Sound quality differences between NAS units

[winxi]

(21-08-2016 22:49)Peter@57m Wrote:  I have tried different NAS drives including different Melco models and have found Melco to be the best sounding and their more expensive model to sound better than the entry level.

I have swapped drives on visitors without telling them what was being tested and they have consistently found Melco better.

So I would dispute your statement there is no causal link to sound quality and different NAS drives.

Can you be sure that you didn't (unconsciously) influence your guests?
Have you already tried a blind test, were another person being in another room plays a track from a highend NAS or a regular NAS and you guess which NAS is used? To get a significant result, this experiment should be repeated at least 20 times for the same track. I'd be interested in the results of such a test.
Did somebody other do such a blind test?

Quote:Have you tried this yourself?

I've tried two different NAS and also streamed from a PC and I observed no difference in sound quality. But I had not the chance to try a highend NAS yet.