Hello Roonsters. Still kinda new here, and now definitely having to get an NAS (my non-NAS Drobo has run out of space!) I could really use some advise because I’m getting overwhelmed with all the apparent decisions. I have read the Roon recommended “minimum” QNAP requirements.
I will be using the QNAP mainly for Roon and storage of 4K Remux files (huge size). The QNAP will NOT be connected directly to my TV or projector, but connected to a home network with Cat 6 cable. I will likely go for a 6 or 8 bay model because of the size/number of my video files. I will be feeding Roon to my Oppo UDP-203 and my Allo Digi One as endpoints. My 4K files will be fed to my Oppo UDP-203 and Apple TV/Infuse. I have an all Mac household.
The Roon website recommends the TS-x73 as a minimum.
The QNAP website (Roon section) recommends TS-x73, TVS-x82, and TS-x77 (presumably increasing CPU power?).
All the photos on the Roon section of the QNAP website showcase a drive which is not one of the above 3 recommended drives, but appears to be a TS-932X/832X, TS-963X, or TVS-951X. Why are they showing this picture and it is not one of their recommended drives? Should I be going for one of these units?
Any recommendations on which QNAP to get for my particular situation?
Personally, I’d rather go the dedicated Nuc route, but understand the real need for substantial video storage space.
From what I see, spec-wise, I’d go with either the TVS-882BR or the TVS-882. I came to those choices by identifying what is optimal for Roon, a 64bit x86 processor (preferably Intel) and room for a SSD. Both of these units have either a quad core i5 (882BR) or a dual-core i3 (882). The i3 will do almost everything you need. The i5 gives you extra cores if you run into situations where you’re using lots of DSP and other video-related needs arise. Both of these units allow an M2 slot for a SSD. That is where the database will be loaded and used in Roon, and absolutely key to a snappy response.
I don’t doubt that you could go cheaper, but I don’t know enough about these products to know just how close to the edge you can cut it and still get away with a great Roon experience. The specs in these NAS are similar to what one gets with a Nuc.
The expert here is @crieke. If you haven’t found it yet, check out https://roononnas.org/en/qnap/
I use a TS-677 for a similar task profile as yours. I store large remux files and serve them out locally and over the internet, including transcoding, using Plex, which runs alongside Roon with no problems. I also use the NAS for fileserving, for hosting VM hosts, and running various other services.
It’s a pricey bit of kit but I’ve been really happy with it for just over a year now. A real workhorse.