Connection from NAS to hugo for playback
Posted by: silklee on 15 November 2014
Not sure if this should go to "streaming audio" or here...
I have been reading the forum rather extensively on a 'digital solution'. I have gotten a NAS (synology DS214play) and have started ripping my CDs. I had not been taking immaculate care of my cds and some have started to skip on playback. And these are mandarin / cantonese CDs of which some are almost impossible to find another copy of.
I read with interest about experiences with the chord hugo and that seems a rather non too expensive option for "digital" playback. However I have questions on how the whole system is connected up.
Am I correct that what I will need to do will be to stream from my NAS to my notebook and output it to the Hugo via my notebook's USB?
However, if this is right, that would also mean that my notebook will have to be always physically connected to Naim system and there is no way to 'remotely' select tracks (ie track selection will have to be done on my notebook). That doesn't make the system very user friendly.
Hope I am making sense. Appreciate any advice.
How do you send a 1 down a piece of wire? ... You can however send an electrical signal that represents it. The 1 doesn't exist, nor the 0, not even on the hard disk. Just magnetic bits flipped to represent them. It's all electricity.
I am more than a little encouraged by the playback to say the least.
Now the question is if i should try out a hugo. Will it be better than the Director? I might just be able to find a used one.
Reading huto'a manual, it says this about the HD USB Input.
"The high definition (HD) USB input is the highest quality method of digital playback. This input is asynchronous and uses Hugo’s own highly accurate clock circuit. This input will support 384Khz PCM/DXD and also DSD64 and DSD128 in DoP format. No drivers are required for AppleTM and AndroidTM devices but for Mirosoft WindowsTM you must firstly load the drivers on the supplied CD or download them from our website."
Does this affect me or would i need to used this input in any way if my playback is from the NAS to the hugo of flac files ripped from redbook cds?
Or is it as simple as just connecting my NAS to the hugo to this input and everything will take care of itself? Or some drivers need to be installed?
I very much doubt most consumer NAS's are powerful enough or even contains the software and hardware to support asynchronous audio over USB. If you wish to use async USB audio I suggest you are better off using a PC, iOS device or Mac, which do contain the media capabilities to support this.
Simon
in your configuration, using the NDX to the hugo, are you utilising (or the equivalent of) the hugo's high definition input?
Maybe the actual question i am asking is, if I am not able to make use of the hugo's HD USB input, will it still sound good?
There is a headphone amp/DAC recently out from Oppo which is drawing positive comment and reviews. If you can get Oppo gear it might be worth checking out.
Just run the audiostation app on the Synology NAS. The NAS will appear as a USB source to the Hugo.
...
If it does, have anyone tried this? Does it sound any good relative to a CDS3/555PS?
It probably won't.
The NAS is the lowest quality level of hardware which is absolutely not intended to be used as a playback device. Any other playback device will most likely sound better.
I believe James mentioned it only because it is a cheap easy option to get some music from the NAS into the Hugo. certainly not a recommendable solution for quality sound.
What? A NAS will stream digital content perfectly or it wont stream it at all.
We're not talking about streaming here, but direct usb-to-usb connection from NAS to Hugo.
And only for "bits-are-bits" believers there is no difference.
Simon
in your configuration, using the NDX to the hugo, are you utilising (or the equivalent of) the hugo's high definition input?
Maybe the actual question i am asking is, if I am not able to make use of the hugo's HD USB input, will it still sound good?
Silklee, in a word yes. My input of choice is coax SPDIF from my NDX to Hugo... (I use a DC1 lead with a choke). The SPDIF connection from the NDX is capable to 192/24. This sounds consistently more comfortable and natural than HD async audio USB from my Mac, but we are talking subtle here.. The Hugo is sufficiently expressive and resolving that these subtleties become more apparent as long as the rest of your system doesn't get in the way.
Now that I have installed minimserver, minimwatch and ministreamer (and set up the stream.transcode property to 'flac:wav24') , and playback is controlled via Synology Audio station, can I safely assume that the playback will go through the transcoding as indicated?
Is there anyway to tell if I am actually playing back as wav24?
I don’t how it works playing from a PC, but if you can find a display showing a 4 digit number ending kb/s, that is telling you.
The formula to get that number is sample rate x bit depth x 2
For example with a 96/24 file, 96*24*2 = 4608 (kb/s)
If it’s not transcoding 24-24 it will be 96*16*2 = 3072 kb/s
I certainly like the ease of ripping.
I certainly like the ease of ripping.
Congratulations on your decision Silklee. I love my NDS and I am sure you will enjoy yours for many years to come!
A UnitiServe can certainly make ripping easy, and the rips themselves will be optimal for NDS playback via UPnP. The question is: with a little effort and knowledge, can the same optimal playback results be achieved using a PC or Mac with any number of software rippers and/or UPnP servers? The answer is: yes.
Search the archives. Simon-in-Suffolk proved a while back that the data bits in a UnitiServe WAV rip and a 3rd-party WAV rip were identical.
Again, nothing wrong with an easy-to-use, turnkey solution like a UnitiServe. Just don't fall for a sales pitch that says it will produce uniquely fine results. It will do perfectly, but so will DIY solutions (when implemented properly).
Good luck!
Hook
We ran an HDX alongside our NDS and it was a very convenient arrangement. And it sounded excellent. When the HDX broke down we swung in a software server on the NAS as a temporary fix. To cut a long story short the HDX never went back in our rack, the improvement was that convincing. So it is always best to try things for yourself and check which you prefer unless the logistical appeal of the U/S is overwhelming.
Hi Harry,
you mean to say that the NAS/NDS combo is more pleasing to the ears than a HDX/NDS combo (Ie digital out from HDX to NDS?)?