my question is related to where store my music files. My actual setup is a RPI 4B connected to a Topping E70 DAC and also a USB SSD drive connected to Volumio with all my music files in my main listening room. The files are shared with SMB for the secondary listening room.
In the secondary listening room I have also a Rpi4B and connect via SMB to the primary RPI.
My impression is that the sound of the secondary room is cleaner and has more soundstage. But it is really impossible to compare, as the system is completely different. Different Dac (E50), speakers, amplifier, etc.
My question is if it would be worth it to have a third RPI witch hold only the files so that the primary RPI don’t have the USB Drive attached(USB noise), and is working as a SMB server (Also noise?).
Any thoughts/experience in this matter?
I would always advice to use a dedicated NAS. Even though you can build one using a rpi, connecting disk will always be the critical factor.
There are simple nas like QNAP TR-002, which cost less then building it from parts.
Thank you very much.
As I have already a big ssd, maybe it is easier to build one around a rpi?
If so, what software do you recommend with the RPI? Volumio just for smb? Or just the basic RPI software?
A couple of years ago I built a NAS from a Raspberry Pi (using Raspberry PI OS) and some basic portable hard drives. It worked quite well as a (Samba) music server for about a year … and then the drives started to have errors. This is the risk one takes when using non-NAS hard drives. I didn’t consider implementing routine error-checking of the drives.
Early this year, I built a server from a Khadas VIM4 (https://www.khadas.com/vim4) (using the server edition of Ubuntu) to which I attached an NVMe drive. Backups go to a basic portable hard drive (which is only plugged in when backing up). NVMe is pretty fast, and using NFS seems to be faster than using Samba. (Having said that, I also run Samba on the same machine … some people in my house use Windows, not Linux).
Of course, this isn’t a NAS. But it cost a lot less, uses minimal power and takes up a tiny amount of space. If it fails, the cost of reinstatement is either a new tiny PC, a new NVMe card, or both.