I recently bought a Ray to replace the dying iPod my husband had plugged into a Bose dock. I was told he could stream music ripped from CDs that had been loaded onto his cell phone but apparently that’s only the case for an apple phone. We are an android family. I simply want to access the 28 GB music library we have loaded on our computer in the living room on our ray. I don’t want to keep the computer on. I I don’t know that I necessarily want an NAS as I don’t want other files loaded. Just our music. I’ve read about the various NAS drives and am this close to buying a Synology 2-Bay DiskStation DS223j (Diskless) but I know somewhere in my research I read that an external drive plugged into our router (which does allow for the indexing needed) might be easier/less overkill for a music library of our size? Can someone point me in the direction on making this decision?
External USB into Router vs NAS for small home music to Ray
It’s a difficult decision, certainly. The NAS is generally a more compatible choice, and allows for many other things, but the external drive depends on the router having the software necessary to run the external drive as an NAS, something not all routers do. It might help if you were to define the make and model of your router for us, or even a link to the specific instructions of this router, so we could help determine if it is a possibility.
The external drive is enough for your needs.
Be cautious buying a diskless Synology, it may not allow you to add third party drives only the very expensive Synology ones. Saw that and took them off my list.
For your use a single bay NAS is going to be more than you need. Something like the BUFFALO
LinkStation 210. There are others so shop around but don't buy a lot more than you need.
https://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-LinkStation-Private-Storage-Included/dp/B00JKM0A36/ref=sr_1_13
I’m pretty sure my router can handle it, it’s a Linksys WRT 3200ACM if I’m reading it right. I’m willing to buy and set up an NAS (I think I can do it, tho I’m a bit worried that I may have just enough expertise to adjust some router setting that has repercussions I’m not aware of…) I’m open to the NAS. Either way, I’d prefer a solution that has a longer life. Thanks for the quick response. Got my pup out for a morning walk in between.
The external drive is enough for your needs.
Be cautious buying a diskless Synology, it may not allow you to add third party drives only the very expensive Synology ones. Saw that and took them off my list.
For your use a single bay NAS is going to be more than you need. Something like the BUFFALO
LinkStation 210. There are others so shop around but don't buy a lot more than you need.
https://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-LinkStation-Private-Storage-Included/dp/B00JKM0A36/ref=sr_1_13
The Buffalo LinkStation is one NAS that I had looked at. That’s very good to know about the limits of the Synology. When you say that the external drive is sufficient, are you referring to the Buffalo LinkStation or to something more in the way of a WD My Passport-?
Pretty much any USB connected external drive. Folks use thumb-drives, 2.5 or 3.5 hard/SSD drives or my favorite a USB to SATA adapter plugged into a salvaged 2.5 SSD drive. Small, reliable, fast, silent, cheap and low power.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HJZJI84?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_13&th=1
Only issue with some hard drives is that they sleep or spin down, often takes long enough to wake that the first song or two is missed when first woken, not a thumb or SSD issue.
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