Updating an old HDX
Posted by: andrew jameson on 08 September 2011
I have one of the first HDX's (with NDAC and 555PS) with 2 x 400gb drives and i'm nearly out of space (have 540 ish rips and only room for 30-40 more) - Any idea what my potential HD upgrade options are ... can one go to 2 x 1TB for example
Just curious as to how i might get this 3 year old player up to as near as poss latest spec
Apologies if this has been discussed a thousand times - I don't spend as much time here as i used to
Thanks
Andy
Even if it is not possible to upgrade the harddisk capacity, I have the feeling it may be worthwhile to upgrade the RAM and PCI card to the latest version.
I'm told that upgrading to the 1TB drive is not an option because of additional metalwork. BTW, latest spec HDX has a single 1TB hard drive, no back-up drive. However, what you can do is to upgrade the HDX to the SSD version...
Regards,
Michel
Have the HDX software updated when the internet radio upgrade is released (imminent - left our demo unit - running 1.6b beta version - playing iRadio last night to see how it fairs over a prolonged period). Add the PCI card update at the same time (it's definitely worth the money) and add external NAS configured as a music store. One of our HDX owners has an original 2x400Gb HDX with two ReadyNAS Duo (each 2x500Gb) working seamlessly with a CD collection of over 1900 albums. He's now delving into HiRes downloads, so we will be setting up a network share on his system soon.
The SSD modification is equally feasible and worth consideration too, moving the storage away from the player.
Either way, you will remain impressed by the HDX and it's performance.
ATB
Tony
Thanks Tony - Sounds like good advice my only concern (lack of knowledge really) is where to store the NAS and how one hooks it up to the HDX. I don't really fancy the idea of having some hideous IT box anywhere near the system ... i presume that i could store it in a cupboard well out of sight of the system - I'm guessing that it's mandatory to connect via ethernet cable - in which case i'll get some cable in the walls as we're having the house re-wired at the moment
We sold our place in Norfolk btw - was up there a week or two ago though staying with friends - such a beautiful county
Hope all well with you etc.
Andy
Hi
I'm also using one of the 2 x 400Gb HDX's, and am approaching full capacity too.
I've just added a 2 x 2Tb nas drive, in Raid 1 array, and am unsure how to arrange things for the best.
From the comments posted, I could simply consider this as additional storage, and leave the existing rips where they are on the HDX, future rips going onto the nas drive. In both cases, the music is still backed up.
Alternatively, I could move everything onto the nas drive, where there's plenty of capacity.
Finally, does anyone know if it's possible to reconfigure the HDX's twin HD's so that they are seen as a single 800Gb drive? This would mean that the nas drive would become the backup for the HDX.
I'll check this out with my dealer, but any thoughts would be welcome.
Regards,
Dave.
Andy,
Wired connections for NAS are the best (mandatory in my opinion) approach if you can. Hide the NAS in a cupboard and configure HDX accordingly using DTC. Get in touch, if necessary - happy to help.
Dave,
Keep the files already ripped on the HDX and then set the NAS as the primary music store. The HDX's internal drives have to remain as separate drives as one is a back-up of the other. Ensure that the NAS has Raid backup configuration and all will be fine.
Tony
Andy
I use internet over mains with my NAS close to the router in another room from the HDX. I find this method works perfectly.
Regards
Hutton
I found the RAM and sound card update well worth it. I also had my 2X500Gb HDD machine converted to SSD but this comes down to personal preferences and arrangements. I was always a bit jumpy at having the collection internally stored because when a HDD fails it will be down to the factory to recover the files. Comparing playback from NAS against HDD I concluded that there was no difference. In fact I preferred NAS but put that down to the brain being silly. having established that I could run it from a NAS, I couldn't see the point in having two internal HDDs thrashing away. Something like a ReadyNAS Duo is so unobtrusive that it can practically vanish.
Dave
When you say "Keep the files already ripped on the HDX and then set the NAS as the primary music store", does that entail copying the files on the HDX drive to the NAS? Is that easy to accomplish?
Regards
Hutton
No.
Setting up a primary music store on NAS is very straightforward. Your HDX store becomes demoted to second place. Ripped files now go to NAS into the primary music store. Everything in both stores is presented seamlessly for browsing.
Once a NAS is in the equation, it is possible to move music between stores, should you wish. This music store expansion facility has been part of the HDX and UnitiServe platform for over a year now and works superbly.
But I reserve judgement on EoM, so far only 50% success rate, due to noisy mains circuits, split (i.e. seperated) ring mains, etc. Andy - If the electricians are in house, run some Cat5 and save yourself the agro!!!
Tony
related - does anyone happen to know which PCI version is the old one and which version is the new one?
Tony
Tony,
How do you do that?
Stéphan
Use the "Manage Music" facilities within the HDX accessed via the touch screen.
Haven't done it for some time so can't remember the detail without having access to an HDX and not back to BS HQ until Tues.
But essentially once you have more than one music store allocated to an HDX (or UServe for that matter) you can move music between them using this facility. You can only move HDX ripped music around.
Tony
System
Manage Music
Move Music
I'm wandering why there is no solution provided by Naim to upgrade/change the HDs to 2x 1TB. For equipment over 6.000 EUR (Germany) this is something I cant accept. Using a Server is not the same, as you will have an other separate part with sometimes unstable interconnection. The HDX is an all in one solution - for me also limited by the small size of the older HDs.
Please Naim provide a solution for this simple issue!
No it's not the same. But it sounds the same, is future proof and HDX disaster proof.
The network interconnection between HDX and server has never become unstable. Can you tell me what instability I will have to manage when it ultimately occurs?
I can understand those championing the HDX as a digital player - with music stored in the machine; a kind of Sonore Music Server with less storage. However, once you start using a server / NAS as storage isn't a renderer NDX / Uniti a much more sensible logical proposition?
Tog
to connect to NAS you need LAN access near your HDX. Hopefully you have one. Otherwise you will have an unstable connection via WLAN or an open cable running through your home. You can also place the NAS near the HDX, but then you have the noise from the NAS.
I especially have problems with the NAS itself. Sometimes there is a restart necessary or longer error search. This is no Naim problem, but a problem resulting in the need of two seperate parts or the too little internal space of the HDX.
Again: HDs are standard size. There is no special size produced for Naim. Why is there no option for a simple update so that a NAS and the disadvantages is not needed?
update to a bigger size provided by Naim?