USB drive vs NAS for storage/streaming/back-up

Joc,

I am am also using a Cullen modified Sonos ZP-80. I use a Buffalo Teraserver NAS drive, attached to my half wired/half wireless network. Like Stevenstone said, your PC does not have to remain on with an NAS device, only the hub or switch needs to remain powered up. Some of my Sonos units are hardwired and others are not. I've not been able to tell a sonic diference between the wired and wireless connections. The Teraserver is RAID 5 configured right out of the box, so the data recording is already redundant, not really requiring any other backup.

Thsalmon: Thanks. I'll investigate NAS units. Need something quiet and cool running that can be in the listening area. As I have a USB drive, don't really need RAID. I'm also running wired and wireless with the Sonos.

With NAS drives, you can attache them to any of your Sonos units via their Ethernet connections, but I STRONGLY recommend putting your NAS drive in a separate room from your listening room. Many NAS drives have fans and do generate some amount of noise. Attaching them to your wired hub is the usual integration method.

Stevenstone is right - get the computer hardware out of your listening room. Assuming you have your wireless router in a closet somewhere, get a cheap NAS and put it in there with it (I spent all of $225 on mine).

One of the main benefits of Sonos is that all the "work" of de-compressing the file and turning it into a digital stream is done in the Sonos box itself. Since file transferring across even the cheapest network device already has more error correction than the best CD transport, you don't have to spend a lot on this. Buy cheap and spend the saved money on a backup drive (or a nicer DAC!).

Enjoy!

Additional tweak to your Cullen modded Sonos; get a decent power cable such as the PS Audio Power Punch and you will see further elimination of the grainyness of the Sonos digital out as well as increased dynamics across the board typical in a power cord update.