Wow ripping CDs into flac files is a upgrade of your music

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I think your going a bit crazy with the storage there Sabbath....how many cd's do you own......being very liberal here..but full size cd's with absolutely no compression....that's uncompressed flac with db poweramp most my cd's come in at 350-780 mb...so that's well under a gb per cd....so I'm definitely going to get 1000 + cd's to 1tb.......unless you have 6000-10000 cd's....I reckon the amount of storage space your talking about is overkill here . don't you?

I've only tried the synology nas.....but qnap are meant to be very well regarded and are not the cheapest option.

 

[Paulq]

I think your going a bit crazy with the storage there Sabbath....how many cd's do you own......being very liberal here..but full size cd's with absolutely no compression....that's uncompressed flac with db poweramp most my cd's come in at 350-780 mb...so that's well under a gb per cd....so I'm definitely going to get 1000 + cd's to 1tb.......unless you have 6000-10000 cd's....I reckon the amount of storage space your talking about is overkill here . don't you?

I've only tried the synology nas.....but qnap are meant to be very well regarded and are not the cheapest option.

@blacksabbath - again I agree with Mark. Buy the storage you need and future proof it with a bit extra to allow for your music collection growing. I am about to replace my NAS and will probably go for another Synology with something like 2 x 2TB WD Red drives. That should be absolutely plenty unless, as Mark says, you have a ridiculous number of CDs to rip.

Synology and QNAP tend to be some of the popular ones and both are really good. You can install different UPnP servers on either depending on what they will accept. Synology has its own Media Server which is pre-installed and as you have read above you can also install Minim Server and use Plex.

QNAP I am less familiar with but I believe will accept Asset and that's also very well regarded. Many of the guys on the Linn forum reckon that QNAP and Linn work well together but that won't really interest you save to say that their NAS drives are good.

By the way - you may have read that I bought a piece of Yamaha kit last week and that also works very well streaming music from my NAS using the MusicCast app as it simply sees the NAS under the 'Server' option - am really pleased with it so whatever NAS you buy should work seamlessly with your gear outside of you needing to use WMP. It also supports full album art and allows you to sort music in various ways though not as fully featured as something like Roon.

Let us know how you get on. Good luck.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

To you both I have about 500 CDs but I also got 200 films and music on my iTunes account but I do not have to back up iTunes as I pay for there cloud every year so most probably just put my CDs on there the NAS .

so would 2TB and 2TB be ok then ? So I’ve got 2TB coverage if a drive goes down

 

[Paulq]

To you both I have about 500 CDs but I also got 200 films and music on my iTunes account but I do not have to back up iTunes as I pay for there cloud every year so most probably just put my CDs on there the NAS .

so would 2TB and 2TB be ok then ? So I’ve got 2TB coverage if a drive goes down

Hmm I don't have films on my NAS but you can probably take a look at the size of the files for each and then see if you think 2TB is enough. If you decide to go with WD Reds they do a number of different capacities so you are spoilt for choice really. Do also still consider a separate backup as well as you just never know.....with that in mind make sure that the NAS has a USB 3.0 port with which you can export data to a backup.

I speak from experience as before I upgrade i need to back up mine and I have around 780 Gb of music that will take about 2 days to transfer over!!

You can get one of these with 2 x 3TB drives pre-installed and that (or something similar) should do the job. The Synologys are very easy to set up via a web interface.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Synology-DS216j-6TB-Desktop-Unit/dp/B01CMNI0FE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1519426993&sr=8-2&keywords=Synology+DS216j

I'll probably go for something like that. Will work a treat with your Yamaha network WXC.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

To you both I have about 500 CDs but I also got 200 films and music on my iTunes account but I do not have to back up iTunes as I pay for there cloud every year so most probably just put my CDs on there the NAS .

so would 2TB and 2TB be ok then ? So I’ve got 2TB coverage if a drive goes down

Hmm I don't have films on my NAS but you can probably take a look at the size of the files for each and then see if you think 2TB is enough. If you decide to go with WD Reds they do a number of different capacities so you are spoilt for choice really. Do also still consider a separate backup as well as you just never know.....with that in mind make sure that the NAS has a USB 3.0 port with which you can export data to a backup.

I speak from experience as before I upgrade i need to back up mine and I have around 780 Gb of music that will take about 2 days to transfer over!!

You can get one of these with 2 x 3TB drives pre-installed and that (or something similar) should do the job. The Synologys are very easy to set up via a web interface.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Synology-DS216j-6TB-Desktop-Unit/dp/B01CMNI0FE/...

I'll probably go for something like that. Will work a treat with your Yamaha network WXC.

thanks that looks ok to me the Synology NAS

i have a virgin media router so it doesn’t have USB connection only the internet connections would that be a problem as I take it the NAS would have to be directly connected to my router ?

 

[Paulq]

thanks that looks ok to me the Synology NAS

i have a virgin media router so it doesn’t have USB connection only the internet connections would that be a problem as I take it the NAS would have to be directly connected to my router ?

