I Need A NAS That Supports FLAC

[timequest]

I need a NAS that will support the .flac codec. I would appreciate any suggestions.

 

Requirements: DNLA certified, 500 Ghz min, fanless (quite), Ethernet, No Itunes embedded server.

 

Note: Buffalo products will not support .flac.

 

Thank you.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi timequest - I think I need a little more info. Just to claify, if you try to copy and flac file and past it to a buffalo NAS it will not work? Also, can you clarify what 500 Ghz means?

 

Thanks!

 

[timequest]

Thanks for your response. Geez...I guess I did write GHz....Doooough! I meant GB.

 

As for the NAS, I do not own one yet; I am using an external hard drive - DAS. I don't know much about NAS devices other than I want to incorporate one in my next music server. When I was researching NAS devices, I found the Buffalo Linkstation products. I read that some of these devices had ITunes embedded as a server. ITunes does not support the flac codec. I corresponded with Buffalo directly and was informed that flac is NOT supported. I was only inquiring about Linkstation, so I don't know if Buffalo has other products that do support flac.

 

I have an extensive library - all in flac, and I don't even want to think about having to re-rip everything. I’m looking for a NAS device that is DNLA certified, has Ethernet, is very quite (fan-less), and supports flac. The whole NAS server thing is very new to me.

 

 

[Audio_ELF]

What are you planning to use with your NAS? Is this to supply files to an audio device / streamer? If so, would probably be helpful if you could tell us what device you intend to use with the NAS?

 

Eloise

 

[baxtus]

http://www.ripnas.com/

 

If it is as good as dbpoweramp it will be brilliant.

 

[timequest]

I will be using the PSA Perfect Wave DAC. In the interim, I will feed the DAC via my SB Duet/DAS hard drive, but once the Bridge devise is released from PSA later this year, it will enable the PWD to function as a server. At that point, I will need to connect a NAS to the PWD for all of my flac-ripped files. The PWD does support flac. I was curious about the fact that the Buffalo Linkstation Mini “embedded an ITunes server,” so I sent an email to Buffalo asking whether, or not, the Linkstation Mini was compatible with flac; to which, the reply was as follows:

The Linkstation Mini will not support the FLAC audio format.

Thank you,

Michael

Buffalo Technical Support

 

I guess I really don’t know if that means all Buffalo products won’t support flac. I assumed it was because of the embedded ITunes. However, I see that many NAS devices embed ITunes.

Note: this entire project will not work for me if I cannot utilize my flac files, as I will not re-rip my entire library.

I’m still a bit unclear on this matter….

 

 

[extracampine]

I'm keen to hear more views on this. What are the best NAS systems to consider ? I too do not need iTunes support as I play my FLAC through Mediamonkey at the moment.

 

I plan to connect the NAS to a dedicated music server via ethernet cable; the server will connect to an external DAC.

 

Thanks

Dan

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Dan - I'm a big fan of Thecus NAS devices. I've been using the Thecus 5200B Pro for a while now and really like the performance and options. It has two Gigabit network ports. I connect one to my Gigabit network and the other straight to my main music server. That way I bypass all network traffic and any network related problems that may arise. At the Computer Audiophile Symposium we used a pair of Thecus N7700 NAS units. Very nice.

 

Some others to check out are QNap and Netgear.

 

If you are uncomfortable configuring a traditional NAS you should check out the Drobo with the DroboShare. It's a simple device to use with automatic configuration. It doesn't allow as much configuration granularity, but for many people this is perfect.

 

[extracampine]

Thanks Chris, I'll look into some of your suggestions. I'm happy configuring these kind of things so that shouldn't be a problem. By the way, do you have any thoughts on the Chord QBD76 DAC vs the Weiss DAC2? It will be paired with a Classe CAP-2100 amp and B&W 804s speakers.

Cheers,

D

 

[Audio_ELF]

The Chord QBC76 is a very good DAC (often considered one of the best available) but you'll need a good AES or SPDIF interface (Lynx AES16e; Weiss AFI1; RME; etc) and if you want 24/192 and 24/176.4 the interface will need to support the dual-wire format. Don't rely on the USB interface and don't ask why they put blutooth A2DP on it.

 

The Weiss DAC2 is simpler to use with a computer as it has FireWire interface.

 

Both are good but will have different sound charcteristics. You'll need to demo them to choose really.

