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

fatcat posted:

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.

Thanks ever so much Fatcat!

I'll take a look and get back.

Cheers!

Christopher_M posted:

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.

Me too. ????

Below is the file structure of the PC replicated on the NAS. (I wouldn’t normally bother looking at this, I’dd go straight to the media server).

I open the media server, it remembers the last thing I did (look for new and changed music in the music folder on the NAS.

As long as you always rip to the music folder on the PC, it will always end up in the music folder on the nas. If your media server looks for music in the music folder, what could possibly go wrong.

fatcat posted:

As long as you always rip to the music folder on the PC, it will always end up in the music folder on the nas. If your media server looks for music in the music folder, what could possibly go wrong.

Brilliant!

Thanks fatat!

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. Now I feel I am forced to check out other manufacturers source equipment instead...

 

PLEASE, PLEASE for your own sanity, and that of those trying to help you, just calm down, turn you QNAP off, play music the way you used to before you started this thread, set up a date to tapke up HH on his kind offer to pop round, but other than that and awaiting release of ND5XS2, DO NOTHING with streaming, NOTHING with your computer, and simply try to forget about the whole subject.

I think chrisR_EPL was spot on with his post on Wed, and indeed if it hadn’t been for your having actually visited HH I’d have dismissed you as a troll long ago.

Innocent Bystander posted:

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. Now I feel I am forced to check out other manufacturers source equipment instead...

 

PLEASE, PLEASE for your own sanity, and that of those trying to help you, just calm down, turn you QNAP off, play music the way you used to before you started this thread, set up a date to tapke up HH on his kind offer to pop round, but other than that and awaiting release of ND5XS2, DO NOTHING with streaming, NOTHING with your computer, and simply try to forget about the whole subject.

I think chrisR_EPL was spot on with his post on Wed, and indeed if it hadn’t been for your having actually visited HH I’d have dismissed you as a troll long ago.

Look guys, I do very much appreciate all the help i'm receiving from everyone here. I know nothing about computers as you know but have rather gone and put myself into the deep end. I maybe an idiot, I don't really care but can we focus the on thread in hand rather than reminding 'me' what an idiot I may be. I am not a troll either.

Thanks

if HH had not visited him, Stephen would have been dismissed as a troll?    it is a bit nasty and even stupid i feel.  Or i have not understood well....

Stephen Tate posted:

Innocent Bystander posted:

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. Now I feel I am forced to check out other manufacturers source equipment instead...

 

PLEASE, PLEASE for your own sanity, and that of those trying to help you, just calm down, turn you QNAP off, play music the way you used to before you started this thread, set up a date to tapke up HH on his kind offer to pop round, but other than that and awaiting release of ND5XS2, DO NOTHING with streaming, NOTHING with your computer, and simply try to forget about the whole subject.

I think chrisR_EPL was spot on with his post on Wed, and indeed if it hadn’t been for your having actually visited HH I’d have dismissed you as a troll long ago.

Look guys, I do very much appreciate all the help i'm receiving from everyone here. I know nothing about computers as you know but have rather gone and put myself into the deep end. I maybe an idiot, I don't really care but can we focus the on thread in hand rather than reminding 'me' what an idiot I may be. I am not a troll either.

Thanks

For the sake of clarity, I have not suggested you are an idiot, but you do seriously over-react to everything that happens - the phrase that comes to mind is ‘drama queen’, of which I don’t accuse you, but some of your posts remind me of one particular person I know who very much is one. What my last post suggested was that this is clearly getting the better of you, and as direct practical help in the form of a visit to your own home to sort it out has been offered, it would ease the stress on you if you simply waited for that, and then waited until the time comes to go and buy a streamer, rather than flitting between its going great, its all lost, I’m really looking forward to a Naim streamer, I’m going back to CD, I’ll look for another brand (and that last one in particular hadn’t even anything to do with computers, or indeed anything covered up till then).

French Rooster posted:

if HH had not visited him, Stephen would have been dismissed as a troll?    it is a bit nasty and even stupid i feel.  Or i have not understood well....

Perhaps you should read the entire thread objectively, then you might see where that potential assessment comes from.

Innocent Bystander posted:

Stephen Tate posted:

Innocent Bystander posted:

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. Now I feel I am forced to check out other manufacturers source equipment instead...

 

PLEASE, PLEASE for your own sanity, and that of those trying to help you, just calm down, turn you QNAP off, play music the way you used to before you started this thread, set up a date to tapke up HH on his kind offer to pop round, but other than that and awaiting release of ND5XS2, DO NOTHING with streaming, NOTHING with your computer, and simply try to forget about the whole subject.

