Roon core on Synology NAS - any point in adding a linear power supply? M2 cache?

[uncl_nigel]

My Roon core and music files are on a four bay Synology 420+ (6Go RAM, all SSDs, one for the Roon, 3x4To for the music, no RAID, weekly external backup).

In terms of sound quality, is there any benefit to be had by replacing the Synology PS with a linear one? I had toyed with the idea of the frighteningly expensive QSource (for NAS, QNet and QPoint) but apparently it does not have the muscle for the job.

In terms of ergonomics is there any mileage to had from adding an M2 SSD for caching? I find Roon a little on the slow side these days (c5700 albums, control interface on my iMac, hard-wired ethernet network)

PS: the NAS, QNEt and backup HD use a separate radial to the one used for the hifi proper (both single socket radials taken directly from the main elec distribution board).

 

[Amber Audio]

My Roon core and music files are on a four bay Synology 420+ (6Go RAM, all SSDs, one for the Roon, 3x4To for the music, no RAID, weekly external backup).

In terms of sound quality, is there any benefit to be had by replacing the Synology PS with a linear one? I had toyed with the idea of the frighteningly expensive QSource (for NAS, QNet and QPoint) but apparently it does not have the muscle for the job.

In terms of ergonomics is there any mileage to had from adding an M2 SSD for caching? I find Roon a little on the slow side these days (c5700 albums, control interface on my iMac, hard-wired ethernet network)

My preferred config is to run the Roon Server on a separate unit - ROCK - Intel NUC in my case - i7/32GB/256GB SSD with my music files on a NAS, I have only just moved my audio data over from a QNAP to allow more space for Blu Ray rips to a Synology.

No need for expensive SSDs in the NAS with the Roon Server on its own device, plus I need big drives so SSD isn’t an option, am now buying 16TB HDD. I have all comms in a proper data cabinet in the garage and a dedicated mains supply for the Hi-Fi room, have tried a few LPSU including on Draytek Router and QNAP, made zero difference, on a Pi Hat and Aries Mini LPSU did make small differences. If you can’t sort dedicated mains putting a LPSU in can’t hurt, plenty about without spending a fortune, custom built one would be an option.

You’ve maxed the RAM to 6GB, one area QNAP wins is allowing 16GB in many models, that does make things fly along better when managing things, apps open quicker, the whole thing is more responsive. Caching speeds things up but it’s not a magic bullet, also the CPU in your NAS is weak (Celeron J) so I doubt adding M2 SSD will make Roon super snappy to use, should be a bit better I guess.

 

[garyi]

My Roon core and music files are on a four bay Synology 420+ (6Go RAM, all SSDs, one for the Roon, 3x4To for the music, no RAID, weekly external backup).

In terms of sound quality, is there any benefit to be had by replacing the Synology PS with a linear one? I had toyed with the idea of the frighteningly expensive QSource (for NAS, QNet and QPoint) but apparently it does not have the muscle for the job.

In terms of ergonomics is there any mileage to had from adding an M2 SSD for caching? I find Roon a little on the slow side these days (c5700 albums, control interface on my iMac, hard-wired ethernet network)

PS: the NAS, QNEt and backup HD use a separate radial to the one used for the hifi proper (both single socket radials taken directly from the main elec distribution board).

Nases in generally are heavily over priced for the spec. Four bay serves exist in the same form factor with 64gigs plus of ddr4 ram and intel zeon processor that will smoother them.

Perhaps consider avenue rather than the audiophile nonsenses of power supplies for a server

 

[Strictly Stereo]

In terms of sound quality, is there any benefit to be had by replacing the Synology PS with a linear one? I had toyed with the idea of the frighteningly expensive QSource (for NAS, QNet and QPoint) but apparently it does not have the muscle for the job.

Doubtful, unless your NAS is directly connected to your DAC via USB.

