Internal Storage HDD or SSD in BDP-3 how Roon Library Storage

Hi friends, I currently play Roon using the BDP-3 as Roon Ready endpoint (music room), my music is in Qnap NAS and my Roon Core in PC both in another room.

I’m thinking use an internal SSD on the BDP-3 and leave out the NAS, but I do not know if Roon supports the internal storage of the BDP-3 as storage for Roon lLibrary . Apart from minimizing or downsizing components, I would obtain some other type of improvement in playback quality. People that use BDP-2/3 as Ronn end point prefer to use internal storage or NAS …?

Thanks for replys…

Chris Rice from Bryston has addressed this before. He saw no advantage to using an SSD over an HDD. You can probably find his posts over on audiocircle.com in the Sponsored Bryston thread. No one knows more about the BDP than Chris (unincognito).

I have a first version BDP-1 and I use a USB attached SSD to my i5 imac. Streaming via my local network.

If you use the internal storage of BDP-3 as your library for your Roon, you’re essentially
adding more network load on the BDP. I wouldn’t recommend that and neither would Bryston.

The best sound I’m getting from the BDP-1 and Roon is running it wirelessly with a USB Wifi adapter. It beats Roon wired for me. I’ve tried all kinds of switches / routers / cables / linear power supplies, Audioquest Jitterbug, flash drives, external hard drives, portable hard drives with MPD/Roon as well…

I have everything disabled in Manic Moose except for Roon Ready. The only thing connected to the BDP-1 is the USB wifi adapter. No ethernet or USB drives.

You can setup the rest of the upstream chain of Core and NAS however you like. I run my network on 5 Ghz and it runs perfectly in my environment. Just as stable and responsive as ethernet.

I use Panda Wireless Pau07.

1 Like

Thank you very much for your reply, I see that they also leave storage outside of Bryston, I will follow this path and I will continue using my NAS, I read something in Audiocircle (thnx Robert), Zoom25, I see that when you configure Doongle you use Audioquest JitterBug in line with it , this makes some sense, it is useful for something, or you have already dispensed with it, I think your idea of ​​using BDP as if it were an island from which only data comes through cable makes sense to avoid any external interference.

https://i.imgur.com/w6jVCX0.jpg

I still have the Jitterbug and I will sometimes use it just to see where things stand. I know there is a bit of a difference in sound with the Jitterbug vs. without. Which one is better or worse or preferable is something I’ve sometimes struggled with. I have a mental summary of how each generally sounds in comparison to one another. That overall tonality that I perceive actually hasn’t changed between all these storage and network devices. I know how the sound differs between these. The challenge is making sense of what these difference means and which is more accurate or more easier to listen to or veiled or more 3D sounding etc. It’s the interpretation part that can be tricky and making sense of these differences.

I think the Wifi adapter by itself is worth checking out. That may be all one needs - no Jitterbug required. I’m not sure what impact Jitterbug has on the signal integrity of the signals and slowing things down on the edges. It’s very 3D sounding and engaging. It’s exciting. This sounds extended from top to bottom with good clarity and resolution in the bass. My very first reaction when I got it was that it was actually bright or perhaps lacking in impact…now not so sure. At the time I was using ethernet. The wifi adapter doesn’t sound veiled which I sometimes feel is the case with ethernet.

EDIT: I should also add that on the official dongle thread on Audiocircle where I posted my impressions, at the time I was using stock shielded power cables which messed with the sound. So there has been some revisions due to that. Now just using generic unshielded power cables with the Torus.

Also, I’m still not sure if the difference in sound is because of interference going in or out as commonly believed. I think it perhaps might have to do more with how all these devices change the internal behaviour of the BDP-1.

I’ll follow your advice and try the wifi dongle, I’ve read in AudioCircle from Chris that Briston Wi-Fi dongle uses a Ralink 802.11n chipset that supports up to 300mpbs, that means it’s not worth paying more in a USB dual-band dongle, it can be use the 5Ghz for this purpose, I’ll give you a couple of examples … Thanks for the help

Linksys WUSB6100M-EU - Miniadaptador USB Wi-Fi AC600 Max-Stream (MU-MIMO, 433 Mbps, doble banda 2.4 + 5 GHz, WPA/WPA2 y WPS), negro https://www.amazon.es/dp/B01FHECGWS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_i_NYcgBb80F0A7B

TP-LINK Archer T2U - Adaptador Inalámbrico USB de Banda Dual (AC 600Mbps, USB2.0) https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00K11UIV4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_i_iZcgBbYX2XWNJ

I’m also not sure if these wifi-dongle should necessarily be used on a USB2 or can be used in USB3 on a separate PCIe bus, currently my Chord Dave takes the data from a USB2 output of my BDP-3, and I would like to not use the same data bus to connect the Wifi Dongle.

Hi Alfredo,

First off, looking at those USB dongles, you might have to worry about heat and overheating. When I was researching these dongles, the biggest problem was that the smaller ones would overheat and stop working periodically - especially on 5 Ghz.

Also, before buying anything, I’d like you to do some tests at home first. I really don’t want you to have to spend anything if possible.

