Qnap or Synology how quiet?

[erniejade]

I currently have a Western Digital ex2 in mirror. It is actually not too noisy at all and has worked well for me but, I need to load up MinimServer for music streaming. I am thinking of Qnap or Synology since that is what is recommended by Lumin. I have the Western Digital ex2 up stairs in my bedroom. I would like to put the the Qnap or Synology in my music room on the same switch as the Lumin and this way I can keep my "family Nas" separate from my music Nas. What one is generally quieter?

 

 

For Qnap I was thinking of, TS-231-US or TS-231+-US and for the Synology DS216j.

 

Thanks for the help.

[davide256]

The cooler your drives run, the less noisy your fans will be. I use SSD's, can't hear any noise until I'm next to my NAS. Regular full size HD's are a problem because

they are usually too close together for efficient low noise cooling in a consumer NAS.

[tboooe]

I currently have a Western Digital ex2 in mirror. It is actually not too noisy at all and has worked well for me but, I need to load up MinimServer for music streaming. I am thinking of Qnap or Synology since that is what is recommended by Lumin. I have the Western Digital ex2 up stairs in my bedroom. I would like to put the the Qnap or Synology in my music room on the same switch as the Lumin and this way I can keep my "family Nas" separate from my music Nas. What one is generally quieter?

 

 

For Qnap I was thinking of, TS-231-US or TS-231+-US and for the Synology DS216j.

 

Thanks for the help.

I bought a TS-131 to test out running Minimserver and to see how loud it is. The good news is that on both fronts it worked absolutely great! I was actually surprised how quiet the QNAP was.

[austinpop]

I had a Synology DS213 that was really quiet, but no idea about the DS216j.

 

I will say that you really have to get it into your room to know for sure if it is quiet enough for you. So buy from somewhere that has an easy return policy.

 

I recently upgraded to a 4-bay. I found the DS416 - 2 different samples! - to be just too noisy for me. I finally convinced myself I needed a beefier processor and memory and bought the DS916+.

 

I must say - it is whisper quiet.

 

So net net - Synology boxes have mixed results when it comes to noise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[austinpop]

Also buy quiet drives.

 

I've been on WD Red for many years. They're rock solid.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[Kal Rubinson]

Also buy quiet drives.

 

I've been on WD Red for many years. They're rock solid.

Agreed. I have two QNAP NAS boxes with WD Reds in them and they are nearly silent. I also have another QNAP with HGST drives in them and they are noisier. Since my drives are located remotely, that is not a problem for me but it might be for others.

[babybear]

I use a QNAP HS251+ NAS. It is fanless so totally silent. I use solid state drives in it - again totally silent.

[jtwrace]

I currently have a Western Digital ex2 in mirror. It is actually not too noisy at all and has worked well for me but, I need to load up MinimServer for music streaming. I am thinking of Qnap or Synology since that is what is recommended by Lumin. I have the Western Digital ex2 up stairs in my bedroom. I would like to put the the Qnap or Synology in my music room on the same switch as the Lumin and this way I can keep my "family Nas" separate from my music Nas. What one is generally quieter?

 

 

For Qnap I was thinking of, TS-231-US or TS-231+-US and for the Synology DS216j.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

I wouldn't want my NAS in the same room. Heat alone is killer actually between it and the backups. I run my NAS fully wireless with my Eero so you can do the same and not have it in the same room.

[erniejade]

Thanks all. Amazon seems to have a decent return policy so I might pick one up from them. I do have a Fry's and Micro Center close to me but I have no idea if they have one on display so I can hear if it's noisy. I can put it up stairs next to my Western digital ex2 ( red drives) but, I wanted to get better speed out of it.

 

My music room is down stairs. I have 2 asus RT-68U in a wireless to wired media bridge so the music room has one of the 68U routers wired to my Lumin D1. I thought if I had one that was quiet enough, I could put it in the music room on the same 68U the Lumin is hooked up to for better or more stable speed.

[tboooe]

If you have a wireless AC connection you have nothing to worry about. My old piece of junk Thecus N4100Pro NAS is upstairs and I never have issues with DSD or high res files. In fact, wireless N is all you need. With wireless N on another device am able to stream 1080P movies from upstairs.

[erniejade]

Wireless AC and full signal strength are both tested and verified.

