Javier
Administrator
Digital bytes
Posts: 986
|
Post by Javier on Feb 18, 2014 9:26:24 GMT
I've just checked the N-50 manual and on page 22 it clearly states only FAT and FAT32 are supported. If your dribve is NTFS formatted as Jeff says then it will not be recognised by the Pio until you change it. For that, you'll need to connect the HDD to a PC and format it to FAT32 making sure you select a cluster size of 4K. I suspect the Pioneer won't support modern type partitions so most probably, previous to formatting, you'll have to divide the space in one 2TB partition plus another 1TB one and then maybe it will only be able to access the 1st one.
|
|
Crispy
very active
Madrigal music is playing - Voices can faintly be heard, "Please leave this patient undisturbed."
Posts: 776
|
Post by Crispy on Feb 18, 2014 14:18:26 GMT
I've just checked the N-50 manual and on page 22 it clearly states only FAT and FAT32 are supported. If your dribve is NTFS formatted as Jeff says then it will not be recognised by the Pio until you change it. For that, you'll need to connect the HDD to a PC and format it to FAT32 making sure you select a cluster size of 4K. I suspect the Pioneer won't support modern type partitions so most probably, previous to formatting, you'll have to divide the space in one 2TB partition plus another 1TB one and then maybe it will only be able to access the 1st one. Thanks Javier & Jeff. I formatted the disc in NTFS when I very first bought it and took off all the backup crap etc, when it did not play I read the manual and it said Fat32 was supported. So I re-formatted the disc with FAt32 and still nothing. I will have to try again like you said Javier and partition it into maybe 3 1TB partitions as my music will only fill about 200gb and I will have to re-check the cluster size of 4k as I did not look last time (probably just used default - Whatever that is). If FAT32 fails I will then try just FAT. You don't think it has anything to do with the power requirements? Only guessing - I know quite a lot about computers but not stuff like this. Will keep you posted when I get a quiet period from driving. Chris
|
|
Crispy
very active
Madrigal music is playing - Voices can faintly be heard, "Please leave this patient undisturbed."
Posts: 776
|
Post by Crispy on Feb 21, 2014 11:42:14 GMT
I've just checked the N-50 manual and on page 22 it clearly states only FAT and FAT32 are supported. If your dribve is NTFS formatted as Jeff says then it will not be recognised by the Pio until you change it. For that, you'll need to connect the HDD to a PC and format it to FAT32 making sure you select a cluster size of 4K. I suspect the Pioneer won't support modern type partitions so most probably, previous to formatting, you'll have to divide the space in one 2TB partition plus another 1TB one and then maybe it will only be able to access the 1st one. Thanks Javier & Jeff. I formatted the disc in NTFS when I very first bought it and took off all the backup crap etc, when it did not play I read the manual and it said Fat32 was supported. So I re-formatted the disc with FAt32 and still nothing. I will have to try again like you said Javier and partition it into maybe 3 1TB partitions as my music will only fill about 200gb and I will have to re-check the cluster size of 4k as I did not look last time (probably just used default - Whatever that is). If FAT32 fails I will then try just FAT. You don't think it has anything to do with the power requirements? Only guessing - I know quite a lot about computers but not stuff like this. Will keep you posted when I get a quiet period from driving. Chris Javier, I found the time to format my 320GB USB powered HDD and my 3TB self powered HDD into Fat32 & fat and partitioned it into a smaller 500gb but the pioneer will not recognise them - it just displays empty It is time for a big re-think? Just looked again through the manual and in the troubleshooting section it states "This device does not support the use of external hard disc drives" Now I know why it will not play them. I am now in two minds whether to get rid and pay a bit more for the stream magic - at least I know from Jeff it plays portable HDD's . So anybody considering buying a Pioneer N50 think twice if you want to keep and play all your music from a portable HDD.
|
|
Javier
Administrator
Digital bytes
Posts: 986
|
Post by Javier on Feb 21, 2014 12:13:11 GMT
For that kind of money I'd consider a barebone PC + a decent DAC and Daphile software, a Raspberry PI + RaspyFi or similar. You can achieve almost the same result at a lower cost.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2014 18:37:27 GMT
Javier, is there no workaround for this?? Some kind of dock or something (maybe like the one I linked to HERE ). Something that would "push" audio and act like a player??
|
|
Javier
Administrator
Digital bytes
Posts: 986
|
Post by Javier on Feb 23, 2014 9:43:28 GMT
I don't think so Jeff, the problem is that the Pio seems no to have a true HDD controller so no matter how you connect them it can't detect and manage disks. The only thing I can't think of is a compatible NAS, if there is one.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 22:20:58 GMT
Hi Chris, I took the liberty of asking a question on your behalf of Ed Selley, the technical support guy at Cambridge Audio. QUESTION :- Hi , hope you can help.
