At Cambridge Audio we test our network players using various brands of NAS drive (Network-attached storage) this allows us to understand which NAS drives and server software work well with our players.
There are many brands and models of NAS drive, they vary in performance based on processor and amount of RAM they have. Some include multiple drive bays for data redundancy, increased storage and data protection; some include the ability to install third party applications.
Synology and QNAP:
- Synology and QNAP drives are found at the upper end of the market, with regularly updated software offering great performance and features, available with single or multiple bays (allowing more drives and storage)
- Synology and QNAP have their own app stores that offer a wide array of software, providing the option to install third party applications; the user can then decide which UPnP server they would like to run.
Western digital My Book / My Cloud:
- Western digital drives are found at the lower to middle end of the market, depending on price.They can be classed as an all in one solution as they usually include a hard drive along with the drive bay. The downside to these drives is that they do not offer the option to install additional server software, as a result users are limited to pre-installed (often superseded) server software which may not offer as much functionality and additional features, without the option to update.
- As you are serious about the audio playback of high quality files, we would recommend Synology or QNAP over the cheaper options of NAS drive.
- The default software found on both Synology and QNAP NAS drives offer a good level of customisation and works well with the CXN. Should the default software not meet your needs then you will have the option of 3rd party app via the Synology/QNAP app stores.
We hope this information helps, but should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.