Switch from CD to Network

If you can afford it, Naim's UnitiServe is the ideal partner for the NDS. It will make perfect rips in WAV or FLAC and can store about 2400 albums. You then just need a NAS for the vital backups. 

You can of course rip via the computer and save the files to a NAS. I'd strongly recommend that you get something other than the WD. Synology are excellent.

You'll get lots of advice on the software to get, should you choose not to get the UnitiServe. There is a great review of the NDS in this month's The Absolute Sound, which you can download for $4.99.

I swapped from a CDS2 last year. Now my CDs are in the loft, we have our walls back, and all the music can be accessed from the iPad. Once the faff of set up and ripping is done, it's delightfully easy.

Hi Dave

Im not sure the type of NAS is relevant but im sure someone will say if they have found different. I use a Synology 212j, which has worked flawlessly over the last couple of years , feeding my NDX.

I would recommend that you use dbpoweramp to rip your CDs, its a fantastic piece of software, and its only a few quid. Id rip to flac and use a upnp server that will transcode to wav on the fly.

ive been trying out a few upnp servers and i prefer Minimserver, but this is personal preference.

Regards Graeme

Although you could use itunes to rip, it wont be able to 'serve' the music to the NDS.

For this you need a UPNP server, which are available for mac and PC. However the mac or pc would need to be up and running in order to work.

And frankly on mac is a bit crap.

A better solution would be a NAS, this is a network attached storage device, which is basically a harddrive with network capabilities with a built in UPNP/DNLA server

Thanks all for the advice.

HH: I hadn't thought of the UnitServe, I was looking for a one box in, one out solution. I'll look at this in comparison to other options. Synology was already on the rader too. The Missus (IT guru) nodded in approval when I read her the reply.

Graeme, as above another vote for Synology. Thanks for mentioning the model you use. If you have the 212, why do you need the Minimserver upnp device as well? DO they do different things? I'll check out the software you use. Why would the server need to transcode to WAV on the fly? The NDS will take FLAC as I read the tech spec on the website.

garyi, I was thinking only of iTunes as it was the only software I currently have to hand. I assumed I could copy the files (in whatever format) to a server and feed the NDS from there. I was planning to mount the NAS on the home network and try to avoid having the desktop pc running at all times. This is on another floor so I want the NDS to "see" the files over the network independently of any pc. Any advice on ripping software? 

Regards

Dave

On mac there is XLD which is a totally superb solution for ripping.

Also if you have an old PC knocking around is to install vortexbox. I have one in the garage for occasional use, built around an old optiplex380

Its dead easy to install and after its done you control it with a web browser on another computer.

It does the ripping too, but the downside in my opinion is that you dont want it in the same room as the hifi. So the idea would be get comfy and rip them over a mashive session then move it some where else for the occasional rips.

This device will serve up to you NDS no probs.

dBpoweramp seems to be the most recommended ripping software. As your wife is an IT guru, you should have few problems. The UnitiServe is a very elegant solution nonetheless, which I got because I am far from being an IT guru, and as the server is in the same room as the stereo, I wanted something silent, as well as not wanting to use a computer to play music. It will play CDs too, not that I've ever tried it.

Dave, I really think you need to consider how much you want to experiment and fiddle around. If that's part of the attraction, then setting up TCP UPnP streaming from different components is relatively straightforward and flexible , and perhaps the hardest bit is deciding the structure of your library from the metadata of your recordings so you can effectively and easily index and access them. i got it right on my third attempt after trialling 20 rips or so, and once happy I ploughed through the remaining 1000.

if this all sounds like hardwork, then the Naim Unitiserve might be the way forward. With the addition of network attached storage (NAS) you have a closed Naim system, where you will get complete support, and your dealer might even set it up. But of course you will still need to rip the files if on CD.

Its worth noting that the metadata on iTunes is very limited, and, don't skimp on the quality of your home network. Try and keep wired Ethernet connections between your UPnP Server/ Unitiserve, NAS and NDS. If you go for a UPnP server built into a NAS, it simplifies things, but there are pitfalls, do use a NAS/UPnP combo you have read good feedback on, like QNAP and Asset/Minimserver etc. There are too many inferior options here that could leave you frustrated.

Simon

Another vote here for dbPowerAmp, worked very well for me in ripping around 800 CDs.

I also have a couple of Synology NAS drives.  The model numbers give you a clue to their type in the format nyy, where n=number of drives supported and yy is the year model.  So my 213 is a 2 drive NAS enclosure and is the 2013 model.  This has been superceeded by the DS214.

The Synology NAS comes with its own media server (UPnP Server) software, so this can be used without the need to run other software. Many people, myself included, prefer the sound of wav files played through the streamer when compared to flac. This again is down to the individual. 

Tagging files seems to work much better on flac than wav files, in my experience, so ripping to flac is advisable. However there is an issue with the Synology built in media server app, in that it has problems transcoding hi res flac files to wav. So for this reason i use a different app called Minimserver to act as the UPnP server, which is installed on the NAS. This transcodes hi res flac to wav without issue.

Graeme

Two quick comments:

dppoweramp is great

spend the time to edit the metadata as you rip, the biggest issue I've seen is albums being split up.

