qnap HS-453DX - bluetooth music streaming

[Allenbl]

Hi folks,

I am looking at buying a qnap HS-453DX. I am planning to use it as a music home cloud and want to stream music to my home stereo via a bluetooth streamer (an arcam rblink).

I have found references to the HS-453DX being able to support bluetooth streaming via a bluetooth dongle. Is there a requirement for such a dongle? Is this a QNAP product and if not are there any recommendations for compatible bluetooth dongles?

Cheers,

Allen

[Toxic17]

Is there a requirement for such a dongle?

if you want to stream music via bluetooth you WILL need a bluetooth adapter, how else would it send data via bluetooth?

compatibility list is here: https://www.qnap.com/en-uk/compatibilit ... ategory=21

note: I dont have an HS-453DX so cannot comment on how you would set this up.

[storageman]

Once I read this I never ever considered Bluetooth for HIfi. Arcam can talk all they like about DACs but this is the reality.

Bluetoth cannot provide lossless audio streams as it only supports it's own proprietary encoding / streaming formats like LDAC (Sony) and the general codec SBC. There is no middle ground with this question, it is not a 'maybe' it is strict No, Bluetooth cannot nor will not handle Lossless audio ever."

[Allenbl]

Thanks for the responses folks.

What would you recommend instead of bluetooth for wireless streaming and interfacing with a phono input stereo?

[Moogle Stiltzkin]

i don't have a HS-453DX, but i do have a TBS-453DX i've been using lately. But the HS-453DX can install 2 x 2.5'' HDDs so you can have big storage for much cheaper than SSDs which are still more expensive for high capacity storage. Check robs video to see a comparison (in size especially).

i use music station and by default it will play over the connected ethernet and the pc speakers will play the audio. works also with foobar2000 if i use from pc and browse to the qnap via smb.

To force the audio to play direct from the NAS speaker, the only way i found to do that was using music station, then select the stream icon, then select the "audio line out/speakers".

the internal speakers don't quite compare to my stereo Hifi speakers aktimate minis, but it is surprisingly decent enough. also volume can be cranked high enough (to the point where i lowered the volume slightly to be more comfortable). You can check rob's youtube channel for a preview, although he doesn't quite have a perfect microphone to really appreciate the sound quality.

Discussing the TBS-453DX QNAP NAS Stereo Speakers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnHUiW9VNvE

QNAP HS-453DX vs TBS-453DX Compact Quiet 10Gbe NAS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVSy3-AKhj8


i couldn't quite get audio technica ATH A900 headphones to work for music station. i suspect perhaps i need a headphone amplifier for it to work?

Analog components like a turntable or tape deck don’t need a DAC – they already put out analog low-voltage signals – but digital audio devices like PCs, smartphones, iPods, or tablets need both a DAC and headphone amp in order for you to hear sound through your headphones.

WHY DO I NEED A HEADPHONE AMP?
All those digital devices we just mentioned already have a DAC and headphone amp built right in – that’s why you can just plug your headphones in and hear sound. Why, then, would you need a separate component?

Unfortunately, the quality of those built-in components varies greatly from device to device, and, therefore, so does the sound quality. A MacBook Pro has a decent DAC and headphone amp built in, so it sounds … decent, but many laptops, like the old Dell Inspiron N5110 for example, have very low-quality DACs and headphone amps, so they sound pretty bad. The same goes for phones: Some sound terrible, some are decent, and some – like the LG V30 or V35 – sound superb.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-thea ... phone-amp/

I don't use blue tooth so couldn't test that for you


Using music station you create playlists for your music from your collections stored on the QNAP. you can also browse music from other QNAP NAS, but you cannot force it to use the internal speakers on the QNAP (only locally stored music on your NAS running music station can do that), only the network connected speakers e.g. for me my computer speakers.