Nope it would be absolutely fine in terms of the NAS but you will need to consider how you transfer your ripped CDs to the NAS initially - that may be the tricky bit depending on how you are set up.

When you hard wire your NAS into your router it will show up as a removable drive and transferring files should be as easy as drag and drop, assuming that you have ripped your CDs to your PC? That's do-able - just be prepared for it to take time as the transfer rate over your network will likely be restricted to Gigabit. You will first have to set up permissions on the NAS setup to allow you to read and write to the different folders and create new ones. That sounds complicated but it's not - it's easy and I think there's already a folder there called 'music'. That's where your ripped files need to go.

I mentioned a USB in case you had ripped your CDs to an external hard drive in which case you could have attached the HDD directly into the rear of the NAS via USB and transferred it that way. It's nothing to worry about - what you have suggested will be fine - just may take a little time.

I will probably push the button on one of those NAS drives myself in the not too distant future. That's not bad for the price.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

thanks that looks ok to me the Synology NAS

i have a virgin media router so it doesn’t have USB connection only the internet connections would that be a problem as I take it the NAS would have to be directly connected to my router ?

Nope it would be absolutely fine in terms of the NAS but you will need to consider how you transfer your ripped CDs to the NAS initially - that may be the tricky bit depending on how you are set up.

When you hard wire your NAS into your router it will show up as a removable drive and transferring files should be as easy as drag and drop, assuming that you have ripped your CDs to your PC? That's do-able - just be prepared for it to take time as the transfer rate over your network will likely be restricted to Gigabit. You will first have to set up permissions on the NAS setup to allow you to read and write to the different folders and create new ones. That sounds complicated but it's not - it's easy and I think there's already a folder there called 'music'. That's where your ripped files need to go.

I mentioned a USB in case you had ripped your CDs to an external hard drive in which case you could have attached the HDD directly into the rear of the NAS via USB and transferred it that way. It's nothing to worry about - what you have suggested will be fine - just may take a little time.

I will probably push the button on one of those NAS drives myself in the not too distant future. That's not bad for the price.

yep the NAS looks good value for money .

yes I have got a old portable hard drive that I have backing up my iTunes library which is USB connection

do you have to have the NAS directly connected to the router or can I just use it connected to my laptop ?

 

[Paulq]

yep the NAS looks good value for money .

yes I have got a old portable hard drive that I have backing up my iTunes library which is USB connection

do you have to have the NAS directly connected to the router or can I just use it connected to my laptop ?

Ok so you can transfer the files from your HDD to the NAS. I am just curious as to what the codec is as earlier you mentioned FLAC which iTunes doesn't support?

The benefit of a NAS from a streaming perspective is that it pretty much makes your computer redundant. Once you get a NAS on your network and have music files on it then you simply use a control point (like the MusicCast app) and it allows you to playback music without the need for your PC at all.

So if I have understood your setup correctly you'd have:

1 - NAS connected to router and populated with FLAC files.

2 - Yamaha WXC connected up with your amp.

3 - Mobile/Tablet with the MusicCast app which would allow you to select, queue and playback all the music on your NAS without you even having to turn your PC on as long as all the devices are on the same network. The app would 'see' the music folder on the NAS and allow you to select them for listening.

I have never tried to connect a NAS to my PC but suspect you wouldn't get great results as it kind of defeats the object. The NAS needs to be a network device.

Hope that helps. It sounds complicated but it isn't.

 

[FunkyMonkey]

Haven't read the whole article but I just want to say that I have ripped my CDs into wav format using windows media player and I play them back directly from my Nas using my Denon receiver and they sound closer to SACD than when I play them direct from the Cd. That is, they are warmer and smoother, yet cleaner.

To boot,the nas is mirrored so auto backing itself up.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Hay Sabbath..the nas pretty much acts like a source...and you definitely connect it to the router..not the pc.......it's sometimes better when you just do it and don't really think too much about what it all does.....your cd player will become redundant by the way and you are now going to search for the best streaming products on the market....and I'll tell you now just to save yourself a lot of trouble.....it's linn or naim....unless you want to spend really stupid money.....oh **** that is really stupid money lol.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

ok can anyone check to see what i am going to buy is ok please ?
Synology DS218+ Compact Ethernet LAN Network Attached Storage - Black by SynologyIn stockDelivery at no additional cost for Prime Members[/i]This will be a gift This is a giftLearn more[/list]
£310.91
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+ 1

Western Digital 4TB Intellipower SATA 6Gb/s 64 MB Cache 3.5-Inch NAS Desktop Hard Disk Drive - Red (WD40EFRX) by WDIn stock on February 26, 2018[/list]

 

[Yamyam]

....as per earlier posts you'll want to have 2 of the WD Red 4Tb disks - that'll give you just under 4Tb usable.

