Help Please

Nearly all your questions have been discussed many times and in recent days there have been threads on how to connect a network and what nas to buy. Doing a bit of research will put you in a better position.

The AirPort Extreme is a fantastic router and I've no idea why you'd think it's no good.  Connect it to your modem with an Ethernet cable. Do not use a Powerline connector - they are the spawn of Satan. Then connect the airport to a Netgear GS105 or 108 switch. Connect the switch to the NDS and the nas, both with wires. Sell the UnitiServe (assuming that's what you mean by NServe) as you don't need it. Get a good nas. I'd recommend a Qnap TS253A, solely because it's what I have and I know it works. Put two WD Red nas drives inside. Load the Asset upnp server on to it. Get a couple of USB drives to use as backups. You don't need fancy Ethernet cables, at least to start with. If you get into posh cat 7 cables you have to ensure that the earthing is right, which I think you'll find confusing at this stage. If you get it all working you can tweak later. 

So, for now, buy a nas, a switch and the Ethernet cables, and get rid of the UnitiServe. 

Melco is an expensive but maybe less confusing solution? I had my share of strugle till i set up my nas

This is the basic network set up you will be building (picture courtesy of Mike-B):

HungryHalibut has described the connections already.

I presume you are familiar with the constraints of burndy connections for the NDS and 555?

As to Airport Extreme - don't really know who told you all that nonsese about it - it's one of the best routers there is and NAIM streamers work with it seamslesly. When you set it up, just make sure you run a basic set up - do not alter anything with regards to DHCP etc etc.

Adam

Emre posted:

Melco is an expensive but maybe less confusing solution? I had my share of strugle till i set up my nas

The OP has already bought a UnitSere SSD.

...which hopefully he will sell and just use a NAS. Unless you want to rip thousands of albums, which he doesn't, the Serve adds no value. 

I think the unitiserve is a very good purchase for someone new to streaming, as it requires no fiddling or setting up with third party software. I presume he will have a lot of CDs to rip.

If you actually read his post, you'll see that he has no CDs to rip. As all the files will be on a nas anyway, the Serve is pointless. 

I read the original post carefully, and noted that he is "a complete streaming beginner". I therefore assume that he has old CDs to rip first that he used to play on his CDS3. I presume he can clarify.

Don't go for Poweline Ethernet! I found that switching to a wired connection makes a noticeable improvement even on a Mu-so - on your system it would be a travesty (also, I had problems streaming 96KHZ FLAC). I found WiFi is better. You could look at flat Ethernet cable; although this is not as good as Cat6 it can go under carpets. For Ethernet cabling I had the cables fixed to the outside of the house at a discreet level with connection points in various rooms.

Dozey posted:

I read the original post carefully, and noted that he is "a complete streaming beginner". I therefore assume that he has old CDs to rip first that he used to play on his CDS3. I presume he can clarify.

Clearly not that carefully, because his question 3 states 'do not intend to rip'. No clarification is therefore required. 

Dozey posted:

I think the unitiserve is a very good purchase for someone new to streaming, as it requires no fiddling or setting up with third party software. I presume he will have a lot of CDs to rip.

A Synology NAS doesn't require any third party software either, and if you buy one ready built then the OS will be installed on the HDD, ready to go.

Thanks very much for the help, I did buy a unitiserve because i thought it requires no fiddling or setting up even though i will not be ripping any CD's. 

timoth posted:

Thanks very much for the help, I did buy a unitiserve because i thought it requires no fiddling or setting up even though i will not be ripping any CD's. 

That is correct - it does act as a very good UPnP server.

I hardly rip CDs nowadays and keep my UnitiServe - it's primary role on my network is to act as  UPnP server (as I have an SSD version all my music files are stored on a NAS).

You've still got the hassle of configuring it to see the nas, which isn't that easy I found. It's up to you of course, but it's a lot of money to spend on something that's pointless. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

... but it's a lot of money to spend on something that's pointless. 

Depends.

Here's the inside of the UnitiServe :

I built something similar out of Lego :

Sorry - I didn't see point 3!

One advantage with the Unitiserve is that if you have a problem with it Phil Harris of Naim can connect to your network and sort it out for you. You also have your Naim dealer to help out if required.

You should explore Ethernet cabling with a specialist firm, most sky installers will do it. I have an external run from my switch to the loft and down to my NDS. Works brilliantly and cost £90 fitted which given the cost of the equipment is a flea bite.

If this is not possible an alternative to hard wiring if absolutely necessary, albeit not as good, with an Apple set up is to add an Airport Express as a Wi Fi extender and connect that to the NDS with Ethernet cable. I don't know why it works but it does for me in my second system (no buffering even on 192 files) and for other members of the forum.

All the best anyway. With a bit of research it really isn't 'rocket science'.