Yes, synology and qnap use this as well buth these are more generic NAS systems ( sharing photos, movies, files etc.) while Melco or Innuos are build for audio only ( and optimized for that purpose).
I just want to give you a tip with the Melco. If you have a NWB already you could improve the sound further. But as always- try it in your setup. For me, it was a no brainer to go for a Melco ( or Innuos which plays a little bit smoother with my gear).
This is the view from Mosaic app on ipad, you see the NAS upnp systems in my home. First is the Melco.
Your opinion, not mine.
The data transfer from Internet/NAS through NWB to DAC must be and is bit transparent, and that’s all that is required. The rest is snake oil.
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When the Melco is configured to use that Ethernet [Player] Port in “isolated mode”, being completely independent with it’s own DHCP server, it’s isolated from the other Ethernet port and can’t connected to the home LAN. Which means it’ll be invisible to dCS Mosaic and hence won’t work with dCS systems.
Melco’s “isolated mode” was designed for Ethernet Streamers (like from NAIM) which imbeds UPnP Control from within the Streamer’s Ethernet port, not a separate external Control-point like Mosaic. In fact, IIRC, the NAIM streamer can even issue UPnP Control from the front-panel of the Streamer itself.
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Hi guys.
I’d like the idea to add an external streamer to my dCS Vivaldi.
I’ve tried the Aurender N20 some time ago but I’ve then decided that I return it to my dealer because the only connection that was good was the dual AES, which I needed for the Vivaldi Transport.
Here are my questions for those of you who use external streamers or servers in their own dCS systems:
- is a USB a good connection SQ-wise (as compared to say AES-EBU)?
- If so, how can I not lose the internal clocking on my Vivaldi system? Does it matter?
- would a good unit such as Innuos or Grimm or the like improve SQ as a server only if it replaced my current Roon Nucleus?
I know that only listening in my system will tell and I’ll do so but I wanted to first understand your own ideas/experiences.
Thanks.
Franco
I think that you may be falling into a trap that is very common. Without knowing exactly what or why you want something, if you throw money at it there will be some sort of magic and you will get better sound. In truth you will probably get different sound but exactly what us “better” sound ?
You already own the best digital front end there is ( a full Vivaldi Apex stack). What is wrong with that which could be improved? The only realistic way to improve on this for certain is to get a genuinely better ( not just alternative) digital front end. The answer to this is you could be one of the first to buy Varese when production starts 
.
As you have already realised ,use of other equipment tends to mean that you will lose other important aspects ( yes, wordclclok in a multi box system is important). In poarticualr virtually all external streamers require the use of USB. Although that can result in what initially sounds like good sound it is technically and audibly inferior to network connection to Vivaldi upsampler. Best Connection to other current dCS units is AES/EBU. You won’t find that there is anything better ( whatever that means) though, admittedly, interconnect brands will make a difference and you could play around with these.
There is a question about Roon as many , both here and elsewhere, have found that on SQ grounds there may be a loss compared to Mosaic. I cannot comment as Roon’s attributes are not of interest to me and I am only recording that his common opinion exists. However if the music management aspects are important I would imagine that one would want to retain them.
Aside from your personal taste in what makes your preferred interconnect the one thing that I have found to unambiguously improve both UPnP and streaming service sound relates to NAS and network switch. However why this is so is unclear. NB: where streaming services are a pass through via the NAS unit.
A couple of years ago I remember that you found that Qobuz was not sounding very good for you. I tried to help but what was the outcome?
Hi Pete, how are you? Thanks for your note.
As a matter of fact, I’me pretty happy with my Vivaldi and I don’t believe that I’ll ever replace it with a Varese, unless my dealer comes up with a crazy economic proposition. But even then, it’s too much money and I don’t like the idea of a 6-piece unit adding the transport.
Since we last talked, I’ve greatly improved my network playback by, inter alia, (i) creating a direct connection between the router and my Upsampler, (ii) placing a very good ethernet switch as well as a noce filter in the network (respectively, Innuos Phoenix Net and Network Acoustics Muon Pro), (iii) upgrading all of my ethernet cables, (iv) powering all network devices (including the router) with an external linear power supply (Plixir) and grounding each of them via ground boxes (Entreq), etc. As a result of the above, streaming and hi-res playback in my system is now on par with (if not better than) cd redbook out of my Vivaldi Transport (which I still love very much).
What I believe can be improved is hi-res files management and streaming.
I currently keep all of my files into a Roon Nucleus and stream music using Mosaic and Roon. I prefer Mosaic to Roon but I don’t find Mosaic a user friendly app. Hence my post.
I’ve so fa tried the Aurender N20 also because of its nice integration with the dCS environment (including the dongle) but the lack of an additional dual AES connection forced me to give it back to my dealer as the USB connection was a non-starter.
I’m wondering whether other units to be utilized as server only (or potentially streamer as an alternative to the Upsampler) such as Pink Faun, Innuos or Grimm or the like could make sense and I’ll try to audition them in my system and listen with my ears but in the meantime I’d be interested if someone else in this forum has had any similar experience.
