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NAS Storage and Streaming for Hi Def audio, What NAS Hard drive system best for Mac..

I've been researching on creating a NAS / Streaming system now that I've settled on the L.K.S. Audio DA004 DAC.
I've hit a wall in regards to which would be the  best  NAS Hard dive system to start with, and with hopes that the NAS storage and streaming system I will be able to build from will last for years. I know with the ever changing Audio world, nothing seems to permanent, but need a good a place to start and go from there.  I've narrowed it  down to 3-4 system', But I am open to any suggestions from the group that could work best with my Mac products. I'm looking for a 4-5 Bay system that I'll be able to build from to increase storage as my library grows. My thoughts are to start off from 8-12 TB. I do have a music library that I  use with  itunes, Tidal, Pandora, etc. But I would like to build a library of as high of HI Def files as possible, so I probably will start from stratch and bring over what ever works. I don't have a dedicated music network Device. I bought a Cambridge 851n, But returned it because I did not like it upsampling all music and not being able to turn it off/on.  I would like to run the system by iPad either fixed in the wall, or iphone and with the main iMac computer in another other room using eithernet Cat5- 6, or higher if needed. I'm Down to :  QNAP TS-451  , Drobo 5n2, Synology DS 418 . WD MY Cloud EX NAS. Each have a lot to offer, and the more research I do , the more I confused I get. I'm at a point where my research on the internet isn't revealing anything new or more to add for Audio, So I'm reaching out to the group for some help at this point. 
Thanks again for your help.
128x128dhollywood
rocknss
130 posts
 
I have a WD MY Cloud EX 2 bay that has been working well for the past 6+ years. I do not have experience with any other NAS so can't compare.

The one thing that I don't like is that it utilizes a proprietary file format. This isn't an issue with daily use but is going to make the current upgrade (drive size) process more difficult. I will first need to copy everything over to another drive, replace the NAS drives and copy back. Audio files are already backed up elsewhere, but will need to do the same for movies.

I would suggest setting up for RAID 1 (redundancy) and not go excessive on storage space. 2TB has been serving me well for six years, currently have ~1TB audio (mostly 16/44.1 FLAC with some HD) and close to 1TB of movies (these don't really need to reside there all the time but it's convenient). I will probably just upgrade to 4TB, may consider 8TB depending on drive deals. Drives have a lifespan (I am likely pushing it at six years), so paying for unused storage could end up being a waste.

As far as MAC goes I can't help you out, I am a Windows PC guy but am sure plenty utilize the WD My Cloud without issues. And for software, I wrote my own PC & iOS (iPhone) app for playback & remote control.
mahler123
3,362 posts
 

I use a Synology, dont remember the number, 10 TB in a double raid.  I have zero experience with other NAS, but this one seems to work well with all files, High Rez and otherwise.

If you have a lot of High rez files that you want to store, makes sure that you have enough storage capacity.

  The "audiophile" NAS are made by Melco.  Most reviewers give them points for sounding better than a standard NAS, but they cost several times more than the competition.  THey do have an app which gets good reviews, and that means something, so I would investigate them

dgarretson
2,599 posts
 
The advantage of QNAP lies in the higher-level models with i5 and i7 processors.  With those you can run everything on the NAS with no need for an external PC or Mac.  I'm running Roon core and Roon DSP engine on an i5 TVS-882 with six disk bays and two SSD bays to host Roon and cache the disk drives.
dhollywood's avatar
dhollywood OP
8 posts
 
I appreciate all this good info. I looked into the Melco devices and they have some really good reviews and great info on high end streaming and stoarage.   But it almost feels like it’s more of a high end music server with the addition of small NAS storage . But I appreciate how they developed there HI Def storage/NAS of building the storage with more like smaller flash drives to developed for the one Storage for speed and hi end quality, ( that is not a exact technical description, but a quick overal review on my end).  How Melco is creating a dedicated high end audio music streaming and storage, vs using and going the universal market of Hard disk storage.
I did like the QNAP line for what it has to offer, but wasn’t aware of the line that you recommended. I appreciate the WD line for speed and cost savings, but wasn’t aware of the process for additional storage. Looking into the Melco has brought forward an important issue of the noise added when using universal NAS data storage vs a dedicated Melco audio line that has developed for hi end audio. Now it’s a matter of cost and dollars, what I can afford, or more important is starting off in the right direction, no mattered of  the higher cost of the dedicated audio music streamers and storage, but unfortunately their a Finacial restraints that I also have to consider. I’m still open to suggestions on the best NAS storage system to start and build from with music streaming still a large part of the complete NAS system.
While reading reviews on the Melco N1A/2 , it lead me to a the 
Innous line of music Servers which also stood out. The one I was looking into was the : Innous Zen MK3 1 TB music server for apx.
$1,850.00 which Had some nice reviews for it delievery of hi end music. But this also has got me a little more confused on the direction of my digitial storage and streaming, though it’s getting very interesting.
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