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Old Synology NAS > Ancient Stereo Amp

killdozzer

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It's been an ordeal (lasted much longer than my last couple of questions in the other thread)!

IMPORTANT: Don't update the NAS!!!
- this is where I'd like to start because it all comes to this later on. Version 7.2 changed and different steps may be required IF it can be done at all. It's possible you could still do it, but I can't vouch.

Now the good news:
Yes, your old Synology NAS can work as a streamer directly connected to any old amp!

What you need (I use Synology NAS DS220j - Firmware version 6.2):
- USB-DAC (I bought the cheapest thing in the ads for test purposes and got it to work)
- 3,5mm jack to 2xRCA out adapter (I'll switch this to a single 3,5mm-male-jack-to-2xRCA-male-connections cable just for the sake of neatness)
- a regular interconnecting cable RCA to RCA (which will become unnecessary if I do what I say in the brackets above)

In Package Center of your NAS, Install Audio Station (it's free):
1699975357288.png


After you've installed it, two things you need to set up.

1. Go to Audio Station / Settings / Advance:
1699975630500.png

Check the 'Enable high quality output for USB speakers' option and click OK.

2. Look to the bottom of your Audio station to find the red circled icon:
1699975895384.png


This toggles between My Computer and USB speakers and in fact sends signal this way or that way. (I was actually looking for this last step for an hour. They kept mentioning My computer icon and I didn't have a first clue where to look for that.)

I didn't use DoP, not for any audio-quality related reason, but because guide had this to say (it's an option right beneath the USB option in the first step):

Note:​

  1. Only 2-channel DSD64 and DSD128 files are supported if you enable DSD over PCM (DoP) output for USB speakers.
  2. Once you enable DSD over PCM (DoP) output for USB speakers, both DSD64 and DSD128 files will be played via DoP. For example, a DAC that only supports DSD64 cannot play DSD128 files.
This got me wondering whether I'd be able to play all files. So I left only the output for USB speakers checked.


Stats say that even my rather weak NAS machine doesn't sweat much to do this:
1699976583548.png


Mind you, RAM is always close to 50%, even when idle.

And that's it! You'll hear your FLACs from your NAS directly over your main speakers system. I assume this means you could send the digital signal to a MiniDSp as well and EQ it.

I'll put few more info in following comments and of course, ask if I skipped over something.
 
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This is how it looks:
1699977352773.png


It is literally plugged into a plain USB-A type socket. (I needed the USB-C to USB-A adapter) The black block is the male 3.5mm jack to 2xRCA female adapter and then the RCA to RCA interconnect.

This is the USB-DAC:
1699977582038.png


I'm hoping to go for a Sonata Pro or something, not that I need to, but for the love of it.

And this is the amp (I guess I don't need to show it, once it's analogue going through a regular interconnect, it's clear you can use any ol' amp):
1699978154322.jpeg
 
In the other thread I also said and then some, as in: "it works and then some" and I wasn't kidding:
1699978356341.png


However primitive, you do get an equalizer with an option to save your settings. The EQ becomes available only if you choose USB speakers as I mentioned earlier.
Honestly, I still didn't feel the need to use it, but it's good to have one.
 
OK, first little setback, there's a weak link. Playing around with equalizer will make all sorts of distortion appear. Good thing, there's no need for EQ and anyway, I'm intending of doing REQ in some MiniDSP gear. But this got me thinking, and it's probably the power of my NAS OS and hardware, as I've mentioned it has half a GB RAM and can't be upgraded. I'll sort it out over time. Now I know it can work, nothing is a problem anymore.

And now the remaining question (also from the other thread I linked earlier), since my NAS can stream a digital signal over the USB port, can a (here in Europe 650€) MiniDSP Flex RCA Unbalanced receive it over the USB-B that it features on the back panel? (And this is why I didn't want to waste time on very expensive SHD as I saw only two scenarios: 1 if by any chance my NAS couldn't stream, SHD might not work in this particular set up, and 2 if it could, it would probably be just like an external drive which would defeat the purpose of wirelessly shared NAS).

So, does this change anything, could I use the aforementioned MiniDSP?
 
Mind you, RAM is always close to 50%, even when idle.
The Synology NAS is Linux based.

Linux manages the memory, so whilst it may be reporting 50% used, a lot of that might be used for memory caches.

The 'top' utility should be available on your NAS. If you can ssh on to it and run top, you should clearly see how much RAM is in use.