 

Speaking of AC and that Asus 68u, when I got my first one about 2 years ago, what a huge difference between that and my old Belkin router. Night and day difference on streaming 4 cell phones ( out of 4, 2 are teen daughters), Netflix down stairs, Amazon Fire up stairs and never a single issue. For right now I have MinimServer loaded on my laptop down stairs, wireless pointing to the western digital up stairs, back down stairs to the media bridged 2nd 68U and I use uncompressed WAV without any issues. I want to get rid of the laptop and I cannot put MinimServer on my Western digital ex2 or if I can, I haven't figured out a way to do it.

 

As I start ripping my sacd to iso for dsd,I was worried about the speed since they will be much larger files. tboooe I think your right. I probably don't have anything to worry about if I go upstairs with it.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Both brands list the dB level of their NAS units on the product specification pages.

[tboooe]

As I start ripping my sacd to iso for dsd,I was worried about the speed since they will be much larger files. tboooe I think your right. I probably don't have anything to worry about if I go upstairs with it.

 

Yup, DSD will be no problem at all. I believe your Asus AC68U is dual band right? I would create two different SSIDs, one for general use and I for music. In my house with 2 daughters as well, I put everything on the general use 2.4ghz band. Only my music network accesses the 5ghz band. That will ensure you always have plenty of bandwidth for your music.

[erniejade]

Both brands list the dB level of their NAS units on the product specification pages.

 

Thanks! I was only looking on Amazon. I never thought to look on the manufacture site. I will check it out.

 

Tboooe, I basically did that with mine on the dual band. 2.4 Is the kids cell phones, laptops, and amazon fire sticks. The 5ghz is my tv and music room. The TV and music are not on at the same time so that works out well.

[erniejade]

looks like the Qnap 231 @ 15.4 is 3db less Synology DS216j

 

Both look like easy solid units. Although I think the 231+ even though its 1 db more, looks like its a more robust unit for the $.

[The Computer Audiophile]

looks like the Qnap 231 @ 15.4 is 3db less Synology DS216j

 

Both look like easy solid units. Although I think the 231+ even though its 1 db more, looks like its a more robust unit for the $.

 

You may want to make sure both companies are testing the same way. I believe Synology publishes exactly how they test.

[Albrecht]

I currently have a Western Digital ex2 in mirror. It is actually not too noisy at all and has worked well for me but, I need to load up MinimServer for music streaming. I am thinking of Qnap or Synology since that is what is recommended by Lumin. I have the Western Digital ex2 up stairs in my bedroom. I would like to put the the Qnap or Synology in my music room on the same switch as the Lumin and this way I can keep my "family Nas" separate from my music Nas. What one is generally quieter?

For Qnap I was thinking of, TS-231-US or TS-231+-US and for the Synology DS216j.

Thanks for the help.

 

FWIW, YMMV, etc etc etc

Hi, my former roommate & I used an IoMega NAS that was in the process of dying when he moved back into his Condo after returning to the USA. Since that IoMega was dying, - I bought a QNAP for myself; the TS 251+ with 8GB of RAM & two 3TB WD Reds. While he went cheap & bought the Synology DS with 1 X 2TB drive & only 512GB of RAM. I may have paid 7 times the price, and grateful that I did. We have 40,000 songs. He loaded LMS on his Synology and it barely functions, the fan is noisy, the case is cheap plastic, it only has one NIC. When I worked for LucasFilm/LucasArts back in the day, we used chip fans & power supplies made by "silencer' or something.. The fan in my QNAP looks like a Noctura or Enermax in its quality... I can't hear the fan in the QNAP, the Synology fan sounded loud to me, - but I can't quantify how loud is loud. My friend's Synology is sitting out loose on a table. In My QNAP, (I upgraded the RAM myself, & installed the HDs, so I was into the case of the QNAP).

 

Most all of us rationalize away our purchases, - but I wouldn't have that Synology for anything: I would've tried to milk more life out of the IoMega & waited till I could afford the QNAP. I'm planning on bridging the NICs, and installing Roon on my QNAP. Just wouldn't work with the Synology IMO.

 

So, sure, one can get more RAM into the Synology... but for me.... I liked the old IoMega better than my friend's Synology...

 

Cheers,

[Colin Chan]

I use a QNAP HS251+ NAS. It is fanless so totally silent. I use solid state drives in it - again totally silent.

 

Have you compared the difference between HS251+ and other model of Qnap with fan? thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[babybear]

Hi Colin,

 

I have not compared the HS251+ to any other NAS. I would not consider having any device in my listening room that has a spinning fan in it.