I haven't read the entire thread, but 500 CDs ripped to FLAC, using an average of 400Mb per CD, will then use 0.2Tb, so you'll have a bit of wiggle room, but given the price difference between the 2Tb and 4Tb disks, personally I'd go with the 2x4Tb.

and I'd go for the plus series of Synology every time. So if it fits your budget - good choice!

 

[Blacksabbath25]

....as per earlier posts you'll want to have 2 of the WD Red 4Tb disks - that'll give you just under 4Tb usable.

I haven't read the entire thread, but 500 CDs ripped to FLAC, using an average of 400Mb per CD, will then use 0.2Tb, so you'll have a bit of wiggle room, but given the price difference between the 2Tb and 4Tb disks, personally I'd go the the 2x4Tb.

and I'd go the the plus series of Synology every time. So if it fits your budget - good choice!

sorry that what i ment 4TB times 2 so 8TB in total but 4TB as backup

 

[Yamyam]

Yes, you'll set the disks up as RAID 1 (mirrored), and if you're really paranoid (geddit?) you could always connect a USB drive to one of the USB connections on the Synology to have an additional backup.

That way you can disconnect the USB disk after backup, and keep it at another location in case of fire/theft.

Of course you could also backup to a cloud service. Don't want to advertise Synology, but as an example, they offer a cloud backup service (eg., do a backup (of any new/changes since the last backup) overnight on a daily basis) @ 6 euro's a month for 1Tb. I'll let you do the maths between a USB disk and cloud service to see which is better value. Given the amount of time in ripping and cataloging it may be worth it.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

That's a fine choice Sabbath....lots of storage for the future.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

that lot will cost £525 but its a good fast NAS with good hard drives so will go ahead and order it

 

[Paulq]

that lot will cost £525 but its a good fast NAS with good hard drives so will go ahead and order it

That will do the job nicely.

 

[andyjm]

Please recognise that drives in the same enclosure aren't backups.

RAID and equivalent approaches are great for data-centre availability, but don't really provide a proper backup.

A proper backup is not permanently connected, and ideally is not co-located with the drives being backed up.

I had a QNAP NAS with 4 x 1TB drives running RAID something or the other (6 or 10 maybe), the power supply brick failed and took out all 4 drives at once.

It was only because I had a separate disconnected backup that I was able to retrieve my data.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I have a couple of external hdd's that I transfer my music to at the same time I rip and send music to the nas....so I have a backup on my pc and external hdd.that is why I maybe advised not to spend so much on a nas drive Sabbath......the synology nas I have is very good for the money and will be a heck of a lot cheaper than the one your looking at.....but again if you're doing lots of other media streaming then the extra processing power probably will come in handy...I just use mine for music....if I want to stream movies I just do it via Amazon or my virgin box...so no need for filling up my pc with movies I'll never watch again.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

I’ve not brought it yet as I am still thinking about whether what I’ve chosen is over kill as I only want it for music really but I was thinking long term so I didn’t have to buy it all again if you can do that is .

The reliable side of things bothers me as I no nothing lasts forever but thought by buying 4TB times 2 I would have 4TB for backup just in case the first drive went down but hadn’t thought about the NAS it’s self in case that goes wrong .

so do I be sensible and buy a cheaper one if it’s just for music like the one Paul linked last night which has 2 times 3TB drives included for £350 ?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

This is the unit I have Synology DS216j 6TB (2 x 3TB WD RED) 2 Bay Desktop NAS Unit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CMNI0FE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vCwKAb8J888SX

That is with both hdd's inside...you can buy the whole thing separate and get one disk at a time if you wish....I know maplin usually has them in stock.

 

[DIB]

I bought my single bay Synology NAS 2nd hand off another forum. It came with a 2TB WD HDD and it cost me the princely sum of £90.

So far it has worked perfectly and I have approx 1500 albums ripped to mainly FLAC files loaded on. I decided that I only wanted to start with a single bay unit, and I have all my music files backed up on two external WD Elements drives. I've got LMS loaded onto the NAS and I can play any music I want through my Squeezebox Touch. I found it a doddle to set up purely for music files, and I can't fault it. For £90 it's a steal.

However, I wouldn't say that ripped FLAC files sound any better than the original CD. I'm no expert, but how could they?

.

 

[Gray]

I wouldn't say that ripped FLAC files sound any better than the original CD. I'm no expert, but how could they?

.

+1

 

[Romulus]

I have a Cocktail Audio X10 for a number of years (over 5 years), which not only does ripping but stores files on the hard drive(2tb). When ripping in progress the Cocktail Audio X10 really on some cds rock'n'roll in regard to vibrations but the end result is always good atleast. One of the members on this forum warned me that hard drve disk do not last and I should create a back up hard disk. Why is it with new technology there these snags? Ofcourse I shall take it into consideration as I don't want to start ripping my music collection all over again...! Does that mean that creating a back up hard disk is a lot faster and simple procedure than the process of ripping Cds?

 

[jjbomber]

Does that mean that creating a back up hard disk is a lot faster and simple procedure than the process of ripping Cds?

Yes, just duplicating files.