Flac playback from Synology NAS direct via USB to amp

[nadpolk]

Hello,

 

With my ever increasing FLAC collection scattered all over the place, time has come to centralize it into a Synology 215j NAS. This NAS has an USB 2 and USB 3 out. I have a NAD audio amplifier with an inbuilt DAC module which has an USB Type B and one TOSLINK input. As of now I am playing back FLAC / MP3's from my laptop connected directly to the amp's DAC module.

 

Can I hook up the Synology 215j NAS to my amp directly with an USB cable and playback FLAC from the NAS through Synology's existing audio interface or do I need any more software / hardware to do this.

 

I have had to install NAD USB Audio Driver drivers on my laptop (Windows 8) to be able to play back FLAC from JRiver Media.

 

Plenty thanks in advance. Looking forward to your inputs.

[sky176]

There is a music player plugin in synology. You can do what u are intended with it provided that your DAC support your NAS.

[nadpolk]

There is a music player plugin in synology. You can do what u are intended with it provided that your DAC support your NAS.

 

Hello, Thanks for the info. I did see the Audio Playback feature and the Android / IOS app of Synology.

 

Synology will playback FLAC for sure but the burning questions are

 

1). If the FLAC playback (signal) from the NAS is going to its own USB then I believe any USB DAC on god's green earth can receive this - why would anyone need the DAC to support the NAS or vice versa?

2). Can the SNAS be connected to a DAC with an USB input?

 

I still don't comprehend why would they need to recognize each other if the NAS can simply output FLAC through its USB port.

 

The DAC on my amp or my laptop doesn't need any additional support to sing.

 

NAD USB Audio drivers for windows is to bypass the laptops' crappy internal sound and am sure it has nothing to do with it's helping the DAC and the laptop support each other.

 

Sure that no where in the near future either NAD or Synology are going to do anything about it, so maybe I am better off not spending the $$$ on the NAS and continue playing back from my laptop.

 

Buying an external hard disk is plugging it in the laptop sure is still easier.

 

Thanks. Cheers.

[sky176]

1) not every NAS has plugin that could play music. 2) for synology, yes.

[sky176]

Try NAS to UpTone to a decent USB spdif converter to DAC. Nas's sound quality is similar to my desktop which I used for DOTA 2 gaming

[ericuco]

Buying an external hard disk is plugging it in the laptop sure is still easier.

 

Adding a NAS should be almost as easy plus you can attach it to your laptop either wired (Ethernet) or wireless so NAS be placed almost anywhere. The NAS just shows up as another drive.

 

Very easy with Synology. I have my Synology connected to Windows laptop (wireless), Mac laptop (wireless) & Linux music server (wired).

 

Typically you do not want two USB devices ... DAC & external drive ... for best SQ. That is why NAS units are popular.