Synology DS411 Slim Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review

frederick184 · August 12, 2011

Which was why I was asking if the CAPS server could be connected to the NAS in this way rather than the GigE connection. I've seen this term streaming used in this way also and it isn't what my intention was. I simply want to use the NAS for dumb storage.

Colin

Vitor · November 12, 2011

if i understand, you are saying that despite the fact that its stated in the compatible disk list are only maxed to 1TB, we can use 2TB in it with no problems at all?

Im in the verge of buying this one instead of the Qnap TS 219+, if this is possible my decision is done!

Please reply asap

(i'm referring to Pale Rider)

Thanks.

(will this one work? > http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?name=st2000dl003-bcuda-green-sata-6gb-2tb-hd&vgnextoid=add6439d45c0b210VgnVCM1000001a48090aRCRD&locale=en-US)

Pegasus · November 12, 2011

You will find your answers here http://www.synology.com/support/hd.php?lang=enu

Bottom line is yes, some 2TB drives will work.

Vitor · November 12, 2011

I've already checked that list, but the only 2TB disk referred is a Seagate 3,5" which is confusing me, the slim is not only 2,5"?

(http://www.synology.com/support/hd.php?lang=us&bays_id=3&product_id=70)

rfarris1 · December 28, 2011

Chris (or others), in the comments section of the review of the Synology 710+ it was revealed that the 710 cannot output 24bit through USB and the poster of the comment seemed to me to quote Synology as saying that none of their units can output 24bit through USB. Does this limitation apply to the 410 slim as well?

If so, what NAS units can output 24bit through USB and which of these do users prefer?

Thanks

smnookin · January 23, 2012

I bought this largely based on this positive review. That was a huge mistake. It is an awful product, and Synology has some of the worst customer service I have ever dealt with.

Here's one example that's indicative of how awful the DiskStation is. The day I got it, I installed the DSAudio on my iPhone. When I tried to play Flac files, it would play the first song on an album (or playlist) and then just...keep playing silence. I emailed customer service about that and a series of other issues. More than *three months* and two-dozen emails later, a technician said he had checked with one of their developers and the reason Flac playback wasn't working is because (and I wish I were kidding) Flac playback is not supported.

That would be a frustrating but minor complaint, however, if the DiskStation were functioning properly as a NAS. Instead, this "upgrade" has made it virtually impossible for me to listen to my music. I have about 700gb of music files -- which is a lot, but it's not an insanely large library. On the DiskStation, having that many music files means that iTunes takes three to four minutes to start up; Finder takes at least that long (and often longer) to open a folder; it takes more than 12 minutes to copy a 1.8 gb folder from my computer to the DiskStation; extracting an 800 mb archive, a process which takes about 30 seconds on my computer, takes more than 8 minutes to do on DiskStation; and loading up a single new song on iTunes can take upwards of a minute. The most recent explanation I received from DiskStation customer service about this is perhaps the most distressing: "Our developer indicated that the time of delay is normal."

Finally, to make clear this is due to the DiskStation and not to anything else (network speed, hard drive quality, etc), these speeds are the same whether my DiskStation is connected directly to a computer or is connected through my home network, and I have two brand new, top quality drives: one Hitachi Deskstar 3.5-Inch 2 TB 7200RPM SATA III 6 Gbps 64 MB Cache Internal Hard Drive and one Seagate Barracuda XT 2000 GB 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Bare Drive. Buying a DiskStation has cost me literally dozens of hours in lost work time. If you're looking for a machine that functions smoothly and is reliable, this is definitely not it.

Vitor · January 25, 2012

Hi there, i'll post here to see if someone had the same problem.

Some background:

Music Server>411 Slim

Source>Linn Sneaky DS

Control point> ChorusDS or Kinsky

Lately i've been faced with a "problem", which is whenever i tell the control point to play any file above 16/44 it simply do not respond, it just skips track after track.

This only happens with high res files.

Have contacted the app developer (ChorusDS), Synology support, Linn forums, and until now i don't have a clue of what might be the problem.

Any help/tip would be much appreciated.

smnookin · January 27, 2012

Hey, Vitor -- that doesn't seem to be the problem I'm having; lots of my files are above 16/44 and I've been able to play them (for the most part).