Many thanks,
Franco
Ditto 
As you may know I don’t like to make recommendations. But don’t overlook Melco NI or N5 as NAS and for streaming service internet pass through. There is a selectable full streaming too with dedicated app but I suggest stick to using as NAS.They have network connection out to dCS in this role.Use of the full streaming option involves USB connection (as usual) which is less desirable.
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I recently bought the Aurender N20 but had problems connecting it in combination with the Vivaldi clock. The only option to play dsd files without errors was to disable the clock and set the Vivaldi DAC to “audio”. After doing this I did not believe what I heard at first…a much better placement and depth in the image. After a full week of playing in this combination I decided to sell my clock. I can then upgrade my DAC to apex from the sale.
I use roon on a homemade fanless w11 pc. The Shunyata omega XLR cable and a netgear mesh pro orbi router.
Quote, “I don’t find Mosaic a user friendly app” is one I agree with. Although I could well use my Bartok to stream from Tidal and Qobuz, I always end up using the Conductor app on my Aurender. I would love to use Mosaic streaming direct via internet rather than usb. However, it loses out on use, look and feel. I only wish dCS will invest in developing a more “friendly” version of Mosaic, along the lines of the Conductor app. I will go further and add, I would not mind paying an annual fee licence fee to fund the continuous development and maintainance of such a version of Mosaic.
,dCS introduced Mosaic way back when with the caveat ( if I remember correctly), that it was not intended to be all singing and dancing but to serve typical average users.
Since then features have been added as the app is continuously under development. However time has moved on since its introduction and perhaps dCS should consider whether or not it now meets what should be expected from a top of the market product.
There is a further development of it for Varese - Mosaic Actus. However as Varese is not yet in production nobody has had an opportunity to find out exactly what it may do compared to the existing version. This might imply two Mosaic versions, one for Varese customers, the other for us hoi polloi.
I was going to write that I have been using Mosaic for the last 8 years and am perfectly happy. However before doing this I tried replicating as far as I could the screenshots in Aurender’s Conductor page online but by using Mosaic. I immediately found all kinds of issues with the search function which at this level of product should really not exist. dCS or their partners concerning the design of Mosaic should undertake more research with real users which may relieve some concerns.
With regard to:
This request may get better results if you could be more specific about what you want. Ultimately you will need to communicate with engineers who usually want some degree of precision. “Friendly” reminds me of an anecdote from the singer/songwriter Janis Ian. She had to sing the theme for a TV ad for for a breakfast product. Part way through the recording session one of the advertising execs called a halt and asked her to make it sound “more eggy” !
Anyway, I have dealt with numerous queries about Mosaic over the years and take your post as important and the suggestion of an improved version but paid for is good thinking IMO. I too may be happy with such a thing. However I will just mention that Mosaic as it is isn’t really free. It just appears to be. Its cost was included somewhere in the unit purchase price.
Maybe the idea of a super, paid for, Mosaic deserves its own thread.
Edit: I guess that I need to mention that Mosaic basically reflects the NAS server software. Thus with a licensed version of MinimSerer 2 users can largely configure it to meet their needs by adding features. You might be able to do this. For example I changed mine to include a display of track numbers and to ( If I want) show all artist or other terms beginning with letter, say, F, rather than generating a giant list of everything A-Z.
I use Mosaic with MInimServer on my NAS and I have absolutely no complaints. MinimServer allows me to tune what I see to exactly what I want it to be. I have alpha indexes set, so I can get to artists under X very quickly. Of course MinimServer requires your music to be tagged correctly and consistently, otherwise no chance to go search for Beethoven.
If tagging is not your thing, then I guess you would need to have your library tagged by SongKong (significant learning curve), which works very well with MinimServer, or else look at Roon, if you want high gloss magazine type browsing. But I would imagine a Roon-like experience to be beyond the resources of dCS. It would be great however to have Roon with Mosaic like SQ. Maybe a cooperation between dCS and Roon, like the one with jPlay?
I’m using my Innuos Sense SW to stream directly (via Ethernet) to dCS (Rossini is target).
Sense integrates local music (NAS), Qobuz, Tidal and radio.
Easy to use and I can control backups, firmware updates etc.
For Innuos owner (and for those who don’t want to use roon) it’s straight forward…
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How do you connect your Innuos to the Rossini? Thanks.
How do you connect your Innuos to the Rossini? Thanks.
So the Rossini and the Innuos are connected to two different inputs of the switch?
Right_
Rossini is connected to port 1
Innuos is connected to port 3 or 4
Roon nucleus on port 2
The screenshot shows the “target” as “active player”. Innuos found two player- Squeezbox Touch and dCS.
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Thanks. Why do you use the Roon Nucleus alongside the Innuos?
I own a Roon Nucleus and I am considering to replace it with a superior server such as potentially Innuos or Melco or Grimm, etc.
I had the Nucleus before I bought my Innuos. Innuos replaced Melco, Melco replaced Synology/Qnap 
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