My friend bought a Pioneer N-50 recently and has just discovered that it "does not support the use of external hard disk drives". He wanted to use the player that way for the foresee-able future, but maybe go the NAS route at a later date.
He is thinking of selling the N-50 and buying either an NP-30 or a Stream Magic. On his behalf, can you tell me what is the maximum size of Hard disk drives both players can read, and does it matter whether they are mains powered or USB powered.
For more info please see the forum DIYAUDIOHEAVEN, the thread "My Streaming Journey", diyah.boards.net/threads/recent/346 ANSWER :- Dear Sir, thanks for you inquiry. If it is externally powered, up to 2tb ought to be achievable. Regards Ed SelleyHave you came to a decision about what you're going to do? It seems to me that you have a couple of choices depending on how you want to listen to your music library. If you are dead set on listening via a big portable HDD (and why not?) then it would appear your only choice is sell the N-50 and buy a Cambridge NP-30 or Stream Magic (or of course any other player which can read large HDD's.) At least you know the Cambridge duo will read up to 2TB mains powered, which would I guess be ideal. The main difference as far as I can see between the Stream Magic and the NP-30 is in their choice of DAC. The Stream Magic's DAC allows the use of up 192Khz files, but only 'pushed' from a computer into its rear type B USB, not streamed over the network or via normal USB type A (like out of a portable HDD). It plays 24/96 any and every way - streamed, HDD, or pushed - and upsamples everything to 32/384. The NP-30 can "only" handle up to 24/96, but otherwise has most of the functionality of the S-M. TBH, I've only used the 24/192 capability 3 or 4 times to play my only genuine 24/192 files, some Eagles albums. I R8BRN'd a copy of them down to 24/96 and I can't tell the difference with the upsampling going on. There's no way to switch off the upsampling either. Anyway, bottom line, I think if I were to do it again I would have had a good long demo of both rather than just automatically assuming the more expensive player was worth the extra money. Isn't it always the same??
Or of course you could spend some more money on a NAS drive and a couple of 2TB HDD's and stream your library to your player. Your choice. Don't know if this tempts you or not , but Richer's are doing NP-30's for £199 ATM Cambridge Audio NP-30
I realise I probably come over as a bit of a Cambridge fan-boy, and maybe I am. I have had various products of theirs over the years including a CD4SE, a CD-500, early DAC-Magics, late DAC-Magics, and their early pre-power combination, the C-500 and P-500. After deciding to bi-amp my Quad 22L's (at that time), I had a second P-500 power amp delivered to my mate's house and sneaked it onto my rack when my wife was at work hoping she wouldn't notice. Years later, on holiday on Gozo, in an alcohol-induced honesty jag, I told her how I had fooled her. She then explained that I hadn't fooled her, she had noticed the extra black box right away as she was "the only one who dusted things", but hadn't bothered to call me on it, as she knew hi-fi was my thing, and thought it would "be nice to let me think I had got one over on her" We always think we're so clever, don't we?? DIYAH's motto is 'Good sound at a good price' and I think Cambridge is a company with the same ethos. O.K., fan-boy mode now switched off . . .
|
|
Crispy
very active
Madrigal music is playing - Voices can faintly be heard, "Please leave this patient undisturbed."