I think chrisR_EPL was spot on with his post on Wed, and indeed if it hadn’t been for your having actually visited HH I’d have dismissed you as a troll long ago.

Look guys, I do very much appreciate all the help i'm receiving from everyone here. I know nothing about computers as you know but have rather gone and put myself into the deep end. I maybe an idiot, I don't really care but can we focus the on thread in hand rather than reminding 'me' what an idiot I may be. I am not a troll either.

Thanks

For the sake of clarity, I have not suggested you are an idiot, but you do seriously over-react to everything that happens - the phrase that comes to mind is ‘drama queen’, of which I don’t accuse you, but some of your posts remind me of one particular person I know who very much is one. What my last post suggested was that this is clearly getting the better of you, and as direct practical help in the form of a visit to your own home to sort it out has been offered, it would ease the stress on you if you simply waited for that, and then waited until the time comes to go and buy a streamer, rather than flitting between its going great, its all lost, I’m really looking forward to a Naim streamer, I’m going back to CD, I’ll look for another brand (and that last one in particular hadn’t even anything to do with computers, or indeed anything covered up till then).

No but you have suggested i am a troll of which I am not. Again! can we please lay off from getting personal!

Thanks

Stephen - you may find the forum block function useful. It certainly helps to reduce the unhelpful noise floor, leads to blacker thread backgrounds and ultimately more forum enjoyment and engagement 

It does seem that the challenges you are having are beyond what might be expected, and I’d suggest that it is time to reflect on what to do. Sticking with Naim options there seem to be four options:

1. Stick with the Qnap and either get an ND5XS now, or wait for the ND5XS2

2. Get a Core as an easy option (if getting to grips with the Qnap and file management is really not for you) and then get either of the streamers as above

3. Decide that steaming is not for you (and it’s not for everyone) and get either a CD5xs or CDX2 (Naim may still be able to build a new CD5xs if that’s the one you really want)

4. Put the whole thing down to experience, sell the Qnap on the bay or pink fish, and just stick with what you have. (You’d sell it under options 2 and 3 as well. 

There are of course other manufacturers’ products but you still need to address the fundamental question of whether you can be bothered with computer audio. If you are, then you simply have to master certain basics such as storing and managing the music files and backing them up. If you do not wish to master this, then computer audio is not for you. 

I do hope this is helpful. 

Nigel, thankyou ever so much for helpful your post. I think you have pretty much nailed it with your suggestions and you're right in that I need to think carefully as to what to consider as it can easily end up in tears. I am clearly struggling more than I had hoped for on getting to grips with the computer and a NAS, perhaps I have not taken it seriously enough to start with and I maybe posting here a little too much for comfort when things are going wrong, I get that...i will from now on try to put a little more effort in on my part before I post here in future...

I am still going to stick with your suggestion number 1 and wait for the ND5 XS 2 to arrive, this was my original plan anyway and it will give plenty of time to learn the ropes with all the stuff I am currently struggling with. For instance, Fatcat has just made some really helpful posts above and has kindly given his time to post some pictures on how to do back up/replicate. I need to study his pictures very carefully because i'm not very confident but even so, very helpful indeed.

Reflecting on things this morning, I think I will just have to become a little more computer savvy in what i'm trying achieve in putting together a streaming system and really think about what it entails. Indeed I want to stick with Naim, I like Naim anyway and have enjoyed their products for many years and I have mostly a Naim system to begin with so it makes sense to stick with Naim. Innuos et al will further complicate things I feel and not only that I like the Naim sound quality and their bullet proof service they provide, they have my loyalty for sure.

Obviously, if I just cannot get on with streaming full stop then another Naim CD player is another option, in which case I would even then try to go for a CDX2, the CD player I have always ever wanted!

I shall take a back seat for now and try get my head around using a PC and NAS device and stop making these silly mistakes.

I will be in touch, if I may, for further assistance.

Kind regards,

Stephen

Of course. I’ll pop round and we can look at how you’ve got everything arranged. Then you’ll see how clueless I really am!!

Stephen Tate posted:

 

Reflecting on things this morning, I think I will just have to become a little more computer savvy in what i'm trying achieve in putting together a streaming system and really think about what it entails.(the workflow is quite efficient

I don’t think you need to be that PC savvy to stream successfully. In fact the streaming process doesn’t really involve the PC.

To stream from a NAS you need a location on the NAS that contains music files, you need a streamer/media software to take the music files and transfer them to an amp or dac. No PC involved.

The PC is only used (in my case) to rip or download music and transfer the music to the NAS. You can think of this as a separate process.