Also, to clarify some things from my earlier comment: I actually am using the 411J, which I believe is slightly more powerful than the 411 Slim, although Synology now seems to think that perhaps the root of my problem is that it's not powerful enough to handle my files, so I'm switching it out for a 411 (which is a bit more powerful). I'll update folks with the results...

dallasjustice · February 22, 2012

I am using this NAS strictly for backup. It's great. Thanks for the review. The 411slim is quiet as a mouse, easy setup and provides peace of mind so I can just relax and listen. I don't play music from the NAS so I can't comment on how it may perform in that regard.

andrewl · March 22, 2012

Thanks for the review Chris, the most useful one I have read so far while trying to work out whether to invest in a NAS. I have read some stories of NAS not supporting 24bit audio, am attracted to the Synology DS (211 or 411 - is the difference capacity or speed or both?) but don't want to find a reduction in the quality of my Squeezebox output. How would this work with the DS?

The Computer Audiophile · March 22, 2012

A NAS will support any resolution when the files are accessed through standard means. The 24 bit issue is only when streaming from the NAS to a USB DAC that's connected directly to the NAS USB port. This is a rare situation.

findog3103 · August 5, 2012

Sorry for my ignorance but I am having a hard time finding these answers on the web:

Using this NAS, macs, and iTunes and wireless, does the music only show up on iTunes as only a shared folder? If so, how can you still manipulate, add, delete playlists?

Audio_ELF · September 5, 2012

Sorry for my ignorance but I am having a hard time finding these answers on the web:

Using this NAS, macs, and iTunes and wireless, does the music only show up on iTunes as only a shared folder? If so, how can you still manipulate, add, delete playlists?

You would set iTunes up so that it is pointing to the NAS for it's library.

Don't use the shared library functions in iTunes.

Eloise

mahlerite · December 20, 2013

I'd like to add some information for prospective Synology purchasers.

The review says that this device is a good choice for audiophiles. Having bought one,

I agree. However...

Setting it up is, shall we say, not quite intuitive. That is, I have 15 years experience as a UNIX user and

sysadmin, and I had to stew over it. So, I'm assuming that others will also.

The problem is that the documentation tells you how to do everything, but not what to do. I think

this is because they think it's so simple they don't need to explain it. And it is quite simple once you

know it...

What you need to know:

The Synology is not a disk drive in the way that a drive you buy at Office Depot and hook up to your computer is.

Rather, it's a UNIX computer running an application, custom written by Synology, that provides disk services.

This is actually quite neat: it means that the device can make the same data look to a Windows box like it's a

on a standard Windows drive while it looks like it on a standard Mac drive to a Mac. This is quite cute. But to do that the application

divides the physical disk into volumes. Within a volume folders are created, to which users are given access.

What you need to do:

1) Set up at least one volume. This is not hard; the setup application will by default set up all the drives you've put

into the case as one RAID one volume. It you're setting up a music server that's just fine.

2) Create at least one user, who will have a name and password.

3) Create at least one folder.

4) Give the user(s) rights on the folder(s).

5) Set up the access services you want. This means the Mac service for a Mac, the Windows service for Windows,

and the UNIX service for UNIX. You can choose any combination.

In my case I'm using the Synology as storage for a music server on Windows (because I need a classical-music friendly

server) and for Time Machine for my wife's Mac laptop. So, I set up two users, two services, and two folders.

You're now ready to go on the Synology end. The only remaining step is to set up access on the computer that will

be using the storage. This is done in the usual way your computer accesses network drives.

I have not told you how to do any of those things; I think the supplied documentation is quite good on that. It also

tells you how to do things that are far beyond the scope of this note, such as how to set up the drive to be accessible

over the Internet. If you want to do those things you're on your own. But the inclusion of all this other stuff manages

to bury what you really need.

Bottom line: don't be intimidated by any of this. If I had another one to do I estimate that it might take me

15 minutes after volume creation completes (which takes a while). If that. I just hope this note might help

someone get started faster than they would if they had to begin from zero, as I did. In other words, these

things are what I wish I had known at the beginning.

Synology DS411 Slim Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review

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