Does UPnP Media Server Software Affect SQ

Scooot, the only change I have ever made to the set up of my server that resulted in a change to the sound quality was to transcode my flac files to wav on the fly.  Whether this is an improvement in SQ is debatable but I prefered it and could clearly hear the difference

I've no idea whether this is relevant or not as the tech talk has baffled me to the point of confusion!  However, my UnitiServe packed in a few months back and had to go back to HQ for some TLC.  This forced me to use the inbuilt server software on my Netgear Ready NAS; it resulted in a harder and more explicit sound.  When the US was reinstalled there was a clearly noticeable improvement; smoother, slightly warmer and less edgy at the top end.

Does this help?

Cheers,

Ian

My guess is this is not comparing apples with apples,  the US is a server,  not so the NAS i believe. 

However interestingly,  we have a fishy person on the forum who says his NAS has better SQ than his old US.  

Simon, agreed - we need a geek filter (Warning explicit context...)

I have transcoded from FLAC to WAV successfully over the last couple of years using Asset. This seems a sensible and low risk option for anyone with a capabable uPnP server.  TCP/IP config for me is standard straight out of the box Win 7 and seems ok.

And I've just realised I've broken my HiLine - the usual weak plastic lugs problem, probably brought on by carelessly swapping cables to plug in a USB microphone DAC for the Room Optimisation thread measurements. Have had to order a SL DIN to DIN..... Every cloud has a silver lining 

Good stuff Mike - At least you're starting with a relatively level playing field so i'll be interested in what you find. 

Simon

I'm not sure of your geek,expert,nerd hierarchy but I suspect this is a nerd comment. 

I'd love to be able to obsess about SQ of UPnP servers if only I could get them to display my artwork & metadata consistently and accurately in the Naim App. So far none of them do justice to the mere £900 spent on the Muso and I increasingly just use the Sonos into the digital input (originally hooked up to experiment with Tidal) to avoid the whole sorry mess of Naim App/UPnP server inter-operability.

incidentally Minim was best but never re-started following a power outage and given that even it's biggest fan couldn't call its installation routine slick I couldn't be arsed to reinstall it. 

In my humble nerds opinion none of these tools have had enough development £££'s spent on them which is hardly surprising given the revenue streams they are not generating. 

Olly

Hi Ollly, *chuckle* I was only thinking of one flag or group to cater for those 'special' interests... not a hierarchy between nerd, geek and expert.. there lies the path of madness 

BTW I genuinely do find the Naim app works almost flawlessly with Asset and Minimserver UPnP media servers, so no issue with interoperability here, in fact I am pleasantly surprised at how well it does work but perhaps that is helped because I don't take shortcuts in my home LAN?

Simon

TBH talk of an elite group does come across as a bit condescending and patronising.

i do not pretend to understand a lot talked about in this thread but I do find it interesting and if it does become apparent that there are gains to be achieved, I would like the opportunity to learn and implement them.

Sorry if that comes across as a bit passive aggressive from a noob to these forums, but no disrespect is intended 

Dirty Deeds, indeed I prefer it better if things are not segmented, but as a self professed 'noob' I take it you are not confused or  undaunted when you read such ramblings.. The argument  is that some people are, hence the suggestion, albeit tongue in cheek, that a nerd flag is used... Mind you I do rather like the thought that nerds are considered an elitist group.....  

Of course on any established group or forum there will be those who are more experienced and have better knowledge and skills, thankfully so.

I am certainly not a noob were Hi Fi is concerned, though after a break to bring up my boys, I have missed a lot specifically in the area being discussed here.

TBH I don't understand a lot but am a good listener and willing to learn, having access to some of the counties best engineers helps. I have even endured a hour and a half lecture by Paul Miller at the Ramada Hotel in the hope of improved sonics.

Sorry not hijacking the thread, on topic I recently had issues with compilation album tagging and tried different UNnP servers. After taking four days off work trying out the ones recommended. The only difference I heard was with JRiver transcoding to WAV, I wasn't sure if it was better of just different to Twonky so I've left this alone and will revisit once my 272 arrives.

The problem is Simon that anyone who is completely green, coming to this thread via - say - a Google search, is going to read this thread and go "Feck me this is all far too difficult - I can't do this!" and it really isn't ... 

Mike's original question was "Does UPnP Media Software Affect Sound Quality" and there is a simple answer to that which I gave ... changing the environment that that software runs in is outside the scope of the original question (although is a valid separate discussion). 

By all means tweak and play as much as you wish but it does need to be made clear that such levels of tweaking aren't *NECESSARY* to make it all work (and work well).

Phil 

Phil, I think we all hear you...  Absolutely tweaks are not necessary.. But the point I was challenging was the inference from your original post was that if some actually did  hear SQ differences from different UPnP media servers  then somehow this was because their system might not be correctly set up  as all UPnP media servers should sound the same. [where a UPnP media server is made up off UPnP media server application, OS and platform/NAS]

Simon

...so perhaps a candidate for a new thread?

"Does running the same Media Server Software on different platforms have an effect on the sound quality of that Media Server?"

Phil

Now that would be a very long thread & I would guess quite a few branches & detours & all with no end   ..........

Per my OP, I will do my simple tests this weekend & maybe that'll be enough

Mike look forward to it.. If you are possibly able to provide WireShark and netstat details of network buffers etc that would be interesting as well, but if not no worries.. I will be back at base within a couple of weeks and could look at as well if there is still interest.

Hi Phil – I see where you are coming from and as you say it should just work (which of course it does). These are ‘icing on the cake’ mods, nothing different from the main forum where someone has fiddled about with the stacking arrangements of their rack and cables. The system will still work without the tweaks, but there is potential to get a bit more from the system. 

There does come a point though….

And James you put your finger on it... When and how do you define that point beyond which only lies obsessiveness ...  I think reading these and other forums there many candidates for obsessiveness in audio from £150k plus hifi, to vase shaped resonance absorbers; from dedicated hifi mains circuits, and ferrite chokes around Ethernet leads through to linear power supplies for data switches etc .. all have their advocates and detractors depending on your point of view 

Simon

Scott, just fully disabling the app should be fine. If in doubt it is fully disabled then yes, best remove.

With regards the earlier 'tweaks' question ..... I'm just trying the transcode command line which appears to upscale all 16:44.1 CD rips to higher resolution!! No serious listening yet but does anyone else use this transcode option?

I have played in the dim and distant past, but to my ears the Naim oversampling DSP algorithms are significantly superior to anything I have heard being done on the fly from a UPnP media server... but of course your reality might be quite different 

Are you seeing 16/44.1 rips showing something different to 1411kbs on the displays ?