Posts: 776
|
Post by Crispy on Feb 25, 2014 21:24:02 GMT
Have you came to a decision about what you're going to do? Hi Jeff, Thanks for your time and effort on my behalf, I have been extremely busy lately and I just can't seem to find the time like I used too I thought by the time my mortgage was paid off and I had reached (58) my age, I thought I would be on a slow wind down to retirement (ha ha - not a chance) too many bills to pay. Never mind I am not in any rush at the moment to make any rash choices again, I must have misread the info on the N50 as I was convinced it read portable HDD's and upsampled everything to 24/192 (Wrong on both accounts). When I do play it - either through flash drives or my laptop connected it still sounds good, so I may have to keep my options open at the moment, so long as I can have a listen when I get time that's fine with me. It was really good of you to ask them questions for me, and it is also good to know that the SM plays portable hdd's up to 2TB. I must admit I may even go the route Javier said and build a computer based system? then again it's finding time. I would like to see Javier do a thread on a silent computer based front end playing through speakers, just out of curiosity. Anyway it's late and I'm knackered and got to be up early for someones driving test tomorrow, so thanks again Jeff and i will keep you informed when I have more time to contribute to this forum Regards Chris
|
|
Javier
Administrator
Digital bytes
Posts: 986
|
Post by Javier on Feb 26, 2014 9:05:46 GMT
I would like to see Javier do a thread on a silent computer based front end playing through speakers, just out of curiosity. The type of computer/ish source would depend on what you want to do with it. Dedicated to audio or multipurpose? if the latter, high end or low end? if the former, just play bit perfect or process audio? what kind of output is needed (SPDIF, USB or analogue/onboard soundcard)?
|
|
Crispy
very active
Madrigal music is playing - Voices can faintly be heard, "Please leave this patient undisturbed."
Posts: 776
|
Post by Crispy on Mar 2, 2014 16:49:09 GMT
I have had a re-think on my N50 and have decided to keep it for now - simply because I can get a 3TB NAS from dabs @ £120. Which would be far cheaper than upgrading and I can use my portable 3tb hdd purely as a backup for everything on my computer. www.dabs.com/products/seagate-3tb-central-network-attached-storage-nas-8MXZ.htmlBefore I do I would be interested in what other members think of the above choice before I decide to buy, simply because i have made mistakes last time and you guys may see something I can't? Red mist and all that crap Cheers Chris
|
|
Dave
very active
Posts: 480
|
Post by Dave on Mar 2, 2014 17:47:45 GMT
|
|
Crispy
very active
Madrigal music is playing - Voices can faintly be heard, "Please leave this patient undisturbed."
Posts: 776
|
Post by Crispy on Mar 2, 2014 18:19:21 GMT
Thanks Dave, but you obviously haven't read the thread otherwise you would have known that the N50 does not support portable HDD's. I don't know why it doesn't - but I have found the address of Pioneer UK so I will drop them a line to see if it is a software or hardware problem?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2014 20:31:58 GMT
I have had a re-think on my N50 and have decided to keep it for now - simply because I can get a 3TB NAS from dabs @ £120. Which would be far cheaper than upgrading and I can use my portable 3tb hdd purely as a backup for everything on my computer. www.dabs.com/products/seagate-3tb-central-network-attached-storage-nas-8MXZ.htmlBefore I do I would be interested in what other members think of the above choice before I decide to buy, simply because i have made mistakes last time and you guys may see something I can't? Red mist and all that crap Cheers Chris Hi Chris, Looks OK to me. DLNA certified. 3TB. Seagate is a well known brand. Only one thing I would investigate further. I notice it mentions twice in the info about connecting to a router to allow you to stream wirelessly. Does this mean that it must be connected to a router rather than straight Ethernet from the NAS to the player? I (maybe wrongly) assume that this would be your first preference? Ethernet straight from the NAS to the player?? Reason I ask is that IIRC , wireless connectivity on the N-50 was an optional extra. Do you have the N-50 wireless dongle? Hi-fi critics seem to agree that the best, most secure connection between NAS and player is wired i.e. Ethernet. Especially with higher bit rates. In my own situation my NAS/router is about 6 M away from my S-M, at the other end of the room behind a sofa. I initially went to the trouble of feeding cat5 from the router to the player. One night I thought I would do an experiment. My Stream Magic was telling me it was receiving a WiFi signal of around 95% signal strength. I started playing some 24/96 albums and changed between wired and wireless. Tried and tried but couldn't hear any difference whatsoever! So got rid of the ugly cable. My router is nothing special, an old one (now) that came with my Sky HD+ box. Never had any problems at all, no dropouts or other nasties. So AFAIC nothing wrong with wireless if you have a good strong signal. So - things to check. Can it output music directly from its ethernet port straight to the player? (I bet it can and I'm being a right computer dunderheid! Javier will probably be ROFL at the moment) If it can then there's no need to hook it into your router (unless you want to for other streaming reasons) and you could just tuck it in behind your rack somewhere hooked in with a few few feet of cat5. If it can't push directly and must feed a router you could always buy a cheap router, hook it up and stick the whole lot behind the rack. Or if you have a wireless aerial for the N-50, and you're getting a strong wireless signal, use your current router. Chris, I remember you mentioning that you were fairly computer literate, so I'm hoping that you can understand what I'm trying to get across through my witless, rambling post. If you can't, and God knows I'd understand if you didn't, let me know and I'll try to explain it better. Jeff
|
|
Dave
very active
Posts: 480
|
Post by Dave on Mar 2, 2014 20:35:13 GMT
Hi Chris, Oooops, yes you're right - sorry!! I just saw the price for 3TB and thought I could save you a bob or two. Cheers, Dave.