Graeme,

so you use the Minimserver app by preference, to play WAV files.  This is simply an App and not a physical device?

dave

Yes Dave thats correct Minimserver is just a piece of software that runs on the NAS This provides the music for my NDX. I use dbpoweramp to rip my cd's to flac format on a windows pc. I also use mp3tag, another piece of software, on a windows pc to edit the tag information of the flac files. I then set Minimserver to transcode the flac files into wav format before sending to the NDX. Its quite a lot to get your head around but surprisingly simple once its all up and running

I'll comment on a few things others have said, w/o regard to particular technologies.

1.  How much faffing around do you want to do?  That sends you one direction or another.

2.  Computers and nases can certainly serve files over the network.  But do you want them in the same room as the hi fi?  Most are not silent.  Some are close to silent, and a do-it-yourselfer certainly can build a totally silent PC.

3.  I own the NDS/555PS combo; it really is fantastic.

4.  Sure, technology keeps evolving.  But a lot of what we talk about here is technology that's been around for quite a few years, and will not be obsolete in the very near future.  There are always those who are waiting for 'the next groundbreaking technology' to displace current offerings.  (Which displacement is no guarantee, given the very complex market that music is in.)  You can join them and wait, and in the meantime just keep listening to your cd's.  But if you want to make a change, just jump in.  Otherwise you'll always be waiting.

You can always use an Ethernet Extender to turn your domestic ring-main into a wired CAT5 network - sounds scary but works like a dream. You can then keep your NAS in a cupboard, the attic, garage, shed etc. so long as there is a mains power socket (not an extension cable). I find the Synology 213j pretty close to silent, but still don't want the flashing lights in the living room.

I also find DBP excellent (I run it on my iMac using Parallels and Windows XP). Certainly worth getting the metadata right as you rip and I will re-rip if i don't get the result i was expecting. (I have already moaned on other threads about the dreadful quality of some metadata.)

I have sometimes split troublesome albums (i.e. one conductor, two composers) into two by ripping selected tracks in two sessions, to create meaningful metadata.  You can even combine two CDs into one by using a track-offset for the second rip (i.e. 3 symphonies split over 2 CDs - rip the 2nd symphony and use track offset to maintain the correct incremental track numbering. If the rest of the metadata matches JRiver will combine it into one album for you, or three separate symphony 'albums' if you wish. Not a purist approach to ripping, but the result makes life easier.

Amen to that!

I use DBPoweramp rip to FLAC, WAV and AIFF simultaneously, hopefully providing complete future flexibility.  Just add as many formats as you need in the Multi Encoder and set each one up to send the different files to your hard drive, external HD, NAS etc.

There is an excellent, well-written article on ripping strategy here (which I in part adopted):

http://www.computeraudiophile....egy-and-methodology/

There are dreams, and there are nightmares.  Ethernet-over-mains can be either. 

Depending on construction, cable can be installed behind walls by professional installers with minimal or no damage to walls and paint; this is the route I chose to get a network connection from my nas upstairs to my NDS downstairs.

There are times when the whole streaming-dream becomes a bit of a nightmare, but rediscovering my music is hopefully worth the effort. Edwardian brick encouraged me to put my faith in mains extenders, but i can hide some of my sins under the floorboards (now the mice have stopped eating it all). The jumble of wires etc. powering all the things that make it 'wireless' also help to keep me warm!

Thats a great link Tommay, but i have to say if id read that before i had started down the streamer route i may have been scared off. It always sounds way more complicated than it really is.

Someone already suggested ripping a few cd's first and see how the meta data appears on nstream or your app of choice before slogging through 1000's, is very good advice. With an app like mp3tag it is so easy to make bulk changes at a later date though, so all is not lost if mistakes are made.

Once it was easy - you got hold of the music you liked and listened to it!  Now we have to be network engineers and electronic archivists.  There is another link by the same guy (that i won't send you for fear of nightmares!) about various idealised hardware configurations of increasing complexity. I stopped at Level 2-ish (his kit goes all the way to Level 5!), but I found both articles helpful given i was just starting out. I am a strong believer that the best is the enemy of the good, but solid foundations will ultimately lead to more enjoyment of my music, which after all is the whole point.  My desire to get the rip data as correct as it can be (and hence the basic file structure) is driven by the thought that if all my 'fixes' reside within one particular software, what will happen if i have to import all the files into another?  As you say 'a lot to get your head round, but surprisingly simple once its all up and running', then you can sit back and enjoy the vibes!

Ok  I know this is a stupid question.  I use iTunes.  If you rip with dbPoweramp, how do you then play the music?

You could keep it simple and rip with iTunes.

iTunes makes bit-perfect rips, just like any number of satisfactory ripping engines.

ATB from George

Hi Greg

No stupid questions as far as im concerned. With itunes you must be playing through a dac i would imagine, from a pc. Dave the originator was enquiring about streaming from a UPnP server which sends the ripped audio files to a streaming device such as the NDS.

Thanks    But what if you wanted to "play" the music from the same computer you used to rip with dbPoweramp…then send to dac