How this process is performed is up to the individual, it can be as simple as they want or as complicated as they want. I’ve gone for the simplest possible option, no need for scheduled backups or media server contantly looking for new music. Manually rip to PC, manually backup to nas (Netbac replicator) and manually get the media server to to look for new music. (the workflow is quite efficient). The only time the NAS is active is during a backup and when actually straming music.

I also use Netbac replicator to create a backup on a portable USB drive.

With regards to the Netbac replicator software, it’s loaded onto the PC, not the NAS. Also you’ll need to log into the nas before files can be copied,

Thanks.

I think one of the main problems for me with a PC (and my partner is the same) is that if I try to stare at the screen and read what is going on, within a minute or so I have a headache and the whole process puts me into a fowl mood. I think this is one of the main reasons I am really struggling. I just cannot stare at the screen for too long, I find it a horrible experience and therefore cannot work anything out. I'm not quite sure if it is just something I am just going to have to try and get used to.

Anyway, I have downloaded Netbac replicator but I don't know how to use it so I have just resulted to writing down each CD I rip and manually look for that CD file in the MUSIC folder and then copy it over to the NAS. I know it's probably a long winded process but it is working so far.

I dare not do anything else because I very quickly end up in trouble.

Yesterday I copied my music files from the Qnap to the laptop and then from the laptop back to the Qnap again, it's the only way I know how to do it and it has worked.

Picking up from Fatcat’s pbservations, as I said in an early post, when I first started streaming I bought an ND5XS (ex-dem by mail order, so no dealer help to set up), the cheapest NAS I could find, connected them using the Cyrus guide previously mentioned, plugged in and it was ready to go. 

The ripping I did on a PC using dBpoweramp on its default settings.

You do need to have some knowledge/ability using a computer, but only things that are actually needed for this are:

1] sufficient understanding of your computer’s file system Windows to be able to select and open folders, and copy and paste files and folders.

2) The ability to find thr network on your computer: on recent versions of Windows it sets itself up for you, and should simply be visible as part of the computer’s file structure (older versions could take rather more effort to set up the network).

3) The ability to download and install programs like dBPoweramp.

4) The ability to download files with knowledge of where your computer is saving them.

If these are a problem, or still cause difficulty even though you thought you were up to it, I suggest either buying a basic book such as the ‘for dummies’ someone has already suggested, or better still if possible by enrolling on a local evening class course specifically aimed at getting novices up to speed in the basics, with the advantage that you can be shown and specific questions or concerns addressed. These are available in many local centres of adult education, the basic course often only a term long, and students are often people who have worked for decades without ever having to use a computer now having/wanting for everything from internet banking to, er, music playing.

If you really cannot cope with the computer side at all, then simply buy a streamer that has online streaming capability (Naim offers Tidal and Spotify), and subscribe to one or more such service. 

Whilst streamers usually have traditional-style remote controls and a small screen, enabling them to work purely from that, but I am unclear as to whether they work effectively with online streaming services, and in any case, based on the one my ND5XS had, although they work they are not great for browsing music - for that you  will need an app on a handheld device (iPhone/Pad or Android device), and learn your way around it. Some streamers use specific apps, some generic - as soon as you have bought a streamer you can download the recommended app and be up and running in minutes.

But if you can’t, or don’t want to, get to grips with an app, then streaming in any of its guises would appear to be not for you - however I do recall that you have done some online streaming using your computer: if you managed that then really you should be able to manage what is tprequired for streaming, whether just online or with your own collection (or both), so think of it as just lke coming afresh to your old streaming set-up process, but just things looking and working slightly differently.

At this point I have said all I can contribute, in some cases several times over through the convoluted course of this thread. I wish you well with it and whilst I hope you will follow advice given here and on earlier posts, I will probably not learn if you do as I am ceasing to follow this thread, though I may dip in out of curiosity some time to find out if you have succeeded.

The most complicated thing I have ever done on a PC and I found it very easy to do at the time without any outside help was to set my laptop up for streaming for services like Qobuz, spotify etc..

I bought an Arcam irDAC and went on their website, downloaded their AISO driver to allow 24bit/192khz class 2 for USB, plugged a JitterBug filter into the laptop, connected it up using a Chord Silver-Plus USB cable and I was off. Have been using this configuration (trouble free) and wirelessly for 4 years.

I have also ripped CDs using the laptop's own software WAV into Windows Media Player, went out and bought some blank CDs and burnt now copies just because I could and it was new to do. Again, I found this so easy to do, with no help from anybody. The only time I have had real difficulties in using a PC is now, hence this thread and it does not seem to be abating in getting not any easier. Ho hum...