|
|
Crispy
very active
Madrigal music is playing - Voices can faintly be heard, "Please leave this patient undisturbed."
Posts: 776
|
Post by Crispy on Mar 4, 2014 15:50:07 GMT
I have had a re-think on my N50 and have decided to keep it for now - simply because I can get a 3TB NAS from dabs @ £120. Which would be far cheaper than upgrading and I can use my portable 3tb hdd purely as a backup for everything on my computer. www.dabs.com/products/seagate-3tb-central-network-attached-storage-nas-8MXZ.htmlBefore I do I would be interested in what other members think of the above choice before I decide to buy, simply because i have made mistakes last time and you guys may see something I can't? Red mist and all that crap Cheers Chris Hi Chris, Looks OK to me. DLNA certified. 3TB. Seagate is a well known brand. Only one thing I would investigate further. I notice it mentions twice in the info about connecting to a router to allow you to stream wirelessly. Does this mean that it must be connected to a router rather than straight Ethernet from the NAS to the player? I (maybe wrongly) assume that this would be your first preference? Ethernet straight from the NAS to the player?? Reason I ask is that IIRC , wireless connectivity on the N-50 was an optional extra. Do you have the N-50 wireless dongle? Hi-fi critics seem to agree that the best, most secure connection between NAS and player is wired i.e. Ethernet. Especially with higher bit rates. In my own situation my NAS/router is about 6 M away from my S-M, at the other end of the room behind a sofa. I initially went to the trouble of feeding cat5 from the router to the player. One night I thought I would do an experiment. My Stream Magic was telling me it was receiving a WiFi signal of around 95% signal strength. I started playing some 24/96 albums and changed between wired and wireless. Tried and tried but couldn't hear any difference whatsoever! So got rid of the ugly cable. My router is nothing special, an old one (now) that came with my Sky HD+ box. Never had any problems at all, no dropouts or other nasties. So AFAIC nothing wrong with wireless if you have a good strong signal. So - things to check. Can it output music directly from its ethernet port straight to the player? (I bet it can and I'm being a right computer dunderheid! Javier will probably be ROFL at the moment) If it can then there's no need to hook it into your router (unless you want to for other streaming reasons) and you could just tuck it in behind your rack somewhere hooked in with a few few feet of cat5. If it can't push directly and must feed a router you could always buy a cheap router, hook it up and stick the whole lot behind the rack. Or if you have a wireless aerial for the N-50, and you're getting a strong wireless signal, use your current router. Chris, I remember you mentioning that you were fairly computer literate, so I'm hoping that you can understand what I'm trying to get across through my witless, rambling post. If you can't, and God knows I'd understand if you didn't, let me know and I'll try to explain it better. Jeff Thanks Jeff. Totally forgot about the N50 wireless dongle Damn more money I had not thought of. Yeh everything made sense to me and I am not bothered about it connecting straight to my router which is in my back bedroom that I use as an office. It could be tucked away with the rest of my computer gear and that makes one thing less in my living room, which I am sure my missus will appreciate. I believe what you said when you said you cannot hear the difference between wired and wireless (lets face it radio is wireless and sounds good) so wireless to the N50 is not a problem for me, in fact it makes more sense. One thing I was thinking of was I keep all of my music on my PC and have it all well backed up, so is it possible to make my music HDD or the music folders available over the network and stream them from my pc to my N50? (Javier might be able to help here)? until I can find more funds. I have just wrote to Pioneer to see if the playing of HDD's is software or hardware related, I will keep you posted on any findings. Chris
|
|