringly expensive for what they are. Think I'll end up getting another low powered NAS to act as a backup solution.

 Backups can be on any drive, and silent ones not needed, not least because they only need running periodically, but they unless in the a separate box not using the same power supply etc they don’t count as backipuos because the risk of simultaneous loss is too great. Ideally they shouldn’t be in the same physical location in the home. and whilst insurance can cover music collections, proving adequately to an insurance company is always an unknown quantity till it happens, so best avoided if possible, while the sheer time of renewing a large collection from scratch is scary -ao an off-site backup is ideal, even if maybe updates less often. With the price of high capacity hard drives in usb caddies these days it really is inexpensive as well as easy. This may seem to npbe a bit of a faff,  and the risk of loss of an entire collection through something as common as a mains spike may seem to be a big negative for this form of music collection - however if you look at it in a different way, it is a real strength a significant benefit compared to CD or vinyl, as if you do keep backups you can be virtually immune to loss of a collection even through a major fire.

As for online streaming, me people indeed do like to subscribe to services like Tidal, and each to their own - for me any thought of possibly being unable to listen to favourite albums because of an internet glitch, or supplier going out of business, or ceasing to carry those particular titles is complete anathema, quite apart from a dislike of having to pay to listen again and again. Online streaming to me is fine for listening to new things to decide if I like enough to buy, nothing more.

Resurrection posted:

Yes, Kanye West is not necessarily my favourite person or music streaming service owner. 

Who?