If you are using Roon via ethernet, try it with different ethernet cables and different switches/routers that you may have lying around. In the past, I’d get different sound from different devices and cables. I’ve made a couple of changes and now all routers, switches, cables, or use of LPS vs. stock switching power supplies make absolutely zero difference. They all sound identical, as they should be. My Cat5e, 6, 6a S/STP and all network devices and connections sound identical. I can play music off the buffer by pulling out the ethernet cable and it sounds identical. Although, the buffer doesn’t last too long. Nonetheless, ethernet cables make no difference now.

Either by yourself or get someone do that swapping test. If you don’t hear any difference, then everything is working perfectly as should be. If you’re also at the same place where the networking system doesn’t matter, then we can have a better reference and comparison with the following:

When I use MPD with flash drives or Roon with Wifi adapters, I find there is the appearance of more depth when switching over. It sounds more exciting. The soundstage moves up. With ethernet and Roon, I find the soundstage moves back and can initially sound boring. Just read the reviews of Hifi-Advice on BDP-3 and Absolute Sound’s review of BDP-2 plus additional notes. There’s another review that echoes something similar. Most people seem to like the thumb drives as being more open sounding and resolving in comparison to NAS playback. Is that actually the case that the flash drive is more correct or resolving, or is the flash drive more coloured with hash which gives a false sense of resolution that supposedly every reviewer seems to prefer? It’s a conundrum for sure that I’ve struggled to answer and have flip flopped many times depending on the mood or day of listening.

However, there is something about the ethernet sound that still sounds appealing and right in its own way. It actually may be better suited in long term. With ethernet, I find the sound more smoother and relaxed. Vocals sound very smooth and ‘continuous’ on etherent - lack of hash perhaps? Although, depending on day of listening, track, and mood, it can sometimes feel as if the ethernet is veiled. Although, that hasn’t happened since my networking side became immune.

I can’t say objectively that one is better than the other as I don’t have measurements or know what might be causing the difference. Is it difference in noise between these connections or the difference in power consumption or the difference in activity and resource consumption or combination of things…I’m not sure.

Lastly, I will say that while the ethernet has sometimes sounded boring or not having enough drive in the past, it has never fatigued me or hurt my ears, no matter how long I’ve listened. The same can’t be said about playback from flash drives in MPD or USB wifi adapter with Roon. Is this because ethernet playback is dulling the sound and thus hiding flaws, and the USB equipment is not hiding anything and letting all the nastyness that is on the recording on the recording through? Or is it that the noise of these USB devices are always adding noise, but at times it can be too much with certain tracks?

Last week I had brought my BDP-1 into my bigger system (20 x 60 feet room) where you can really hear the sense of space change. While all these methods sounded slightly sounded different and if one judges the sound based on things like bass response or soundstage, you may get one answer, but if you listen by another criteria such as human voice and what sounds more correct or real, then you may get another response. I also wanted to give Jitterbugs another try and I did like it and felt they took out the edge/zing and brightness. However, ethernet is the absolute best for addressing that. I have the same experience on my nearfield setup (Amphions + Audeze). Butter smooth with ethernet.

I hope that gives more perspective, even if it doesn’t address your query directly. Make use of the things you may have at home and experiment first before spending a single cent. Try the experiment I wrote above first. :smiley:

I will do it… :wink:

Was the Panda Wireless Pau07 plug and play with the BDP-1?

Ron

Almost. The stick works out of the box and you don’t need to first set it up on a computer or anything like that.

Turn off the BDP-1. Remove ethernet cable. Plug the USB stick in and turn on BDP-1. Wait a few minutes for the BDP-1 to boot and have the wireless running. On your phone or computer, look for a network called “Bryston Digital Player.” Connect to that network. Once you are connected to that network, go the Manic Moose page (http://bryston-bdp-1.local/) on your browser and from there you can finish the setup to connect the BDP-1 wirelessly to your local regular network.

There is a setup PDF out there. It takes around 5 mins. Very easy if you need the wireless capability.

(FWIW, I haven’t used the wireless stick at all in well over a year. With the BDP-1, I primarily use MPD w/ my NAS or even a portable USB hard drive. As a Roon endpoint, very rarely.)

Dear Zoom25,

Thanks for the quick response. I will give it a try and let you know what works.

Best

Ron

No problem, Ron. Let me know if you run into problems. I looked up the steps for you. On the Manic Moose, click on “Network Interfaces”. Click on the “wireless” option and then you can select the network and passwords. I was able to get both 2.4 and 5Ghz recognized and working.

I told this to 2-3 people and they did seem to really like this option, but I am not a fan personally of the wireless USB sound personally. Bright and fatiguing. Everyone has their preferences though. I prefer the wired option and its darker, non-fatiguing sound. Only get the USB adapter if you truly NEED the wireless capability.

Thanks … I ordered a Panda, like yours… It will be here Wednesday… I will let you know.

I have multiple BDP-1’s and 2’s in areas that are not wired. I will give it a try.

Ron

South Portland, ME