Bryston BDP-2, NAS for music files, no PC

I am currently using a Bryston BDP-2 that is pulling the music files off a QNAP NAS drive and then feeding a DAC with the music files. I am not happy with the BDP-2 user interface and was hoping to use Roon.

Currently, I have an old Mac Pro that Apple has quit upgrading their OS, and because of this the Mac cannot load the drivers so that the Mac can view the files on the NAS drive. I am waiting for Apple to release a new 2016 Mac Book Pro laptop, but they seem to be delaying that this year. But because of the many upgrades it will have (USB-C, in particular), I am going to wait till they release the new one to purchase a new Mac. This is very frustrating as it impacts my management of the music on the NAS drive. I borrowed a Mac laptop to initially set up the files currently on the drive.

BDP-2 runs Linux and they had a recent firmware update to support Roon, so I thought that I could use Roon to get a great UI to interact with to play my music. But after starting free trial today and handing over my credit card info, now it seems that Roon is not going to work with my current configuration. Not till I get the Mac Book Pro. Is that right? I am also concerned about whether I’ll get the optimal playback out of the BDP-2 which has a direct USB connection to my high-end DAC.

I’d like to know whether my current config is going to work or not. If not, I guess I have to stop the purchase of a license. The Roon interface looks fantastic, I was really hoping it would solve the issue with the Bryston user interface. Any useful suggestions/help???

1 Like

Hi, if i understand correctly, your mac can’t access the files on the NAS.

The BDP by itself can’t run the ROON core.

What i’d suggest is to install windows on the mac, you could always dual boot, which will fix all your problems, maybe even linux if you don’t have a windows license.

I use BDP-3 with roon and i have a tiny PC that i use only to run roon and access the NAS, and it’s working beautifully.

Wow! It took almost two whole years to get a response??? I now have a MacBook Pro. I am actually now planning to try out Roon for the first time. I just bought the latest iPad Mini released last month. I was planning on running Roon server on my Mac Book Pro. I still have the BPD-2, etc.

I am NOT going to buy a Windows PC to run Roon. Nor do I want Windows emulation on the laptop. I was thinking Roon supported Mac Book Pro for the server. If not, I cannot use Roon. I may download the free copy this weekend to see what happens.

Do you still have that QNAP NAS, that has been mentioned in your initial post? Is it an intel based (x64) one? If so, it might also be capable of being the core for Roon (if it is powerful enough for your needs).

Your MacBook Pro can run your Core, reading the music on your NAS, then directing it to your Roon Ready BDP-2.

You’ll just have to have the MacBook on to use this, of course. Plus, I’d use an actual Ethernet cable for its connection to your LAN.