 

Eloise

 

[iamimdoc]

I am only moderately technical but my experience over the last 18 months is the following:

 

I have ripped ~ 1.5TB of music with EAC, virtually all as FLAC. Some music has been converted by MediaMonkey to mp3's for my wife's Apple and Itunes.

 

I have used a WINDOWS peer to peer system with a 5 year old WINDOWS XP pro "server". MediaMonkey and RemoteSpeaker Output Plug in.

 

I use a Mybook 1 TB NAS drive, 2 Maxtor 500 GB NAS drives and 2 IOCELL devices (1.5TB each, either of which can be NAS or USB drives). These were bought at various points in the project when space became an issue (and Fry's had a sale).

 

Except for some loud, unpleasant noises at turn on with the Maxtor drives (fans I think), they have all worked flawlessly.

 

Music never drops out. Music is always findable, searchable and accessible by MediaMonkey and/or the Apple computer. Whatever speed issues there are with NAS drives do not seem to make a difference for music reproduction

 

My stereo system would be considered moderate high end and experienced listeners consider music from the PC system (not the Apple and mp3's) to be non inferior to CD's from a high end CD player.

 

My 2c.

 

[roccoriley]

NAS servers provide storage for the same data objects your hard drives do. If you are using , for example, iTunes on a PC, just point iTunes (via iTunes preferences) to the NAS.

 

Now, there are some "Music Servers" that incorporate software supporting the transfer and production of music related data. Their software/firmware may or may not support all files, you would have to check the specific hardware documentation.

 

I use a Netgear 1100 NAS primarily, and sometimes additionally a Buffalo Terrastation and ReadyNas NV. No problems with any of them dealing with any file types including media files but they are used as standard NAS file servers that iTunes points to, and I do not use any of the streaming options where they are available.

 

[timequest]

Thank you roccoriley.

 

I am now at the point where I need to purchase a NAS - like right away. I think I understand the basics - as you have detailed. I want to make sure that I do, in fact, understand...

 

So, if a NAS device has iTunes embedded as a server (and we know that iTunes does not support FLAC), does it necessarily mean that this particular NAS will not function perfectly well in a system that will stream all FLAC files? In other words, can I use that NAS (with the iTunes server embedded) as a storage device only, while utilizing different server software which does support FLAC??

 

 

Again, thanks.

 

Ben

 

[iamimdoc]

I am not real sophisticated re: some of the lingo but I believe in the scenario youa re describing, any NAS wil lwork as desired.

 

The NAS is merely "serving up" the files (like any storage device) to your software (that can play FLAC files).

 

I am not sure that "server software" is meaningful as the real computing (decoding the FLAC files) is taking place on your PC and not the server.

 

The NAS merely provides the data file to the PC much like a WORD file on a file server is "decoded" by WORD on a PC hooked to the file server.

 

I hope/think this is correct.

 

[Audio_ELF]

At it's basic level, a NAS is simply a hard drive which looks to your computer and can be accessed the same as any other drive. Used this way, the NAS cares not what the files are - FLAC, AIFF, WAV or Wordprocessor files. This is accessed by a combination of SMB (Microsoft / IBM), AFP (Apple) and NFS (UNIX) protocols which generally you don't need to know about.

 

The confusion comes because many NASs are also able to run other services which are not strictly file serving services. Examples of this could be an FTP server, BitTorrent client/servers and (which the audiophiles users are interested in) UPnP, DNLA and iTunes sharing. With these latter services, the file format does matter. The iTunes sharing service will only "advertise" file formats it knows the client (iTunes) understands (i.e. AIFF, ALAC, AAC and MP3). The vomplcation comes that with UPnP and DNLA the useable formats vary depending on the client device as well as the UPnP software installed.

 

Eloise

 

[timequest]

Thanks, Eloise, for the good explanation.

 

That said, I’m still not clear…my DAC/server (Perfect Wave DAC + Bridge) requires a DNLA NAS. It will also require some form of server software (such as Twonky). I hope to be able to completely bypass any and all processing via my computer. All of my files are in FLAC. It seems quite simple – in that all I need to do is interface with a DNLA approved NAS. My confusion comes from browsing NAS devices. Buffalo NAS devices, for example, are DNLA approved and use embedded iTunes server software. Can I go ahead and interface with a NAS device such as one of the Buffalo products, only instead of using its native iTunes server – load in something like Twonky?? It’s all a bit vague (for me).

