Sound quality differences between NAS units

[Expresso]

After reading the various posts in the Melco & NAS sections, I have upgraded 2 things in my Synology/Naim UnitiQute 2 system, this is my setup & observations.

I changed the power supply of the Synology NAS using a 12v 3.5A unit which I purchased from CPC Farnell several years ago (for a project that didn't materialise), I don't think it's a linear one but a low noise medical one.

The second upgrade is adding the aforementioned fibre optic link to my network. I opted for 2 TP-Link MC100CM* for the link between the router & streamer using 10 metres of OM3 sc-sc fibre optic cable. I added 2 RS linear power supplies to the TP-Link boxes initially. Short runs of Lindy Cat6 are used for all the ethernet links.

The biggest change came from changing the NAS power supply, the shut-in sound came alive, wide soundstage & good separation of instruments. The fibre optic link added a noticeable depth to bass, more definition to instruments & vocal clarity. I am able to hear instruments & rhythms in familiar songs which I hadn't picked up before.

Changing the power supplies to the TP-Link boxes didn't make an audible difference. I have left one of the RS linear ones at the streamer side but the router end has been switched back to the TP-Link supplied one (I couldn't notice any difference). I will play around further with the combinations of these power supplies in due course just in case I missed any improvement.

In conclusion, both the changes made a considerable difference & are well worth the upgrade. If you want a quick & simple upgrade, go with the NAS power supply although I'm not sure how much more I could wring out of the system by having an even better (more expensive) power supply.

Everything else in the system is stock, no fancy mains conditioners, exotic power cables or unfeasibly expensive gizmos.


* The TP-Link MC200CM did not work in my Naim system, the MC200CM is fixed at 1000 base-t (gigabit) & the Naim is fixed at 100 base-t (megabit) speeds, additionally you can't mix MC100s & MC200s without the use of a network switch in between.