This is the the output of 'top' on my Linux audio player (a GigaByte 'Brix' with an i3 processor)

top - 13:07:26 up 2 days, 19:38, 1 user, load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00
Tasks: 146 total, 1 running, 145 sleeping, 0 stopped, 0 zombie
%Cpu0 : 0.3 us, 0.3 sy, 0.0 ni, 91.4 id, 0.0 wa, 5.3 hi, 2.6 si, 0.0 st
%Cpu1 : 0.0 us, 0.0 sy, 0.0 ni,100.0 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 st
%Cpu2 : 0.0 us, 0.3 sy, 0.0 ni, 99.7 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 st
%Cpu3 : 0.3 us, 0.0 sy, 0.0 ni, 99.7 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 st
MiB Mem : 7867.8 total, 3361.1 free, 4200.6 used, 401.3 buff/cache
MiB Swap: 975.0 total, 975.0 free, 0.0 used. 3667.2 avail Mem


The 'free' utility can also show similar stats - the '-h' switch tells it to display in Mb and Gb instead of bytes.

free -h
total used free shared buff/cache available
Mem: 7.7Gi 4.1Gi 3.3Gi 956Ki 401Mi 3.6Gi
Swap: 974Mi 0B 974Mi


So in both cases you can see that of the 7.7G of RAM, 4.1G is used, 3.3G is free and 956k is shared, 401M is used for caching.

The swap file is not used, hence the 'used' column shows 0B

If you really know what you are doing with Linux - the memory allocations can be tuned by the end user.

The more RAM there is in the machine, the more it allocates to caches and other processes.
 
- this is where I'd like to start because it all comes to this later on. Version 7.2 changed and different steps may be required IF it can be done at all. It's possible you could still do it, but I can't vouch.
:(

FYI & FWIW.

1700087872963.png

Besides this one, which is all up to date -- I do have an ancient Synology NAS myself, though... will have to exhume it and see what version of their O/S it has on it... :)

I, too, wouldn't mind being able to do what you're doing (USB to DAC to amplifier), without another intermediary piece of hardware. :cool:
 
@mhardy6647 Yes, sadly, newer versions lose the exact feature I bought the NAS for in the first place. Sorry to hear about your case.
This is what they had to say for updated gear:

Note:​

  • Starting from DSM 7.1.1, AAC audio codec transcoding (decoding and encoding) is no longer supported. To stream and play the files on other devices, the terminal devices (e.g., smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, and game consoles) must support native AAC decoding.

And then this:
1700128596368.png


What is available to you when you click this icon (the one I pointed with a red arrow)?
1700128798656.png
 
I also have a few more questions. If you're wiling, you'd more than welcome!
1. Could I use the aforementioned MiniDSP? (I asked this before. Does this set up above means it would send signal to a MiniDSP Flex as well?)
2. A third option appeared. What does this mean? Is it emitting over my router? (EVW32C is the name of my router, how could I test this?)
1700145655963.png

3. @audio_tony You seem knowledgeable, if it only says it's using half of the RAM, would I benefit from assigning RAM elsewhere?
 
2. A third option appeared. What does this mean? Is it emitting over my router? (EVW32C is the name of my router, how could I test this?)
1700145655963.png

3. @audio_tony You seem knowledgeable, if it only says it's using half of the RAM, would I benefit from assigning RAM elsewhere?
The third option could be a DNLA (or other type of multimedia) server in your router. If you have a Windows 10/11 computer on your network, it will likely show up in the 'Network' part of explorer, where it might show more info when you right click on it. What make and model is the router?

With regard to RAM, you can't target specific apps to use more RAM - there are tuneable parameters, however Linux RAM usage is quite well optimised out of the box.

Synology may even have applied some tweaks of their own, in which case it'll be running at the optimally.
 
The third option could be a DNLA (or other type of multimedia) server in your router. If you have a Windows 10/11 computer on your network, it will likely show up in the 'Network' part of explorer, where it might show more info when you right click on it. What make and model is the router?

With regard to RAM, you can't target specific apps to use more RAM - there are tuneable parameters, however Linux RAM usage is quite well optimised out of the box.

Synology may even have applied some tweaks of their own, in which case it'll be running at the optimally.
It's showing in the Network:
1700149385551.png


I have to check it out. Double-click opens a tab where it says Broadcom Media Server - Version 2.1
 
Please bear with me while I indulge in some juicy conspiracy... Is it possible industry insiders frequent these pages and spy on users' comments?

I woke up the other day, my NAS OS looking completely different (No!!! I disabled all updates.) The one software that could transform an old NAS into a streamer is gone as if it was never installed and visiting the manufacturer's page confronted me with a note it won't be supported anymore.

Noooowwww... I don't know about you, but it's one thing to not support something anymore and a whole different thing is to "back-spoil it".

Wasn't Microsoft sued for something similar? I thought you weren't supposed to do that.

