I'd been looking at this and a NAS recently, thinking I'd get something set up before the end of the year. Like so many it seems, I'd come to the conclusion that its the best solution. Didnt know about that particular NAS however but it sounds like a superb solution. Between that and me increasingly using services like pandora and last.fm which the squeezebox can use it sounds like it's about time to move music playing to a dedicated set of devices.
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For those considering the qnap, bear in mind that for it to run the squeezebox it has to come with slimserver imbedded in it to run. If you buy a barebones case and shove a harddrive in then it won't work. Places to buy it with slimserver are cooltopia (the makers of squeezebox uk reseller)and advancedmp3players.co.uk
Also it seems that there are some teething troubles with "some" itunes ripped discs, causing lockups and needing reboots. A fix seems to be in the pipeline, though there are no set dates yet. All other formats seem to play ok on it.
Theres a thread on the qnap over at www.slimdevices.com
PS Charlesr, just read your system and its fairly close to mine! I've got the Marantz 66 KI Signature amp with Marantz 66 KI SIgnature cdp and mission 780 speakers. So its not the newest around, but not really heard anything (not that I've done much listening)to warrent the extra to upgrade
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Hang about, are you saying that you can't embed your own software into the qnap? What if you want to upgrade to a newer version of slimserver?Originally posted by davidcotton
It doesn't mention anywhere on the qnap website about slimserver so I'd presumed that Cooltopia had added it themselves somehow.
edit - Just seen that it's a qnap firmware update, but I can't see how I'm going to get hold of a new version of the firmware with the slimserver on if slimserver gets updated.Last edited by charlesr; 24-04-2006, 07:51.Comment
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I thought the QNap was a NAS that is capable of having software installed on it. That is, it runs Linux in some limited way and has its own RAM. Obviously a normal external disk isn't going to work but the QNap, and others like LinkStation, should be capable. The pre-installed version you can buy is just to save trouble - you can also do it yourself though it takes a bit of Linux messing.
Having said that, as I understand it such NAS drives will not run Slimserver as well as a normal average spec PC, hence my question about how nicely it runs.Last edited by Nijo; 24-04-2006, 08:59.Comment
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As I understand it its a closed system basically. You CAN buy a bareboned qnap and whack any drive size up to 500 gig you like, indeed Scan.co.uk were offering these as a deal of the week not too long ago like that. However you will not be able to install the version of software that slim requires by yourself. Any more querys would be better off being posted in that qnap thread I mentioned on www.slimdevices.com. Someone had already bought the system without the slimserver software on it and wasn't having a lot of luck with it.
The person who runs cooltopia posts on the slim site so any further querys might be better off being pmd to him, though hes quite quick at replying in the normal thread. His user names ultra238a.
To the discussion itself.
I figure I should be good to go at copying the music over onto the qnap in about a week or two, so will let you know how I get on with it then if anyones intrested.Comment
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Closed doesn't sound so cool, but keep us updated. I was hoping for something I could just slap a new HD in if it failed or if I wanted to upgrade. If Progressive go under wouldn't that be a problem?Comment
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Sonos review. More expensive and doesn't have the opensource plugins advantage (so it won't talk to lastfm or do alienbbc), but has scaleability and an rf remote on its side. It has the server software built in, so can store your music on a NAS more easily.Last edited by charlesr; 24-04-2006, 15:51.Comment
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One other option for you to consider :-
I know a guy called andrew1810 over on the zerogain hifi forums. At one point he was going to be building me a music server similar to the qnap, but I couldn't find a case that was either small enough or quiet enough to use. It might be worth a pm to see if he can fix you up with something if you want to go that route, or at least offer you some pointers on which way to go. Very helpful chap and answered all my pms. It was with real regret that I had to turn his offer down. I did look at the sonus, but aside from the cost it was using proprietry amps at the time meaning that the marantz in my system wouldn't be used.
Good luck!Comment
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I'd already checked out the sonos and decided it was both too expensive and a bit ott for my needs, but thought other peeps might be interested. Oh and I couldn't find any mention of sonos being able to stream over the internet either, which is the other reason I went for slimserver.Comment
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I'm really interested in this subject as, apart from saving a shed-load of space, I think putting my music onto "computers" for storage is the way forward.
However, I've always been put off doing so because of some of the following.
- Quiet & unobtrusive server
- Loss "free" CODEC
- Software which will index everything to my satisfaction
- Storage, backup & expansion to hold current library (2000 or so CDs) and future growth
- Compatibility with other devices
I guess I need to do some research as its been a while since I've looked into it.Comment
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Is there a device similar to an Ipod but in hifi seperate form?
I would love to be able to transfer all my music to a mp3-deck (call it what you will) so I can interconnect up to a quality amp instead of playing some music through the computer.Comment
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There are a few, but tend to be expensive with flaws. Theres the hermstedt hifidelio ?800 (good but pricey), Cambridge Audio 640h at ?600 (ok, but some teething troubles, go do a search for it on www.avforums.com, and acoustic solutions sp150 from argos (!)at ?200 (cheap, cheerful and a small harddrive). Slimdevices do a wireless version of the squeezebox, so you could have the squeezebox in one room with the pc in another, worth looking at maybe.Comment
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Well everythings up and running!
The system is :-
Qnap ts101 500 gig hooked up to a wired squeezebox 3. The SB3 is connected by optical to a m-audio2496 dac which is in turn connected to a Marantz 66 KI Signture Amp and Mission 780 speakers.
I've not done exhaustive tests on it, I've just copied across a couple of albums to make sure that I was encoding them in flac properly. So far I'm happy with it. Reasonable simple to set up (especially the sb3)so if I can get thing working, most of you shouldn't have any problems.
Now on with ripping and encoding the rest of the collection!
PS one thing to note, the qnap does get warm, so if theres somewhere you can leave it in open space, so much the better!Comment
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Nice. I'd go wireless but I don't expect that would make much difference to performance. Once you've flac'd more of your music can you let us know how snappy the SB3 interface is? Performance problems of SlimServer on the QNap is the only real possible negative for this route I think.
And having the thing catch on fire in a cupboard.
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