NAS on double duty?

You can most certainly use a nas as both (a) storage and media server for your music, and (b) backup storage for other files such as photos.

To use the nas as a server for your Uniti, they need an ethernet connection.  You don't need a connection to the outside world (www as you say, but really you mean the internet), but the two pieces DO need to be able to find each other.  The traditional way to do this is to have them both connected to your home router which creates your in-home network and provides ip addresses to your networked devices on the home network. 

If you can't run an ethernet cable across the room . . . one option is to pay someone to run cable in the walls and install another ethernet jack near your hi fi rack.  This would be relatively inexpensive if the home is of relatively modern construction.

You can make it work with a direct cable connection I believe, but I am not knowing enough to tell you how to do it.  Plus, if you do that, your nas will be right near your hi fi and you might not like looking at it or hearing it.

A Synology nas would be a fine choice.

Hope this helps,

Bart

Welcome to Naim  dcp

I have a Synology DS214 & use it for both music & photo store

Music connections are strictly Ethernet cables

I use wireless for photos as, unlike music data streams, photo traffic is relatively static & light.

In my system I have the NAS ethernet connected to a network switch,  IME most ISP provided "hubs" are not good for this work as they cannot handle MAC address distribution correctly, so I use a simple Netgear GS105 unmanaged switch as the central point between the NAS, streamer & wireless hub.  They cost £20-25GBP.

From the switch an ethernet cable to Uniti (in your case)

From the switch an ethernet to the broadband wireless router-hub

The switch to wireless hub links your NAS photo files wirelessly to your PC/MAC photo editing program(s)

The switch routes NAS music data streams to the Uniti

The switch routes iRadio streams from the broadband hub to the Uniti

Its easy but & good luck with the new toys.  

As above,  the answer is yes. I have an Assetnas and I access it not only for music with my Naim but also for photos and for movies on my PC and through a western Dr igital tv live box. Its perfectly capable of serving media all over my house. I also use a switch in my living room to feed devices

For a diagram showing one possible form of the connections, see Fig3 in section 1.3 of this:

https://drive.google.com/file/...S28/view?usp=sharing

That's how I have mine but with a few additional devices plugged into the switch - works perfectly

I deliberately only covered the devices necessary for audio reproduction (inc internet radio) to keep it as simple as possible.

This is all really helpful, everyone. I will order the Synology and try out a couple of these configurations. It seems like Fig. 1.2 might be the place for me to start--assuming that an Airport Extreme can function as the router. And then buy a switch if necessary. Thank you! 

What you see in Fig. 1.2 is what I dare say 99% of us have set up at home.  But you indicated a problem connecting a cat5 cable to your Uniti -- not wanting to run it across the room.  How will you solve that?  (Again, getting it behind the walls is an elegant and not-too-expensive solution if you can do it.)

An Airport Extreme functions as a switch, and a router if you have its router function enabled (which IS enabled, by default).  If the Airport Extreme is not connected to the internet, then all is well except that you have no internet radio.  If the Airport Extreme IS connected to the internet (because you in turn connect it to the modem/router provided by your internet service provider), you need to disable some of the Airport Extreme's router functions otherwise you'll end up with two sets if IP addresses and pieces of kit not being able to talk to each other. 

Bart, Mike B, Huge, and Dayjay--thanks so much. Some (non-music related) things came up this month but I just got things set up--with Airport Extreme in bridge mode, but not yet the hub--tested it tonight and it works great! I'm ripping my CDs as FLACs using XLD, transferring them to Synology 214Play via ethernet cable, and after some experimenting the Synology is picking up tracks etc. pretty well. Thanks, all.