[lmitche]

Have you compared the difference between HS251+ and other model of Qnap with fan? thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

I really liked my Qnap251+.

 

It's really a quad core Intel laptop machine in a fanless case. While it is configured to run the Qnap OS, it also runs Linux and Windows. It also has two nic ports and bridging is supported, so it makes a perfect machine to hang an upsampling machine, or renderer in front. With a 12 volt DC input a linear power supply can substitute for the supplied SMPS.

 

It's hard to beat this machine, unless you go DIY.

[r_w]

QNAP + WD Red = done.

 

... but the key benefit of a NAS is it doesn't need to be in the room, you can put it anywhere where you can get power and Ethernet to it.

[Albrecht]

Thanks all. Amazon seems to have a decent return policy so I might pick one up from them. I do have a Fry's and Micro Center close to me but I have no idea if they have one on display so I can hear if it's noisy. I can put it up stairs next to my Western digital ex2 ( red drives) but, I wanted to get better speed out of it.

 

My music room is down stairs. I have 2 asus RT-68U in a wireless to wired media bridge so the music room has one of the 68U routers wired to my Lumin D1. I thought if I had one that was quiet enough, I could put it in the music room on the same 68U the Lumin is hooked up to for better or more stable speed.

The Fryes near my work has no displays of these types of products.

The HS series of QNAP are not cheap, - but with SSD drives, no fans, HDMI ports in case you want to run direct movies.. can be a real value if you think that you might want to do that in the future. As I mentioned before, having two, bridge-able Ethernet ports could also be a feature that you may want to take advantage of in the future.

 

Although NAS drives are technically, (limited feature computers), they do not depreciate in the same way, and as quickly as multi-function computers. They are bit better of a long term investment. If you decide you want to run ROON Server directly from your NAS, - best to buy SSDs (Roon Recommends), & overdo it on the RAM. I rule out any Synology drive, (ever), that can't accept at least 8GB of RAM..

 

Finally, - from a long time technician's viewpoint, many fans & hard drives become noisier over time as they wear.

 

I am not trying to sell the QNAP, I am trying to say that you may want to think more "long term"

 

Cheers,

[R1200CL]

I really liked my Qnap251+.

 

It's really a quad core Intel laptop machine in a fanless case. While it is configured to run the Qnap OS, it also runs Linux and Windows. It also has two nic ports and bridging is supported, so it makes a perfect machine to hang an upsampling machine, or renderer in front. With a 12 volt DC input a linear power supply can substitute for the supplied SMPS.

 

It's hard to beat this machine, unless you go DIY.

 

Agree. But why not just apply SSD disks to the Lumin USB interfaces ?

Spend your money on a Samsung EVO or Pro 850 in the required size ?

[mfaoro]

Which power supply did you acquire?

 

I have the 251. Love it. Cant hear it. Heat does not seem to be an issue. About to switch it from RAID 1 to RAID 0 because I need more disk space (have two 3 TB WD Reds) and don't want to invest in new drives until I upgrade the NAS. Do have a 8TB Desktop drive that I will back the NAS up to periodically.

 

I really liked my Qnap251+.

 

It's really a quad core Intel laptop machine in a fanless case. While it is configured to run the Qnap OS, it also runs Linux and Windows. It also has two nic ports and bridging is supported, so it makes a perfect machine to hang an upsampling machine, or renderer in front. With a 12 volt DC input a linear power supply can substitute for the supplied SMPS.

 

It's hard to beat this machine, unless you go DIY.

[unbalanced output]

On 26/01/2017 at 4:20 PM, austinpop said:

I had a Synology DS213 that was really quiet, but no idea about the DS216j.

 

I will say that you really have to get it into your room to know for sure if it is quiet enough for you. So buy from somewhere that has an easy return policy.

 

I recently upgraded to a 4-bay. I found the DS416 - 2 different samples! - to be just too noisy for me. I finally convinced myself I needed a beefier processor and memory and bought the DS916+.

 

I must say - it is whisper quiet.

 

So net net - Synology boxes have mixed results when it comes to noise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

 

Im researching about reducing the noise levels on the Synology and came across your comment. Care to explain what else did you change (settings etc.) when upgrading from the 416 to the 916? They have exactly the same chassis and fans, so I'm surprised there could be a significant difference between them when running the same drives.