MARANTZ NA7004 / NA-7004 MUSIC STREAMER - USB OR ETHERNET?

[admin_exported]

Hi everyone

I'm looking at purchasing the Marantz NA-7004 to add to my hifi instead of a new CD player.

I am wondering if there is any difference in sound quality or if there are any performance issues using either:

(a) a NAS via ethernet

(b) A portable hard drive via the USB

I mean looking at the cost, I could get a 1TB portable USB drive for £75 and have my Flac / 96kHz/24bit files on there as opposed to paying for a NAS which is not only more expensive and physically bigger but would mean I'd have to connect it to my router which is at at the other side of the room. Btw, I'm not interested in WiFi or any wireless options.

So, will the a USB hard drive do the same job as a NAS?

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Is the ethernet connection a better / more stable connection than the USB? I read one review stating that the USB connection is excellent and that it has definitely been incubated from noise, interference etc.

 

[Anonymous]

Is the ethernet connection a better / more stable connection than the USB? I read one review stating that the USB connection is excellent and that it has definitely been incubated from noise, interference etc.

 

[nopiano]

There were a few replies to your very similar thread here:-

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/computer-based-music/marantz-na7004-na-7004-best-set-up-option

which others might like to review before replying. Regret I have no experience of comparing the two, but judging by the number of NASs I have seen lately I'm sure there is a snag with simply adopting a drive more typically used for backups.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi nopiano

Thanks for the reply, haven't logged in until the last couple of weeks and seen your reply.

Regards