NAS and HDDs per linnofil:
New information as of January 2013:
The Linnofil Super NAS has been developed and the components and construction described in this thread:
http://www.lejonklou.com/forum/viewtopi ... sc&start=0
Linnofil, Music Lover and Lejonklou all feel this is easily the most musical storage solution for DS playback. The information covers all aspects of the NAS including recommended SSD drives, software, power supply, case, etc.
I (Thomasok) have built an LS-NAS using a custom case but otherwise all the recommended components form the Linnofil list. Even though it doesn't have the last degree of tweaking yet (still a few torques to optimize, etc.) I find that it gives more of the true flavor of music than any digital system I have heard and definitely outperforms servers such as the ReadyNAS NV+ and Western Digital MyBook units.
I have also found the recommended Intel 320 series SSDs more musical than the Seagate Constellation ES2 drive I have although the Seagate is not bad.
The recommended drives are Intel 320 series SSD drives in 600, 300 160 or 120GB sizes. The best hard drive is the Seagate Constellation ES.2 which will not harm he musicality of the NAS when it is in sleep mode but is not as musical as the Intel SSDs are. No problem, however, using it for backup or for storage of less important music. More info on the thread above.
Linnofil, in an older post before the design of the LS-NAS stated:
Performance of NAS's I've tested is as follows:
1: Netgear ReadyNAS NV+
+ performance, easy config, X-RAID with 4 HDD, front display, robust design
- high level of noice, expensive, easy install of Twonky, but not preinstalled
2: Netgear ReadyNAS Duo
+ performance, easy config, raid (mirror only) with 2 HDD, moderate level of noice, cheap, robust design
+ uppgraded performance may be possible with better PS (separate) and earthed chassis?
- still some noice (small fan noice, less than half of NV+), easy install of Twonky, but not preinstalled,
3: D-Link DNS-323
+ performance, RAID with 2 HDD (mirror only), very low fan noice (almost 109 level, definetly "keep in the in system room level" ), reasonably cheap
- Very difficult to install and update Twonky, lean on processing power, plastic feel
4: Qnap 109/119
+ relatively easy config, no fan => silent. Twonky preinstalled, solid construction
- cost, performance, only one HDD, no RAID
5: Lacie 500 gb (Unsure about model)
+ very low fan noice, Twonky preinstalled, cheap
- low performance, only one HDD, no RAID, difficult to update, lean on processing power
I have not tested these at the same time "all against all" with the same HDD's. But I have tested same NAS with different HDD's and same HDD's with different NAS etc. so I think it's reasonably accurate. It's a first post that we can keep working on. Please correct anything thats wrong. What I'm unsure about is what can be done by trying to improve the ReadyNAS Duo and how good a D-link can sound with the best HDD's, I have only heard it with WD. May it become even better than the Duo? Places 1-3 are close, much closer than the step from 3-4 and biggest step is 4-5. Comments on non performance issues are my personal opinions.
Music Lover adds:
Linnofil, I agree your ranking of NV+, Qnap 109 and LaCie. Compared many different NV+ and 109 in different locations so the ranking should be correct. The model is called LaCie Ethernet Mini Home Edition 500GB and the one you/me tested had Seagate Barracuda 500G HDD.
As I own both NV+ and 109 I like to add that 109 is not as stable as the NV+. NV+ is like a tank in all aspects, heavy duty and built to last. Very stable performance and no bugs. The 109 is a budget model in all aspects. As a general advice I suggest a NAS reboot each quarter.
Best HDD's are Seagate Barracuda.
Music Lover tested:
Here is a list of NAS/HDD's:
- ReadyNAS #1 ST3500830NS 500GB (ES)
- ReadyNAS #2 ST3250620AS 250GB (7200.10)
- LaCie ST3500630AS 500GB (7200.10)
- Qnap #1 ST3500320NS 500GB (ES2)
- Qnap #2 ST31000340NS 1TB (ES2)
Before comparing - each unit was warmed up, connected to same port in the switch, using same (identical) ethernet cable, connected to same power outlet and if possible using same power cable. (We also tried rotating the power plug 180 deg to be able using the most musical phase on each NAS.)
