Streaming Audio with MinimServer Audio Station on Synology

As a music enthusiast, I've been experimenting with different audio streaming solutions for my home network. One combination that has caught my attention is the use of MinimServer Audio Station and Synology's Media Server on my DS-412+ device. While both solutions have their strengths, I've noticed some differences in sound quality when using them to stream music to my Linn Akurate DS.

Initially, I tried setting up transcoding with ALAC:ALAC, hoping it would improve the sound quality. Unfortunately, this didn't yield the desired result. This led me to wonder if there's a way to enable buffering for unencoded streams, at least for testing purposes. It seems reasonable to expect that buffered streams would provide better sound quality, aligning with the comments on MinimServer's transcoding quality.

In my experiments, I noticed that when transcoding is enabled on both sides (Synology Media Server and MinimServer), the differences in sound quality are smaller. This supports the theory that the lack of buffering in the non-transcoded path contributes to the perceived difference. However, it's essential to note that these findings may be subjective.

I've been running both servers in parallel, streaming the same music files to the same audio equipment (Cyrus Stream X2 as a player and Synology DS412+ as a renderer). Interestingly, the Synology server consistently produces a more detailed sound. This has led me to question whether the difference is related to the lack of buffering on the MinimServer side.

One user, simoncn, suggested that enabling WAV transcoding on both servers could provide evidence for or against this theory. Another user, david, pointed out that the renderer (in my case, Linn Akurate DS) might not have internal buffering, which could affect sound quality. I've tried disabling transcoding on both servers and streaming ALAC files directly, but this didn't produce the desired result.

If anyone has an explanation or solution for this issue, I'd love to hear it. As a music lover, I want to ensure that any changes I make don't compromise sound quality. For now, I'll continue to experiment with different settings and configurations to achieve optimal results.

Minimserver audio station synology