Any advice on how to eliminate noise from NAS?

[clipper]

USBridge Signature user here.

 

You could use something as simple as this as a NAS: https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/DS118.  It's about $220 US, I think.

 

I use something similar, and power it with a linear power supply.  

 

I am an EtherREGEN user also.  Great product.

 

This isn't what you asked about, but I concluded that the software you run on the USBridge Signature really matters.  If you have a chance, give GentooPlayer a try.  

[clipper]

On 5/25/2021 at 4:41 PM, RichardT said:

If etherregen is all it claims to be, then so long as the NAS has enough power to meet the bitrate, the NAS I use shouldn't affect sound quality. But, again, that's theory and I'm sure in practice things might be different. Have you ever used a different NAS with the etherregen to see if there is any change? For instance, does switching back to a non-linear power supply on your NAS affect sound quality? (Although I suppose that could indirectly create interference in the system via power lines)

The only 2 NAS units I've used are very similar to each other (Synology DS115J and DS116).  For my needs (I don't need to do RAID or anything, and I really only use the NAS to hold music), the smaller and less powerful NAS units are perfect because they're easier to power with a reasonably priced linear power supply.

 

Switching back to the stock power supply results in a drop-off in sound quality (with my equipment, my ears, etc.).  

 

 

[clipper]

1 hour ago, RichardT said:

Thanks, that's very helpful. I've read that others also continue to hear improvements to the sound by tweaking components upstream of the etherregen.

 

I've got plans to try a cheap little switch I've dug out that I can power with the secondary linear supply on the usbridge shanti LPS. The iFi supply for the pi has arrived too. This'll hopefully give me an idea of where most of the trouble is coming from.

You're welcome.

 

Yes, I hear improvements too from other tweaks in the network chain, such as:

JCAT network card in music server, powered by a linear power supply,

Cable modem, router, and switches powered by linear power supplies,

Dedicated switch (only 2 ports used, one connected to another network switch, the other connected to a fiber media converter),

Fiber connected between fiber media converter and EtherREGEN A side, Ethernet connected between EtherREGEN B side and USBridge Signature, and

EtherREGEN synced to an external clock.

 

Good luck with the stuff you're trying.

 

[clipper]

Just now, davide256 said:

In the FWIW column I also had the earlier Allo USBridge. It was nice but no where near as clean as a microRendu 1.3. A Pentium NUC running Audio-Linux was what it took to dethrone the microRendu, not as clean but far more detailed, interesting to listen to with UPNP

I hear you on that one.  I had an original USBridge too.

 

The USBridge Signature is much better than the original USBridge (in my opinion).