I have made the mistake into thinking that I just plug everything in (as described above) a couple of clicks and then i'm off. I would never of dreamed for one minute that I would of found it this difficult. I am none the wiser, in fact i'm even more confused now than ever. The only thing I have found simple is using dBpoweramp.

I've been following your 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' (it's an album by REM!) with interest Stephen. I feel some of your pain. Several years ago I dabbled with using a MacMini as a streaming source (with a good DAC) and it was the most frustrating couple of weeks I have ever experienced in my nigh on fifty year hi-fi habit.

Reading of your frustrations, the phrase uttered by an audiophile friend of mine kept ringing in my ears:-

'It should not be this complicated to enjoy some music at home'.

It seems that there are many happy advocates and adopters of streaming rigs, and one is inclined to wonder if The Computers Gods are simply agin some of us?

Now don't get me wrong - this is not a computer free house - I have a full set of Apple i-Thingies and I love 'em all. But; if the internet or an email server is down, it doesn't really bother me - I can still play and enjoy my music. Listening to music is all about passion and engagement. I imagine that if I had a streaming rig which decided to have a wobble when I wanted to listen to some music; one or more of the pertinent boxes might just end up adorning the patio from an upstairs window.

I remain 100% content with a CD player and a turntable. I love the simplicity and sound of both sources. Many contributors here seem to be very happy with their streaming rigs and that's great. In life we learn to be wary of the power of marketing, urging us to change to what is hip/cool/fab/fashionable. Just because everyone else is (allegedly) doing it.

Henry David Thoreau put it well:-

“If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away.”

Nicely apposite eh?

So good luck Stephen. Perhaps with the help of HH and other knowledgeable people on the forum, you will get there with streaming. But if not, just revert back to that with which you were happy and content.

John.

i am following Stephen since the beginning of the thread and it reminds me my same past problems.

I think that Stephen had done now the most difficult and he is very near the end of difficulties.

Without the streamer at home, it is also more complicated and funny.

J.N. posted:

I've been following your 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' (it's an album by REM!) with interest Stephen. I feel some of your pain. Several years ago I dabbled with using a MacMini as a streaming source (with a good DAC) and it was the most frustrating couple of weeks I have ever experienced in my nigh on fifty year hi-fi habit.

Reading of your frustrations, the phrase uttered by an audiophile friend of mine kept ringing in my ears:-

'It should not be this complicated to enjoy some music at home'.

It seems that there are many happy advocates and adopters of streaming rigs, and one is inclined to wonder if The Computers Gods are simply agin some of us?

Now don't get me wrong - this is not a computer free house - I have a full set of Apple i-Thingies and I love 'em all. But; if the internet or an email server is down, it doesn't really bother me - I can still play and enjoy my music. Listening to music is all about passion and engagement. I imagine that if I had a streaming rig which decided to have a wobble when I wanted to listen to some music; one or more of the pertinent boxes might just end up adorning the patio from an upstairs window.

I remain 100% content with a CD player and a turntable. I love the simplicity and sound of both sources. Many contributors here seem to be very happy with their streaming rigs and that's great. In life we learn to be wary of the power of marketing, urging us to change to what is hip/cool/fab/fashionable. Just because everyone else is (allegedly) doing it.

Henry David Thoreau put it well:-

“If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away.”

Nicely apposite eh?

So good luck Stephen. Perhaps with the help of HH and other knowledgeable people on the forum, you will get there with streaming. But if not, just revert back to that with which you were happy and content.

John.

Thank you for your kind words John. I really hear where you are coming from. Indeed I don't think I have ever taken so many deep breaths and counts to ten with a "positive self talk" said out load to oneself.

A brilliant quote there too, really made my day that has., 

Cheers!

French Rooster posted:

i am following Stephen since the beginning of the thread and it reminds me my same past problems.

I think that Stephen had done now the most difficult and he is very near the end of difficulties.

Without the streamer at home, it is also more complicated and funny.

Thanks FR, I sure am banking on you being right, in it being complicated & funny at the same time! 

Stephen Tate posted:

French Rooster posted:

i am following Stephen since the beginning of the thread and it reminds me my same past problems.

I think that Stephen had done now the most difficult and he is very near the end of difficulties.

Without the streamer at home, it is also more complicated and funny.

Thanks FR, I sure am banking on you being right, in it being complicated & funny at the same time! 

i wanted to say «  without the streamer at home it is more complicated and less funny « .   I am sure all will be finally all right.    When HH will come, take a video of what he will say and show, it will help you after.

No way!! I’m not being videoed by anyone.