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

Stephen Tate posted:

Anyway - back to more ripping. I have managed to buy yet another 4 albums in mint condition for £3 the lot.

I'm just going to keep filling up the NAS with more music (as some here have suggested) until I get my Naim streamer. As mentioned earlier, I have purchased Asset and managed to install this (with a lot of help from you guys) onto the Qnap. I have also bought a second hand Apple ipad 2 off a work friend for £60, this will be my remote control for the Naim App once i'm up and running.

Again, a big thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread in helping me get up and running!! I have not found any of it easy but i'm getting there...slowly but surely...

Thanks all!

 

 

Good on you Stephen. As you say, that is the main function of this forum (Padded Cell excluded) IMHO, to learn and help others if you can. I can't count the times I have been helped on here, often reading the advice being given to others. I try to help where I can, but I try to restrict my (serious) postings giving advice or views, to when I have had some direct experience of the topic in question. Otherwise it is speculation or guesswork or worse still, prejudice.

You have been up front and brave enough to declare your lack of knowledge re all things compootery, and there is absolutely no shame in that. Going back a few years I was in a not dissimilar situation and the form helped me a lot. So it is disappointing for me to see a posting that appears to be somewhat critical of someone's lack of expertise. Even suggesting that person should give up and go back to CD. It is sometimes difficult to appreciate how baffling streaming and all the peripherals and software can be to those who have no experience in this field. Such critical attitudes only serve to put people off coming on here who are asking for help, which is a great shame. 

Thankfully, as you can see on this thread, the vast majority on here are more than happy to offer the benefit of their experience and expertise to help others, even complete beginners. Local networks, switches, routers, Ethernet cabling, streamers, ripping engines, NASs, servers and all the associated software to make it all work are some of the things we all need to get to grips with in this brave new world of streaming, and many of us (me included) have little or no previous experience. So long live the forum and the generous folk on here who willingly offer the benefit of their knowledge and experience. This forumite certainly appreciates it.

Absolutely Nigelb. I'm feel absolutely overwhelmed by some of the responses I have received on this thread for an example, truly superb. It is a fantastic forum for like minded Naim folk to exchange, share experiences and knowledge with each other, to help get the best out of our equipment.

Of course, upgrading and trying to move forward is all part and parcel of this fantastic hobby. This is what I am trying to do, migrate from the CD player and onto a streaming system. I have committed myself now and there is no turning back. Yes i'm having a few bumps along the way and my lack of computer literacy is not helping matters but hey ho, at least i now I know more than I did. This is mostly because of the amazing help & guidance by members who I don't really know in person. Quite remarkable I think. Also, anyone else reading this thread who has no clue and is new to streaming and the world of Naim can hopefully gain some confidence & knowledge as well. If i can do it, anyone can do it!

I'm expecting a few more bumps along the way yet but i'm also looking forward to receiving a Naim streamer, sitting back with some nice music, pouring a glass or two and embracing (for me) a whole new level of digital audio/streaming.

Ok. First. apologies to you Stephen for how I worded my post. It started out as useful info to make it easier to find downloads, and the suggestion that maybe sticking to CDs would be better came out like that. Sorry.

There's a valid point though. Streaming is a doddle - you buy a streamer, plug a network cable in and bob's yer uncle. You have streamed internet radio. Get Tidal and you have access to a decent streamed service. You might need a phone or tablet to make it easier but it doesn't need to be an iPad Pro or a Samsung Galaxy 9, any reasonable phone will do. I used an HTC 626 for a bit then when my job changed my son's old slow & discarded iPhone did the job more than adequately. Ripping CDs to a local or NAS drive is really trivial, it's amazed and tickled me in equal proportions how much of a faff doing a simple job has become, and tbh with Tidal there's not really much need to rip cds anyway. But we all do it anyway. 

Bricklaying then? I could have a go at it, have done. Not to the standards of building a dream house, but I know the very basics. And if I then asked on BricklayersNet how to do it and had advice on the mix, the quantity, how best to apply it etc but then kept coming back saying no that didn't work; I've  tried and tried but have given up; what if I tried building a fence instead, no I think a wall is best, I've lost the wheelbarrow sod it it's all a waste I'll grow a hedge; it's ok Bob the builder has showed me his wall and did a small extension while I was there so I've got it now, oh no where's my wheelbarrow gone now and then after dithering between every trowel option going before asking if £3.99 is a good price for the one I'd considered and rejected a while ago; if after all that I still hadn't even started on the wall despite having a bag of sand in the garage ready to go, I'd expect people on BricklayersNet to wonder if I was pulling their chain a bit. And that's what I thought numerous times about your posts here Stephen, are you really having so many issues, most of which are just a Google away? Happy to accept that's not the case given your latest posts. But you have left yourself open at least to a bit of questioning, and tbh your thread - 17 pages and counting - bears many of the attributes that could lead one eventually to assume it is a chain yanking thread. 

