FWIW….
any NAS on your LAN should easily be seen by whatever operating system via its network interface/folder/resources.
mapping drives does simplify hthings a good bit but with PNP and DLNA pretty much a given facility in any worthwhile NAS access should not be an issue so long as the appropriate permissions are given within the NAS settings.
mapping has one hidden downside in that once you begin amassing playlists and cataloging your music files, IF the drive letter or association changes, all of your work creating and catalooging goes away. consequently using the NAS as a netowrk location will not depend or rely on any particular drive letter or folder name identification. that way access will always hinge on the NAS network address and or port number instead which is assigned during initial setup.
mapping drives is sort of a cheat shortcut to avoid incorporating just a few more setup steps.
logging in as ADMINISTRATOR usually allows complete control and access of the NAS. additional users can be input and permissions applied as they are deemed necessary.
additionally proprietary NAS apps, free 3rd party media server apps, itunes, ROON labs, and other media server apps abound now which will help with access too.
Synology has come a long ways in customer service and in making their interface more user friendly and intuitive. naturally I’ll throw my hat into their ring as my ‘go to’ NAS device.
as for storage, thru put is the key, not how fast the drive spins, or its size per se. as well, the OS used in the NAS read and write speeds main limiter is the NAS CPU. thereafter its the protocol the HDD/SSD employs.
every NAS or USB HDD I’ve ever used from WD, Seagate, Iomega, Synology, and other generic brands have been without issue in accessing lossless audio files and their associated meta data.
this is of course while on the LAN itself. outside the LAN access will slow way down depending on file size and the physical distance from the NAS itself.
IF your plans down the road are to rip and stream 4K or higher video, hthings like CPU speed and the protocol of your associated drives will need to be fairly quickly paced.
merely because a drive is an SSD does not mean it will be faster in read/write terms than some other SATA HDD and overall size has little to do with this aspect.
this is true especially if your needs require conversion on the fly of HD files in order to stream to mobile devices for example.
don’t choose the size or protocol of the storage drive based on what current needs may be, double that notion at least if at all possible.
NAS now suport upwards of 10TB or more capacity per drive in many cases and certainly with several of the Synology twin bay units..
any thing new comes with its own learning curve networking is no different and it has gotten much simpler in just the last few years given the industry is leaning hard on DLNA land UPNP protocols in so many devices.
very good luck to you!.
