Hello,
I think I know the answer to this but I’m just wanting to be very sure before making an expensive decision. I currently have a very 1990’s hifi system - CD player, amp, passive speakers. I love this but want to be able to play my large digital stored music library too. So I think I have settled on using a NAS drive with a Sonos Port, which I’ll then hardwire to my amplifier, but also have some Sonos speakers around the house too. This way, I can still run my CD player and TV into my amplifier (something which is more of a problem if using e.g. a Brennan B3 due to lack of line-out!).
Anyway, with regards to a NAS drive - I just want to check if all I will need to pay for/add to my system is the NAS drive (enclosure plus HDD’s of course) and the Sonos equipment. Am I right in thinking the free Sonos app will access the NAS and provide the interface to browse through the music stored on it? Or will I also need to use e.g. Plex (either free or paid subscription). From what I’ve gathered, this is not the case, which makes sense as it would seem quite unnecessary. I’m just having a hard time consolidating the information from about 30 different “NAS for hifi” guides I’ve seen!
Many thanks in advance,
FloydianChemist
Yes, you should be fine with a Sonos Port connected to an analog/digital line-in on your existing HiFi setup and a NAS box on the local network. I use a similar setup and have my ‘ripped’ music stored on a NAS.
The network path to the NAS library/music (SMB v2/3) share is added using the Sonos App, which in turn acts as remote to play chosen tracks/albums/playlists to devices connected to the Port.
In my own case the output is to a Bluetooth transmitter, rather than a HiFi system. I use that TX to listen to music over headphones, both from the local NAS library and music from online services like Amazon Music, Sonos Radio etc.
The Sonos library by the way has a limit of approx 65,000 slots for the NAS library tracks - if the library exceeds that size, then that’s where Plex can assist as that service will far exceed that limit.
I have 25000+ tracks, so nowhere near the Sonos limit, but I use Plex anyway (service built into the Sonos App), aswell as the Sonos library …and that just helps provide additional options like listening to music stored on the NAS whilst away from home travelling, either via my smartphone/tablet, with or without, ear-buds etc.
That’s great, thank you! Similarly I will be nowhere near the 65,000 track limit, but good to know Plex is a potential future option for even more functionality.
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