MinimServer installed on PC to enable Naim streamer to access FLAC files on NAS

[simoncn]

Welcome to the Minimserver forum!

The files are streamed as you decribe in b). It is generally accepted that wired connections are preferable for audio streaming, although some people think otherwise. By introducing two wireless links into the streaming chain, you are making the router/access point work harder and this might produce internal electrical noise that could possibly be transmitted down the Ethernet cable to the NDX.

The only way to find out whether this produces any audible difference is to try a comparison. You could compare the sound quality of Twonky on the NAS with MinimServer on the PC (with all MinimStreamer transcoding disabled in MinimServer). If you think MinimServer is sounding worse, this might be caused by the wireless links.

If you decide to go with MinimServer as your permanent setup, it would be worth considering buying a NAS from Synology or QNAP that can run MinimServer. You could probably reuse the disk(s) from the My Book in the new NAS to reduce the upgrade cost. This would eliminate the wireless links and you wouldn't need to have the PC running in order to listen to music.