the basics

Yes

blownaway posted:

So my questions are.....

"Can I transfer data (lossless files) from my desktop PC to my NAS drive WITHOUT having a wired connection to my network?"

Yes but a wired connection will usually be faster for larger files such as video etc.

"Can I magically  pull up an IP address of my NAS drive on my desktop PC and be able to transfer files back and forth?"

Sort of - best to map a network drive to the shared folder on the NAS which then appears as a drive on the PC.  Download the Synology Assistant and use to setup a network drive.

"OR do I need a wired connection to do this?  In my case it would be a ethernet out of my PC to one of the ports on my switch."

Wired connection is generally preferable as then you get the full 'bandwidth' of the network - with wifi you may be competing for available bandwidth with other wifi in the local area.

thanks!

johnG posted:

blownaway posted:

So my questions are.....

"Can I transfer data (lossless files) from my desktop PC to my NAS drive WITHOUT having a wired connection to my network?"

Yes but a wired connection will usually be faster for larger files such as video etc.

"Can I magically  pull up an IP address of my NAS drive on my desktop PC and be able to transfer files back and forth?"

Sort of - best to map a network drive to the shared folder on the NAS which then appears as a drive on the PC.  Download the Synology Assistant and use to setup a network drive.

"OR do I need a wired connection to do this?  In my case it would be a ethernet out of my PC to one of the ports on my switch."

Wired connection is generally preferable as then you get the full 'bandwidth' of the network - with wifi you may be competing for available bandwidth with other wifi in the local area.

thanks!

 

This really helps, just the answer I was hoping for.  Being able to transfer files between my PC & the nas w/o a wired connection is super convenient even if it's slow.  I'll need speed for playback of audio & video but for file transfers I'm patient.

Is the speed on the wireless file transfer dependent on the proximity of the NAS drive to my PC or is it influenced more by the distance/signal between my PC and my router, or something else?

blownaway posted:

johnG posted:

blownaway posted:

So my questions are.....

"Can I transfer data (lossless files) from my desktop PC to my NAS drive WITHOUT having a wired connection to my network?"

Yes but a wired connection will usually be faster for larger files such as video etc.

"Can I magically  pull up an IP address of my NAS drive on my desktop PC and be able to transfer files back and forth?"

Sort of - best to map a network drive to the shared folder on the NAS which then appears as a drive on the PC.  Download the Synology Assistant and use to setup a network drive.

"OR do I need a wired connection to do this?  In my case it would be a ethernet out of my PC to one of the ports on my switch."

Wired connection is generally preferable as then you get the full 'bandwidth' of the network - with wifi you may be competing for available bandwidth with other wifi in the local area.

thanks!

 

This really helps, just the answer I was hoping for.  Being able to transfer files between my PC & the nas w/o a wired connection is super convenient even if it's slow.  I'll need speed for playback of audio & video but for file transfers I'm patient.

Is the speed on the wireless file transfer dependent on the proximity of the NAS drive to my PC or is it influenced more by the distance/signal between my PC and my router, or something else?

Combination of distance/signal between PC (assuming wireless) and (wireless) router (assuming NAS has a wired ethernet connection to the router) - weaker signal tends to more frequent dropouts, and also on available local bandwith as above - if there is a lot of wifi activity in your immediate area as in adjacent buildings/houses etc then available bandwidth (ie file transfer speeds) will be compromised.

Great answers, thanks so much.  I'm looking forward to using the synology software to set up my shared folder with my PC.  I'm looking forward to putting this plan to good use.

As you're planning on running Cat 6 to the basement anyway, why not simply run 2 lengths of cable so that the computer can be connected by a wire to the router?

I'd have thought wired will be more secure and most likely faster than using your current wi-fi connection to the PC.

Believe me when I say that waiting for files to transfer DOES get frustrating!

If you have a large music library to transfer to your new NAS, you're going to want to do it wired. (Off the top of my head, 12TB will store something in the order of 24,000 lossless albums!) You could always put your NAS in a temporary location near your PC to do this with a wired connection. Then put the NAS in it's permanent location, wired to your streamer, and add new files over WiFi.

Wireless is OK for file transfers.

For streaming from NAS a wired connection is inherently more stable. On files above 96kHz / 24 bit it practically becomes a must. Cat 5e is a bare minimum.

I you really do have that amount of data wou will definitely want to do it wired, and if you have many TB of files you almost certainly benefit from using aggregated accesses, where two or more physical network leads are combined together to form a single logical link .. you do need to use the appropriate equipment for this however but is becoming quite popular on consumer NAS's now. If you are cabling installe, do ensure you have trunking where you can double up the links, or install at least twin runs of network cable.

wireless is fine, but unless very close the wireless LAN access point you don't want to be transferring many large files quickly on most wireless networks.. transferring  the odd file however should be fine with most wireless LANs .