I hope you suss it, but if I were you I'd buy anything now - the ND5XS is as good as anything, I wish I'd sold you mine a few weeks ago - and just get on with it. When the next version arrives there'll be another on the horizon, or a more expensive version, or some other reason not to buy it. And then you're eternally about to take the plunge but never doing it. £1499 for an ND5XS is a good price. Take the plunge, buy it, enjoy it until you get the urge to upgrade. It took me less than 2 years to go 272, but it was an enjoyable 2 years.

ATB.

ChrisR_EPL posted:

It took me less than 2 years to go 272, but it was an enjoyable 2 years.

Hi Chris,

Is the NAC 272 what you now currently run? (I can't see any system details in your profile).

If so; is it a big upgrade from the ND5 XS?

The reason why I ask is that I have seen a mint second hand NAC 272 for sale which will push me well over budget if I wanted one that bad but I reckon I could reach it (god willing). The problem I will have though is not being able to afford a matching power amp to do the NAC272 justice for quite a while.

I take it the upgrade urge has now settled?

Thanks

Our esteemed friend Huge did a detailed comparison between the ND5XS and the 272’s streamer and found the latter significantly better. For a power amp on a budget, a used non-DR 200 is the one to get. The cost would be about £900, against which you could set the sale proceeds from the Nait, which you’d no longer need. You could also sell the Hiline, which would no longer be needed. The only wire you would need is the 4 pin Snaic that comes with a 200. So if you went the 272 route you’d be able to get 200 at the same time and have a completely new, and rather excellent, system. You should think carefully about whether you’d be happy with this approach, rather than separate source and integrated amplifier.

Thanks Nigel.

By the way, I have just accidently wiped all my music off my laptop again. Luckily this time i'm able to copy it all back again from another folder I never knew I had. One thing I don't like about all this computer malarkey is if one makes the slightest of mistakes it over the top punishes you.

The other thing is; when I rip new music to my laptop using dBpoweramp and then send to the Qnap, instead of going straight to the 'music' file where all the music resides in the file station it just keeps on creating new files. Just to kindly add to all the confusion that already exists. Lovely.

Oh dear, you do get into a pickle. Drop me an email and we can arrange for a time for me to pop round next week to sort it out. Now you have a decent amount of music ripped it will give us something to work on. Perhaps you should stop doing anything till then. 

Stephen Tate posted:

The other thing is; when I rip new music to my laptop using dBpoweramp and then send to the Qnap, instead of going straight to the 'music' file where all the music resides in the file station it just keeps on creating new files. Just to kindly add to all the confusion that already exists. Lovely.

Stephen, my wife was of a similar mind computer-wise - it took some while before she got it and started to believe she wasn't going to wreck everything. Trust me, it will click - especially if you've got an old hand showing you the ropes. I suspect a key will be HH checking the defaults dbPoweramp is set to. 

I have managed to transfer my music from the Qnap and back into my laptop but my Qnap is now empty! 

It's tiresome, it really is!!

I think i'm now going to get a Innuos Zen mK2 instead and just use the Qnap as a back up. I've gone past being able to send the Qnap back now so I am stuck with it. Ho hum...

I regret getting the damn thing!

It's such a shame that Naim no longer make the CD5XS otherwise without any doubt in my mind I would of gone for one after this experience. Now I feel I am forced to check out other manufacturers source equipment instead...

Nick Lees posted:

Stephen, my wife was of a similar mind computer-wise - it took some while before she got it and started to believe she wasn't going to wreck everything. Trust me, it will click - especially if you've got an old hand showing you the ropes. I suspect a key will be HH checking the defaults dbPoweramp is set to. 

Hi Nick,

I don't have any problem with dBpoweramp. Indeed dBpoweramp is a doddle to use, I just rip everything into - Documents - in the default settings on dbpoweramp.

It's Windows 10 and the NAS that I am struggling to understand...

Sorry Stephen, but it's your computer skills that are lacking here. No offence intended.????

As I've said previously a Uniticore would do all of your ripping and backups.  Partner it with an nDAC or streamer and you are done.

Guinnless posted:

Sorry Stephen, but it's your computer skills that are lacking here. No offence intended.????

As I've said previously a Uniticore would do all of your ripping and backups.  Partner it with an nDAC or streamer and you are done.

