Nucleus storage options and SQ

Roon Software Discussion Nucleus
1

I’ve been reading through the forum and haven’t satisfied my curiosity yet so here goes nothing…

I have a Nucleus+ on order and I am trying to decide on my storage options. My priority is sound quality.

I have four realistic options as I see it:

  1. Nucleus with added internal SSD.
  2. Nucleus with attached HD (spinning or SSD). Powered by USB.
  3. Nucleus with attached HD with separate power supply.
  4. NAS via network switch

Is the Nucleus designed to work with one of these options especially well from a sound quality perspective?

I have a 3.7 TB collection that is growing fairly quickly. I love the simplicity of the internal SSD but large ones are a bit pricey (but not out of consideration). The NAS option gives me a lot of flexibility in backup etc that I like. Connecting my WD passport to the back is easy. But…

Any opinions or experiences that could help inform my decision?

Thanks,
Michael

2
  1. or 4. would be my choice in that order but 4TB SSD is $$$, although in the context of a Nucleus+, not all that much.

Avoid another noisy device connected if possible, but if you have a USB drive, try it and see if you can hear a difference vs. internal SSD.

3

Hi,

I don’t know which bit of the forum you have read but you missed this bit:
https://kb.roonlabs.com/RAAT

Your storage options will make zero difference to SQ with Roon. Choose whatever is most practical for your requirements.

There are other considerations for SQ though, have a read of this:
https://kb.roonlabs.com/Sound_Quality
and especially this if you have everything on one computer:
https://kb.roonlabs.com/Sound_Quality_in_One_Computer

1 Like
4

I’ve read those. I don’t think they address my specific question except with aspirations.

I have taken the advice in these articles when it comes to Ethernet etc.

I have a Linn Klikax DSM > switch > Roon Core (MacBook Pro with usb music drive) currently. The switch is connected to the internet via optical isolation.

5

don’t forget about audible noise… Spinning drives make noise. SSDs do not.

They all work. Using the SSD internally or the NAS in a different room are your best options for no audible noise in your listening room.

6

I do not consider audible noise in the same category as SQ. That is a practical issue which is why I advised to choose whatever solution was most practical for requirements.
If your living room is of aircraft hanger proportions (or your ROCK lives in the garage, as in my case) audible noise is not a consideration for example. :slight_smile:

1 Like
7

Thank you Danny.

The computers are on a different floor :slight_smile: in a closet. Audible noise from them isn’t an issue.

So to paraphrase: from your experience, an internal SSD or NAS is equal from a SQ perspective? Roon + Nucleus is storage agnostic assuming a fast network, decent NAS, etc

Michael

8

yes, because the only SQ consideration we measure is acoustic noise. There are theories about electrical noise, but that is a whole different can of worms, and it is unclear if the NAS over ethernet is better or worse than the far simpler SSD.

9

I use this.
With two SSD, option Setup in BIG.
You see then just one folder.
Very fast!

10

Thank you Danny.

11

@Roony – make sure you get USB 3.0 – the USB-C/Thunderbolt/3.1 port on the Nucleus/NUC-ROCK is not supported.

12

I have the 3.0 USB version with the SonicTransporter i7.

13

those big SSD’s can draw lot of power in short period of time repeatedly and this produces a lot of noise on power line especially in small low powered systems, so SSD is not noiseless how people often think.
read this story: http://thessdguy.com/solving-ssd-power-spike-issues/

1 Like
14

That’s interesting stuff. I would have never anticipated that…

15

The storage you use should have no impact on sq whether it’s local or network attached it doesn’t in mine and I’ve tried all combinations. The important part is to your endpoint from the server but even that is up for debate and scrutiny.

16

Thanks Simon. This is very reassuring as I would, for a similar investment, rather invest in a better NAS that can do backup, etc than a huge SSD.

1 Like
17

SQ using a Samsung SSD for internal storage in my Nucleus is great and I can’t question it. Anyone any ideas how to back this up?

18

8 posts were split to a new topic: Nucleus and Drobo