There are technical reasons for this in addition to mere wireless range and speed.

Simon

I intend on setting up and organizing my music on my nas first by simply plugging in my nas into my pc via usb and tranfering music from there (I have various external drives as well).

My prior question was more about after I have my nas set up and when I want to add more music to my nas. This would be a relatively small file so wireless should do the trick. 

Adam Zielinski posted:

Wireless is OK for file transfers.

For streaming from NAS a wired connection is inherently more stable. On files above 96kHz / 24 bit it practically becomes a must. Cat 5e is a bare minimum.

Sounds good, I'll certainly go wired to my NAC 272 so streaming 24 bit will be solid. I'm planning on Cat 5e or Cat6 from my router to my switch and from my switch to my nas.  Then the same or Cat6e or 7 from my switch to my NAC 272.

One thing before you start organising the files. What streamer will you be using (I presume NAIM) and what file formats? There is a 'problem' with WAV files - normally they do not carry their metadata / tags.

Apologies - just saw your reply NAC 272

blownaway posted: I'm planning on Cat 5e or Cat6 from my router to my switch and from my switch to my nas.  Then the same or Cat6e or 7 from my switch to my NAC 272.

Actually there will be no improvement in sound quality by going from CAT5e to 6 or 7. That's not where the 'trick' is I'm afraid. It is the quality of the cable and plugs that makes for the difference (there was a bit of a discussion on that approximately a week ago) 

Mike-B posted:

The answers are YES,  but its OK with both.  I use wireless most times to transfer & edit to & from PC & NAS,  but if I'm doing a lot of stuff then I wire it because its quick & easy (for me in my set up) - plus I'm a bit distrustful of wireless.

Wired is faster,  it depends on your PC & the wireless link,  the speed can be very up & down with wireless,  whereas wired is more constant.   

However I always use a cable for Naim firmware updates. 

 

You must have one hellava music collection to need even 6TB,    12TB is the kind of size used by AV peeps

How many albums have you actually got??   

Hi Mike-once we finish a bigger basement remodel I'll have everything wired up with Cat_.

Adam Zielinski posted:

blownaway posted: I'm planning on Cat 5e or Cat6 from my router to my switch and from my switch to my nas.  Then the same or Cat6e or 7 from my switch to my NAC 272.

Actually there will be no improvement in sound quality by going from CAT5e to 6 or 7. That's not where the 'trick' is I'm afraid. It is the quality of the cable and plugs that makes for the difference (there was a bit of a discussion on that approximately a week ago) 

Agree. Quality of cable & plugs rule the day. I'm going with Blue Jeans and may try one of the Audioquest fancies from my switch to my NAC 272 depending on where my switch ends up.  

Adam Zielinski posted:

There is a 'problem' with WAV files - normally they do not carry their metadata / tags. 

Mike-B posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

There is a 'problem' with WAV files - normally they do not carry their metadata / tags. 

That is absolutely not true Adam.

WAV (.wav) is an original Microsoft/IBM audio file container format & contains meta data format. WAV files can embed any kind of metadata, including the popular ID3 tags & XMP.

Like many on this forum & universally around the world I edit & manipulate WAV without any problems whatsoever, I am at a loss to understand where this myth abut WAV not carrying metadata comes from. Like many on the forum & elsewhere I use dBpoweramp software for all WAV editing & all my music is WAV & I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

My understanding is that they do carry metadata, but that there is no universal standard for how it is done, making things more awkward than, say, FLAC.

  -  ID3  is a universal standard

Adam Zielinski posted:

One thing before you start organising the files. What streamer will you be using (I presume NAIM) and what file formats? There is a 'problem' with WAV files - normally they do not carry their metadata / tags.

 

Most of my music are FLAC files.  WAV would take up too much HD space.  

Can I assume that the playback of exactly the same FLAC & WAV files on my NAC-272 will sound identical?  Assuming of course, that both files were extracted perfectly from the original source (big assumption I know).

FLAC files will sound worse than WAV. Just set your server software to transcode FLAC to WAV when you play the music. 

Thanks for the tip HH, I'll be sure to do that. Gotta put that quad core Intel Celeron N3150 processor to work. 

blownaway posted:

Most of my music are FLAC files.  WAV would take up too much HD space. 

...........   err  ...........  take up too much space  ..........  with 12TB    

If there is an option ALWAYS go for uncompressed, especially with such an abundand storage.

NAIM apparently claim that the additionl computational load on the processor, caused by decoding FLAC or other compressed files, may translate into an additional system noise and degrade sound quality.