 

 

Yup. I have lost the will to live now to even entertain a computer. I am going to look at a Innuos Zen MK2. If that becomes a ball ache then I will just revert back to the laptop and USB DAC streaming Qobuz and look for a CD5XS or a Rega turntable instead. I'll just have to take a hit on the Qnap!

As it happens the music that is ripped into my laptop via dBpoweramp and then replayed through my Arcam irDAC is making me think why bother anyway, it sounds just as good as the CD player, in fact my partner prefers it!

Stephen Tate posted:

I have managed to transfer my music from the Qnap and back into my laptop but my Qnap is now empty! 

It's tiresome, it really is!!

I think i'm now going to get a Innuos Zen mK2 instead and just use the Qnap as a back up. I've gone past being able to send the Qnap back now so I am stuck with it. Ho hum...

I regret getting the damn thing!

Stephen, your Qnap can’t be empty.  You have not erased the files, just transferred on your laptop.  You will find them again and will be happy again and you will take a cup of tea again.

Hi FR,

I am having to transfer all my music back to the Qnap from the laptop as it did not stay behind - it's probably one the most tedious experiences I have ever endured. Everytime I go onto the Qnap operating system home page I have to 'manually' reduce the screen down to 75% view so i can see the whole page. Even this is a ball ache! LOL!

More Tea me-thinks.

Any file transfers to the NAS I do are just done with Windows explorer. Cut or copy or drag whatever suits that operation.

No need to log onto anything.

Hi Guinnless,

I simply go to 'MUSIC' in This PC - right click - copy or move to QnapNAS1 - job done. But other things happen too. Sometimes the Qnap won't even shut down when I command it to shut down, it gets stuck with the hard drives constantly whirring. I have to manually pull the plug out. Even trying to shut the thing down is sometimes a ball ache.

I bloody give up?!?!

Stephen

I think you’re over complicating things, but, from what I’ve read on the forum most people do.

Qnap have an application called Netbac replicator. It does what it says on the tin, replicates the file structure you have on the PC onto the NAS. I’ve just burned and replicated a few CD and taken photos of the process. I’ll upload them to the cloud and post them later. It’s very simple.

Stephen Tate posted:

Hi Guinnless,

I simply go to 'MUSIC' in This PC - right click - copy or move to QnapNAS1 - job done. But other things happen too. Sometimes the Qnap won't even shut down when I command it to shut down, it gets stuck with the hard drives constantly whirring. I have to manually pull the plug out. Even trying to shut the thing down is sometimes a ball ache.

I bloody give up?!?!

Which is it? Copy, or move? The two are distinct actions and amazingly each does what it says on the tin, as they say. So you're either copying your music files or moving them.

You give all the impression Stephen of wanting to have the fun of a Ferrari without bothering with the awkward business of learning to drive. Computers are as easy as driving; both require some training and guidance to use them properly. The benefit of computers is that for the most part they do exactly what they're instructed to do, so it’s incumbent on the user to make sure that the instructions are correct. Move, or copy? Different things...

Everybody can learn, my mother did and she's 80 ish now, but she [rightly] took the view that if some spotty kid can learn how to use one she could too. But she didn’t blunder about, she took advice and bought a couple of books to be on the right path. Amazon will flog you a Dummy’s Guide To W10 that would be a better investment than a 272. Good luck. I hope you get there.

Stephen Tate posted:

Hi FR,

I am having to transfer all my music back to the Qnap from the laptop as it did not stay behind - it's probably one the most tedious experiences I have ever endured. Everytime I go onto the Qnap operating system home page I have to 'manually' reduce the screen down to 75% view so i can see the whole page. Even this is a ball ache! LOL!

More Tea me-thinks.

I’m sorry Stephen but reading this is like asking someone to pass some teabags and then after an hour of nothing happening finding him upside down in the airing cupboard trapped behind the pipes. 

My NAS has software that allows the NAS to appear on Windows as Y drive shortcut. It's also available in Network Manager too but that's another story.????

Stephen Tate posted:

It's such a shame that Naim no longer make the CD5XS otherwise without any doubt in my mind I would of gone for one after this experience.

I bought a good one from a dealer, with warranty, last Autumn.

C.

Ripped CD to a folder on PC. (D/Music/2018Feb)

Open Netbak Replicator, (it remembers the last thing I did, backed up 2018Feb) Start backup. It looks for new sub folders in 2018Feb and copies them onto the NAS.

I tell you what i'm going to do - open CD drawer, put CD in, close door and press play. Enjoy some music stress free while drinking some tea.