A rather lame advice is attached to the notice of not being supported anymore which says you should back up something... :rolleyes: Of course, there's nothing to back up. And deep digging into the drive where it was installed leads me to think I imagined all of it and it never happened. I never had an app that could stream from my old NAS.

I mean, I had software crash on me. It never looked like this.
 
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Can you run Logitech Media Server on that model of Synology? Or is that what is was running previously?
 
Can you run Logitech Media Server on that model of Synology? Or is that what is was running previously?
I'll give it a look. I don't know, but it wasn't what was running earlier. It was Audio Station, the old version for 6.2 OS on Synology. Now it's asking me to upgrade and it's asking me to upgrade precisely to the version that will no longer support my No. 1 feature. Without this feature your NAS instantly transforms into an ordinary external drive. Just a mass storage. I really have absolutely NO use of it this way.

If I don't find a way to remedy this I'm selling it.

My next question is if anyone knows of a NAS with some digital-out connections or perhaps one that can have an audio card installed on its motherboard?

Preferably not Synology this time, since I'd rather not give my money to them anymore.
 
Can you run Logitech Media Server on that model of Synology? Or is that what is was running previously?
Oh, this isn't true... Man, thank you for trying to help, but it seems they got rid of that feature as well. It seems they actively fight these options, they probably see some money making opportunities in offering these as extra cost. This is what I found and it concerns Logitech:
I bought 4th NAS, mainly because of the music collection and now I can't install LMS on my new NAS. I spent half of the day trying to find an alternative. No luck!

They are trying some work around with Docker, but once again it depends on not updating your NAS from the 6.2 version.
 
My next question is if anyone knows of a NAS with some digital-out connections or perhaps one that can have an audio card installed on its motherboard?
I don't know how good you are with computers, but there are a couple of options here.

You could use a Raspberry Pi with a DAC 'hat' - or - find an older HP Microserver, which will have a PCIx slot to take a sound card (it'll need to be low profile though) - otherwise any PC with a USB DAC will do what you want.

There are a few media server software options out there, such as Daphile, Moode etc. some of which are Raspberry Pi only, some are Intel PC only.

The Microserver is an ideal choice, as it has caddies for multiple disks, which can be configured for RAID (like your Synology).

However the Microserver option probably requires some knowledge of operating systems, in particular Linux.

The Raspberry Pi has limited options for disk storage, and would probably work best alongside your Synology NAS.
 
I don't know how good you are with computers, but there are a couple of options here.

You could use a Raspberry Pi with a DAC 'hat' - or - find an older HP Microserver, which will have a PCIx slot to take a sound card (it'll need to be low profile though) - otherwise any PC with a USB DAC will do what you want.

There are a few media server software options out there, such as Daphile, Moode etc. some of which are Raspberry Pi only, some are Intel PC only.

The Microserver is an ideal choice, as it has caddies for multiple disks, which can be configured for RAID (like your Synology).

However the Microserver option probably requires some knowledge of operating systems, in particular Linux.

The Raspberry Pi has limited options for disk storage, and would probably work best alongside your Synology NAS.
Thank you very much! I'll look into this more carefully.
 
It's only fair to say it magically reappeared much the same way it vanished.

So, as I said, one day I turned my system on and Audio Station was gone. No icons, no system folder, no traces of installation, no nothing. After trying for a long time to bring it back and failing, I decided I could as well update my OS since I thought I wasn't getting it back any way. Remember, I didn't want to update the OS because many users say 7.0 on don't support a streaming feature at all.

After updating it - but be careful, I only updated it to one up, the next version. I didn't go over 7.0 - I was again given the option to install Audio Station and it is still the version that can send signal over USB like I demonstrated up there.

I really find it strange. I don't understand how this happens that you just lose an app by shutting down and powering it up and you can't find it anywhere.

Anyhow, it works now. I'll try to not change anything.

A QUESTION: If anyone knows what does this do, I'd be glad to hear from you:
1706710829386.png

This EVW is the name of my modem, but I don't even know where to start investigating what it does. Where does the signal go when you send it to your modem? At what point in chain can you pick it up and convert it? Is it going back through LAN cable to your modem? Can you then hook your modem up to a network player that has LAN connection and play what's on your NAS over the network player?
 
After updating it - but be careful, I only updated it to one up, the next version. I didn't go over 7.0 - I was again given the option to install Audio Station and it is still the version that can send signal over USB like I demonstrated up there.
One is intrigued. ;)
How did you do that? Did you have an older "new" version cached someplace?
 
One is intrigued. ;)
How did you do that? Did you have an older "new" version cached someplace?
Well, I found a place where you can specify your upgrade. You choose your starting point and you choose your finishing point. Let me see if I can find it again...
 
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