Only one NAS was connected to the system/power network at same time. The test music was uploaded using same USB memory & procedure. All this to make NAS the ONLY difference.
fyi, you have the Seagate HDD model number in the list below
- ReadyNAS #1 ST3500830NS 500GB (ES) not tested yet
best - ReadyNAS #2 ST3250620AS 250GB (7200.10)
a lot worse- ReadyNAS #3 Western Digital HDD
slightly worse Qnap #2 ST31000340NS 1TB (ES2)
VERY close to the other Qnap - Qnap #1 ST3500320NS 500GB (ES2)
by far worst - LaCie ST3500630AS 500GB (7200.10)
All NAS models are to be found on this page
http://www.linnrecords.com/artist-vario ... sical.aspx
Conclusions:
Seagate HDD's are most musical (yet)
Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ is the best NAS I heard (yet)
Dont buy LaCie. These on a budget get QNap 109 that is just slightly costlier but WAY better.
Rowlandhills adds:
The one issue to be aware of is that the ReadyNAS implementation of Twonky can sometimes have problems, particularly if you have a lot of artwork linked to files. It's particularly a problem with v5 of Twonky, but has also occurred on v4.1.11.
A link to some more information/discussion can be found here:
http://forums.linn.co.uk/bb/showthread.php?tid=2514
The key things to be aware of are:
Netgear support are really very good indeed, and happy to remote access your NV+ to help diagnose problems etc.
It's worth installing the "EnableRootSSH" and "ToggleSSH" plugins from
http://www.readynas.com/?page_id=617
Backup your music. RAID is not backup, RAID only protects against a drive failing, not against the NAS failing!
All of the above said, I still think the ReadyNAS NV+ is a great NAS device. It's built like a tank, it's well supported, and it's upgradeable.
paolo finds:
Intuitively (but still not easy to rationally explain), switches and NASes (HDDs?) have the most musically significant influence to the sound. Network cables' impact on tune is less important (but still quite easily audible). Different ports on the same switch sound often not the same, so choosing the best two for NAS and DS it's surely worthwhile.
I've tried two NASes so far: Netgear Readynas NV+ and Qnap TS-109. First result was that Netgear was better. Then I did go a bit further, and compared two HDDs with the same NAS (see next point). I've not anymore the Readynas at my place to compare again but my strong suspicion now is that the bigger difference is between HDDs than between NASes.
Comparison between 2 HDDs: Western Digital 750 GB GP series (WD7500AACS) and Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (ST3750640AS) installed onto 2 identical Qnaps TS-109. Seagate is better, by a margin! Considerably more defined and articulate expecially in the bass, easier to follow instruments. This is quite the same kind of difference I remember between a Readynas NV+ (Readynas NV+ has by default Seagate Barracuda ES drives) and my Qnap with WD7500AACS HDD. In the end I can't be sure, but maybe the difference I had experienced on first between ReadyNas and Qnap TS-109 was (at least mainly) due to the different HDDs and not to the NAs itself.
As for the use, both ReadyNAs and Qnap work very well. The former can accommodate until 4 HDDs but is quite noisy cause of its vent, while the latter accommodate only 1 HDD and has no vents, so it is as noisy as the HDD itself (WD GP HDD is very silent, Seagate HDDs generally less so).
*The latest reports from Erik and Paolo are that the Seagate Constellation ES drives in 1TB and 2TB are musically superior to the previous Seagate Barracuda ES drives. These are now the top HDD recommendation.
Also note that the implementation of Twonky can be quite complicated in terms of what versions work well and how to implement the tree structure. There are vast quantities of information on the Linn forums on this so that is the best source for getting it set up properly.
In a related matter, ReadyNAS units no longer come with Twonky and Netgear isn't promoting that capability (I would assume due to all the support headaches it has caused). Instead the ReadyNAS units come with Netgear's own UPnP server called ReadyDLNA. We are using it at the store and it seems to work OK but it does not appear to have the configuration capabilities of Twonky. Has anybody compared the musical quality of different UPnP server software?