In terms of ergonomics is there any mileage to had from adding an M2 SSD for caching? I find Roon a little on the slow side these days (c5700 albums, control interface on my iMac, hard-wired ethernet network)

In terms of performance, I doubt that there'd be much, if any, benefit from adding M2 cache drives over using an SSD drive in one of the main bays to host the Roon database and maxing out the RAM, which you have already done. I can also tell you from experience that the Synology caching algorithm burns through cache drives pretty quickly. I got just a few months life from a couple of small consumer M2 drives in a 918+.

 

[vacuum_tubes]

Absolutely zero sonic benefit in using a linear power supply in a NAS.

 

[uncl_nigel]

Nases in generally are heavily over priced for the spec. Four bay serves exist in the same form factor with 64gigs plus of ddr4 ram and intel zeon processor that will smoother them.

Perhaps consider avenue rather than the audiophile nonsenses of power supplies for a server

An example or two might be helpful.

 

[uncl_nigel]

@Amber Audio
HDDs are a no-no since the NAS is in the listening room

 

[Amber Audio]

@Amber Audio
HDDs are a no-no since the NAS is in the listening room

OK, if you need to have everything IT/Network in the Hi-Fi room and want to boost Roon performance you could use a silent PC or rehouse a NUC into something like an Akasa case and run ROCK linked to your music files on the NAS. Keep in mind a lot of Servers like Dell/HP running Xeon, multi HDD bays are noisy unless you swap stock cooling out for trick parts and have a largish form factor, even the micro servers aren’t tiny.

Quiet PC website might give you some ideas for small and silent PCs and Cases.

Quiet PC | Custom Built PC Specialist | Buy a PC

Quiet PC specialise in developing custom PCs and quiet PC components, from PSUs and CPU coolers to computer fans and quiet cases, for a silent PC.

www.quietpc.com

 

[uncl_nigel]

OK, if you need to have everything IT/Network in the Hi-Fi room and want to boost Roon performance you could use a silent PC or rehouse a NUC into something like an Akasa case and run ROCK linked to your music files on the NAS. Keep in mind a lot of Servers like Dell/HP running Xeon, multi HDD bays are noisy unless you swap stock cooling out for trick parts and have a largish form factor, even the micro servers aren’t tiny.

Quiet PC website might give you some ideas for small and silent PCs and Cases.

Quiet PC | Custom Built PC Specialist | Buy a PC

Quiet PC specialise in developing custom PCs and quiet PC components, from PSUs and CPU coolers to computer fans and quiet cases, for a silent PC.

www.quietpc.com

I like the automation of backup on the Synology (also available on a Mac) and the quiet Noctua fans I've put in it (not quite as quiet as the Mac Mini fan but vastly better than the stock Synology 420+ fans which made its case rattle). I also need a minimum of 6To (8 would be better) of storage for music files. So perhaps a more powerful Synology or a Mac Mini might be better than a PC (I heartily dislike Windows in any iteration, not so much the interface as the unreliability).

 

[Colin L]

In my listening room:
Keces P8 LPS powering Rock NUC in a fanless Akasa case
4 bay Orico dock with 3 x 4 TB and 1 x 2TB SSDs

silence is golden.

The music is periodically backed up to a 16 TB synology NAS (raid 5) under the stairs.

 

[uncl_nigel]

In my listening room:
Keces P8 LPS powering Rock NUC in a fanless Alaska case
4 bay Orico dock with 3 x 4 TB and 1 x 2TB SSDs

silence is golden.

The music is periodically backed up to a 16 TB synology NAS (raid 5) under the stairs.

Thanks for the details, Colin

 

[Amber Audio]

I like the automation of backup on the Synology (also available on a Mac) and the quiet Noctua fans I've put in it (not quite as quiet as the Mac Mini fan but vastly better than the stock Synology 420+ fans which made its case rattle). I also need a minimum of 6To (8 would be better) of storage for music files. So perhaps a more powerful Synology or a Mac Mini might be better than a PC (I heartily dislike Windows in any iteration, not so much the interface as the unreliability).

Windows 10 and 11 run really well, can’t say they are unreliable IME, we look after a shed load of them at work, saying that a Mini M1 headless running Roon Core sounds like an option, hard wire it rather than wifi if possible and tune the power management so it’s ready to serve when you need, I’d just turn off the power management and run 24/7.

