DLNA or SAMBA what difference does it makes ?

[Facel]

I am trying to compare the Aries Mini and the BluesoundNode 2.

 

The  Mini is supporting UpNp/ DLNA  protocol and the Bluesound is supporting Samba only (No DLNA).

 

Both of them can access music files stored on a NAS through these differents protocoles, but what does it change for the user experience ?

 

Does it change also something for using Roon (running on a server + music always stored on a NAS) and spotify ?

 

 

[Cebolla]

The Bluesound streamer uses your NAS's network shared folders to gain direct access to the music files. It then uses a built-in proprietary media server to build a private music file library database from the music file tags, which it then shares with any other Bluesound devices and Bluesound apps on the network. When you add/remove/modify any music files on the shared folder, the Bluesound streamer will need to manage that change in its music library database, by reindexing etc. So all of this music library database management, maintenance and sharing with any other Bluesound device on the network, is performed by the Bluesound streamer in addition to just playing the music files from the networked shared folder.

 

Contrast this with Aries Mini operating purely as a  UPnP/DLNA renderer, where all it is doing is network streaming and playing the music files provided by a UPnP/DLNA media server application running on your NAS, under the control of the UPnP/DLNA controller app. It is the UPnP media server's job to build and maintain the music file library from the music filles on the NAS, not the Aries Mini UPnP renderer.

 

 

On 30/05/2017 at 3:15 PM, Facel said:

Both of them can access music files stored on a NAS through these differents protocoles, but what does it change for the user experience ?

It depends what you mean by 'user experience'. The user shouldn't notice any difference in the way the two devices need to be controlled for music file playback and building the playlist from the music library, apart from the cosmetic difference of their controller apps. Question is, does any background processing performed by the Bluesound device for its music library management duties impact on the user's experience of its sound quality when it's also playing the music files, compared to the Aries Mini not having this extra processing under UPnP/DLNA?

 

 

On 30/05/2017 at 3:15 PM, Facel said:

Does it change also something for using Roon (running on a server + music always stored on a NAS) and spotify ?

Shouldn't make any difference at all as far a Roon is concerned, since as Roon Endpoints both the Bluesound and the Aries Mini use Roon's own RAAT network audio protocol. Also, the Aries Mini doesn't support Spotify, AFAIK, but it wouldn't make any difference if it did, as currently the only official way to support Spotify is via built-in Spotify Connect (which is what the Bluesound uses).

[Facel]

 Cebolla your explanations are just great and make things much more clear for me

 Thanks so much

 

Considering the fact that the Aries can also be as DLNA server with the Lightning server soffware running, its behaviour in this case is quite similar to the bluesound (the difference beeing that the bluesound is using a propriatery protocol)  (If my understanding is correct !)

 

My (short) experiment with DLNA was that there is some differences bewtween the dlna servers regarding the metadata.

 

 What do you think in terms of audio quality (through the analog output) of these 2 products (bluesound vs Mini) ?