I have recommended against a NAS (and I have one).
Not for Roon.
Not for storage either.
Previous world.
I would get (I did get) a NUC, put SSD in it for (expensive) elegance or an external USB drive, local backup is nice so get another USB drive, and set up cloud backup.
I think it all depends on what you are doing with Roon. If you are upsampling/DSP’ing and running multiple zones with hi res then no the Celeron would not be suitable. If just using the basic Roon functions then the Celeron will be more than adequate.
Sorry (rookie here) I meant NUC… Again, the issue is the processor as most i3 go big case with total overkill on SSD storage and cost! and yes I do mostly master and HIFI on Tidal. So… I’ve been told, that the USB is NOT the preferred connection for high end audio quality. I’ve become OCD on audio and want to insure that the data being streamed is as good as it get’s. I was headed to Nucleus but was derailed by NUC rec’s. My budget (lol) is around $1400 for a NUC or back to the nucleus. Current music is 2023 albums or almost 12000 tracks. Again, the fan issue concerns me… Again, would I have both my DAC and the NUC/ Nucleus have ethernet attached, then I would use a remote to manage the core… Thanks all!
One zone for now… Sorry missed earlier post
The darn fan… sounds prehistoric and noisy…
[QNAP 2-Bay, 8TB(2x4TB NAS Drive) Intel 2.0GHz Quad-Core CPU (TS-251±8G-24R-US)
This was my latest selection but backed off due to the Quad Core CPU
Good to go?
A NUC is not expensive
That is $535. Plus an external USB drive, $60:
And I never heard the fan while playing music, even though it was 2 meters away.
If you want to go fancy, terabytes of SSD cost $300 each.
And don’t worry too much about using USB or network connect the endpoint.
I have tried both (USB and MicroRendu), and I didn’t notice a difference. Maybe because I have fairly modern and sophisticated DACs. I use a USB connection to my Nucleus today, use the MicroRendu in another room. I think it will be fine for you, but it’s not a problem, if you decide later that you want a network connection instead, you can easily add that.
My main advice is to chill. Don’t panic over the fine tweaking of the “cork sniffers”. And go with the simple system, no complexities.
(Btw, my Roon system looks like this, and it is not because I’m compromising and go8ng cheap. My main audio gear, speakers and amps and DAC, are over $100,000. The simple i3 NUC doesn’t let it down.)
Btw, don’t go with my exact recommendations, I haven’t looked into this for a few years, you want to get some r3commendations about exact models. For example, s9me people are discussing the latest generation, 8, and say the i3 is as fast as a i7 of the previous generation, and produces less heat.
And you should probably use Roon’s ROCK operating system, instead of paying for Windows.
Yeah, I wouldn’t pay too much attention to that. Your Manhattan II is a nice modern DAC, and will work well with USB. Get yourself an i3 computer, plug the DAC into it with a simple USB cable, and enjoy.
I’d be seriously tempted by this little fanless Zotac i3 box.
Intel NUC NUC7i5DNHE Mini PC/HTPC, Intel Dual-Core i5-7300U Upto 3.5GHz, 16GB DDR4, 1TB SSD, WiFi, Bluetooth, 4k Support, Dual Monitor Capable, Windows 10 Professional 64Bit (16GB Ram + 1TB SSD)
Or this; the NUC
Thanks all! Feel great relief on further understanding this environment. Bill, yes, that is a new unit I had not seen and is fanless! Don’t know much about the brand…?
Again, much obliged to all.
Neil
I have to support the statements done here on use Nucleus/Nucleus+ or a corresponding NUC box with ROCK. It should have SSD for database/system. NAS is not optimal for Roon, but a NAS is really great for storing the music. I have a Synology DS3617xs, DS3615xs and DS1511 - but still use Nucleus+ for Roon core.
Nor do I, but I’ve heard @xxx say good things about it, and the CI320 model even worked with ROCK.
If you have a NAS it is certainly good for storing the music.
But I wouldn’t buy one today, for that purpose.
A USB HD is fine. I got a 2 TB SSD internal to the NUC or Nucleus.
Either way, you need backup.
But I think that you want off-premises backup anyway, to protect from theft or fire or water damage, so I got cloud backup.
But remember, we don’t really want backup, we want restore, and restore from the cloud is slow, ok for disaster recovery but you want a local backup for convenience, another USB drive, or in my case the PC I use for ripping and downloading.
Just to add to this convo.
I have a DS918+
1 SSD 1tb
3x 8TB SHR5 16TB Volume
I run Plex (10TB of video data, 400GB Music)
Roon (7000 Tracks)
And all my automation for TV shows, Movies etc. in Docker containers.
It works FLAWLESSLY.
Roon absolutely works perfect with this, no issues at all. Even when the NAS is getting smashed by plex etc, it doesn’t skip and works perfect.
Super good setup, ignore the naysayers if your library is 10k tracks or under, works flawless.
I started with Roon on a windows pc i5 8Gb’s RAM solid state disk with the music library on the NAS with spinning disks
worked like a dream
I moved the Roon server to the NAS suddenly pauses and delays crept in
I switched the Roon server back to the pc
All is now working again with out any glitches
If optimal performance is your main concern - build a solid state pc
Christian, I would like to hear more about how you loaded Roon on the USB. I have a 920+ and would like to do the same. Thank you.
I don’t use the the DS918+ as a ROON Server anymore. I have sold this unit. Today I’m using ROCK and a DS718+ as storage.
In the past you had to mount the USB-stick and then rename the USB-stick from the default name to RoonServer. You do this in Control Panel->Shared folder option. When renamed you install the Roon app as any other app in Synology.
But this may have changed.
Thanks for your answer. Are you using Rock on a NUC? If so, would you mind telling me the specs of what you are running?