Doubt a more powerful NAS will give you a better/faster Roon interface than the Mac or NUC options. Use your existing Synology as the data location or hang SSDs off the Roon Core computer via USB like Colin does, 8TB SSD are available, bung in a dock or enclosure/adapter.

There are PSU upgrades available for the Mac if you want to tick that box.

In an ideal world you’d get the IT out of the room but I appreciate it’s not always an option or practical.

 

[uncl_nigel]

Windows 10 and 11 run really well, can’t say they are unreliable IME, we look after a shed load of them at work, saying that a Mini M1 headless running Roon Core sounds like an option, hard wire it rather than wifi if possible and tune the power management so it’s ready to serve when you need, I’d just turn off the power management and run 24/7.

Doubt a more powerful NAS will give you a better/faster Roon interface than the Mac or NUC options. Use your existing Synology as the data location or hang SSDs off the Roon Core computer via USB like Colin does, 8TB SSD are available, bung in a dock or enclosure/adapter.

There are PSU upgrades available for the Mac if you want to tick that box.

In an ideal world you’d get the IT out of the room but I appreciate it’s not always an option or practical.

Someone often has to intervene on the wife's Win11 NUC (generally after a Microsoft upgrade modifies settings without asking and buggers her voice synthesizer/braille interface screen reader).

I live in a flat so the IT has to stay n the room.

I wonder if a NAS connected via the network switch (i.e. wired ethernet) could be run as Time Machine automatic backup for a Mac... If so, the way forward could be Mac Mini with Orico dock and the current NAS as Time Machine. I suppose that might mean using HDDs instead of SSDs in the NAS and configuring them in some sort of RAID.

 

[Amber Audio]

Someone often has to intervene on the wife's Win11 NUC (generally after a Microsoft upgrade modifies settings without asking and buggers her voice synthesizer/braille interface screen reader).

I live in a flat so the IT has to stay n the room.

I wonder if a NAS connected via the network switch (i.e. wired ethernet) could be run as Time Machine automatic backup for a Mac... If so, the way forward could be Mac Mini with Orico dock and the current NAS as Time Machine. I suppose that might mean using HDDs instead of SSDs in the NAS and configuring them in some sort of RAID.

Both QNAP and Synology NAS boxes can be used as Time Machine backup targets, there are guides and I’m happy to help as will other guys on here.

RAID is optional but makes sense for redundancy reasons in a backup scheme, HDDs make sense for cost vs capacity, I’d look into proper HDD designed for NAS boxes like WD Red, Seagate Ironwolf and Toshiba N series. Some combo of NAS, USB and Cloud/Remote backup is what I go with and advise clients on.

 

[tuga]

a Mini M1 headless running Roon Core sounds like an option, hard wire it rather than wifi if possible and tune the power management so it’s ready to serve when you need, I’d just turn off the power management and run 24/7.

I am the happy user of a headless M1 16GB mini running HQPlayer, which I control from an old MacBook Pro using Apple's Screen Sharing.

I've setup a dedicated network which connects a switch to the router over wi-fi using an extender.
The switch connects to the Mac mini and to a microRendu endpoint.

I'm currently storing my files in a USB DAS (SSD fo quiet operation) connected to the M1, but I could just as easily use a NAS for storage and place it in the hallway.
I back up manually to 2 USB DAS hard drives.

 

[JTC]

I had my library running fine of my Synology NAS (a 20TB 4-bay) which was located in another room. But even with fairly quiet HDDs it could be easily heard in that room, and I felt that having it spinning up all day long just for occasional backup and music use was wasteful, I set the automatic power down/WoL function. Which in turn meant that if I decided to listen to some music via the library, I had to wait a minute or so for it to wake and spin back up. Not ideal. I daresay putting your music library on a dedicated M2 SSD will avoid the need for spin down but I'm not sure I would keep it on a NAS - maybe better as a standalone drive and use your NAS for backups? I have a 2TB M2 SSD in my streamer which avoids using my NAS and it's easy enough to do a backup to the NAS from time-to-time.