 

Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

Ben

 

 

[Audio_ELF]

Looking at the Buffalo TeraStation III - this has a built in DNLA server. You should (no 100% guarantees) be able to attach this to your network router or switch, connect the Perfect Wave DAC / Bridge to another port (and your computer to a third). There will then be a folder on the TeraStation called Media (or similar) - from your computer you will load your CDs / FLAC files onto the TeraStation into this folder. The TeraStation will recognize these files and advertise their availability to the PWD/Bridge.

 

The iTunes server is a separate service on the NAS and can probably be disabled.

 

Twonky is a DNLA and UPnP service which can be installed on Windows, Linux and Mac computers as well as some NAS. You do not need Twonky because (if I read it correctly) the TeraStation comes with a DNLA service already installed.

 

Eloise

 

PS. Twonky is also the name of a media management program which helps your organise your media stored on a NAS running the Twonky UPnP / DNLA software.

 

[CharlyD]

In the UPnP/DLNA architecture, there are Media Servers, Media Renderers and Control Points. For a detailed overview, have a look at http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/upnp-technology-and-rich-media-for-the-digital-home-part-1/. The PWD with the network Bridge comprise a Media Renderer and a Control Point. The Media Server (UPnP/DLNA compliant NAS) must provide streaming services for the rendering clients as well as Content Directory services to allow the Control Point to browse the available content. To provide the Content Directory service, the Media Server must be able to open and read the file. To support FLAC files, the Media Server must be able to read the metadata in the FLAC file.

 

I'm in the process of educating myself on this topic, so if any of the above is incorrect, feel free to set me straight.

 

One implementation I've found is the Windows Home Server with the Asset plug-in from the same folks who brought us dbpoweramp. A description of this plug-in may be found at http://www.dbpoweramp.com/asset-upnp-dlna.htm.

 

[timequest]

Good information CharlyD

As you have pointed out, to fully utilize the PWD/Bridge as a music server, I will need to incorporate a media server. I will definitely use a NAS because I don’t want to have the computer on when I listen to music. I know that the “Bridge” will communicate with any DNLA compliant NAS. I also know that the media server I use will need to support FLAC. If you look at NAS products, a vast majority of them embed iTunes as a media server. We know that iTunes does not support FLAC. Does the fact that a given NAS has an embedded iTunes server necessarily eliminate that NAS for my setup? Can I download (add, install, plug…whatever) a media server that supports FLAC (such as Twonky) to a NAS that already has iTunes embedded?

 

[Audio_ELF]

The iTunes server in a NAS is completely separate from the UPnP / DNLA server. All UPnP / DNLA servers I've come across will support FLAC so I don't think you have a worry.

 

Eloise

 

[CharlyD]

FLAC is not a required or optional media format for UPnP/DLNA. Unless the NAS includes a UPnP/DLNA service that includes FLAC support in its specifications, how could it possibly provide the Content Directory services necessary to browse and organize the available content when that content is in the FLAC format?

 

In response to the OP's question, you should be able to install a UPnP/DLNA server with FLAC support on any compatible NAS. I suspect the iTunes compatibility touted by NAS providers is that iTunes running on a PC or Mac can define the NAS as the location of its library, and the NAS acts as a simple file server. There is no iTunes component stored or running on the NAS.

 

[Audio_ELF]

Charley said "I suspect the iTunes compatibility touted by NAS providers is that iTunes running on a PC or Mac can define the NAS as the location of its library, and the NAS acts as a simple file server. There is no iTunes component stored or running on the NAS."

I think the NAS that the OP is talking about has a component that allows the compatible music files on the NAS to be seen in the "shared library" section of iTunes.

 

Can I suggest that you might get a more definitive answer on the capabilities of the UPnP / DNLA services on the Buffalo NAS here -- http://forum.buffalo.nas-central.org/

 

I do know both QNAP and Thecus have NAS which can have Twonky UPnP server installed which can definitely support FLAC. This -- http://docs.linn.co.uk/wiki/index.php/NAS#Buffalo_Terastation -- document refers to Linn DS UPnP devices but I think the details should hold for the PS Audio devices too and maybe of help. It does suggest that the Buffalo is not a good choice.

 

Eloise