Just a tip to fellow audio DIYers. This is a simple 2 bay NAS with high throughput via gigabit ethernet and no practical limitations on such for playback of high res video and audio. It is the EX2 Ultra that is the one as it has a dual core 1.3 GHz ARM CPU and 1 gb RAM. These can be had for 75 to 100 Euro without disks as many buy these in package deal just for the 2 harddisks. In a package deal the NAS is almost for free and is then offered on web sites thereby giving the owner even lower costs for the 2 hard disks. The questionable (spoiler: undeserved) reputation of the EX2 Ultra also comes to play but more on that later. In practice the devices are dumped in favor of more expensive NAS devices.
They are constructed reasonably sturdy although mainly made of plastic. Harddisks can be mounted in a metal internal frame without tools. The many ventilation holes and a small fan with variable rpm make that hard disks don't heat up too much. As common the noise of the disks and fan are too much for listening environments so they are best placed away from the audio spot. After having tried out all major brands I gave these a try and now have a few of them running. Yes, I have had or still have QNAP, Synology etc. As it is a simple device one notices there are only a few plug-ins/apps available but for it being a audio/video server we don't need much plug-ins/apps in general. The WD is in this aspect quite pale compared to for instance Synology. Contrary to other WD devices the EX2 Ultra accepts 3.5" harddisks from all brands, but no 2.5" hardisks or SSD's! Positive of the lack of apps is that the device focusses on some main features without added clutter. Essential things like backup got attention just as replicating to another EX2 Ultra (this is good as loss of albums is terrible). Configuration of all this is easy even to slightly experienced persons. The lack of apps makes that the device boots fast.
There were some inconveniences with the old 3.xx firmware but in the middle of Covid WD engineers apparently used the time to develop new 5.xx firmware from the ground up. When this firmware was launched new inconveniences came out and reputation became less favorable. Another product destined to be recycled after some years.
However, support by WD for this device seems ongoing so today we are on firmware version 5.13.115 which is the 12th revision in the 5.xx firmware line if I am not mistaking. A lot of things have been ironed out and ... now Twonky Server 8.5.2-5 can be added as an app. This is the most recent version and the license is in the WD firmware so no additional costs. This is what makes the EX2 Ultra a good buy as Twonky DLNA/UPnP server simply cuts the cake. Audio devices and video devices simply connect and I notice no issues whatsoever. So the simple but very fast thirteen-in-a-dozen device now suddenly has added value for audio/video...doing its main task so serving audio/video data in a smooth and issueless way, backing up to a second EX2 Ultra without hassle and all this for an affordable price. The ugly duckling now even surpasses some of the beautiful appearing swans.
Only severe cost cutting I have noticed is the lack of a power switch. This can be solved by going to the web page of the device and then choose "sleep". Waking it up can be done with the free MiniWOL tool. We circumvented the lack of a power switch somewhat and limit energy consumption. If it is better for the harddisks is debatable but since there's 2 of these in RAID 1 the risks seem acceptable. Like usual it is advisable to have an extra harddisk of the same brand/type/size in stock to be able to limit risk of loss of valuable content adequately. Simplest safe scenario seems 1 x EX2 Ultra and 3 harddisks, optimal and "premium" scenario seems 2 x EX2 Ultra and 5 harddisks. Warning: the device is equipped with bicolor LEDs which emit the famous cosy blue LED light when conditions are normal. There will probably be a back door of sorts in the device as common but I choose not to bother. The cloud function is not used by me as it seems a back door by definition 😀
Tweaking4All.nl - miniWOL v2 - Snel en Eenvoudig Wake On LAN Utility
As costs are low I haven't bothered to check the quality of caps in these devices in detail but they appear to be industrial quality types. The power supply however will likely be the bottle neck but since it is 12V 3A many replacements can be found. Or build a linear one as a DIY challenge 🙂
Some info on Twonky:
Twonky
They are constructed reasonably sturdy although mainly made of plastic. Harddisks can be mounted in a metal internal frame without tools. The many ventilation holes and a small fan with variable rpm make that hard disks don't heat up too much. As common the noise of the disks and fan are too much for listening environments so they are best placed away from the audio spot. After having tried out all major brands I gave these a try and now have a few of them running. Yes, I have had or still have QNAP, Synology etc. As it is a simple device one notices there are only a few plug-ins/apps available but for it being a audio/video server we don't need much plug-ins/apps in general. The WD is in this aspect quite pale compared to for instance Synology. Contrary to other WD devices the EX2 Ultra accepts 3.5" harddisks from all brands, but no 2.5" hardisks or SSD's! Positive of the lack of apps is that the device focusses on some main features without added clutter. Essential things like backup got attention just as replicating to another EX2 Ultra (this is good as loss of albums is terrible). Configuration of all this is easy even to slightly experienced persons. The lack of apps makes that the device boots fast.
There were some inconveniences with the old 3.xx firmware but in the middle of Covid WD engineers apparently used the time to develop new 5.xx firmware from the ground up. When this firmware was launched new inconveniences came out and reputation became less favorable. Another product destined to be recycled after some years.
However, support by WD for this device seems ongoing so today we are on firmware version 5.13.115 which is the 12th revision in the 5.xx firmware line if I am not mistaking. A lot of things have been ironed out and ... now Twonky Server 8.5.2-5 can be added as an app. This is the most recent version and the license is in the WD firmware so no additional costs. This is what makes the EX2 Ultra a good buy as Twonky DLNA/UPnP server simply cuts the cake. Audio devices and video devices simply connect and I notice no issues whatsoever. So the simple but very fast thirteen-in-a-dozen device now suddenly has added value for audio/video...doing its main task so serving audio/video data in a smooth and issueless way, backing up to a second EX2 Ultra without hassle and all this for an affordable price. The ugly duckling now even surpasses some of the beautiful appearing swans.
Only severe cost cutting I have noticed is the lack of a power switch. This can be solved by going to the web page of the device and then choose "sleep". Waking it up can be done with the free MiniWOL tool. We circumvented the lack of a power switch somewhat and limit energy consumption. If it is better for the harddisks is debatable but since there's 2 of these in RAID 1 the risks seem acceptable. Like usual it is advisable to have an extra harddisk of the same brand/type/size in stock to be able to limit risk of loss of valuable content adequately. Simplest safe scenario seems 1 x EX2 Ultra and 3 harddisks, optimal and "premium" scenario seems 2 x EX2 Ultra and 5 harddisks. Warning: the device is equipped with bicolor LEDs which emit the famous cosy blue LED light when conditions are normal. There will probably be a back door of sorts in the device as common but I choose not to bother. The cloud function is not used by me as it seems a back door by definition 😀
Tweaking4All.nl - miniWOL v2 - Snel en Eenvoudig Wake On LAN Utility
As costs are low I haven't bothered to check the quality of caps in these devices in detail but they appear to be industrial quality types. The power supply however will likely be the bottle neck but since it is 12V 3A many replacements can be found. Or build a linear one as a DIY challenge 🙂
Some info on Twonky:
Twonky
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Today again a new firmware release 5.14.108, and a new virusscanner app and a new USB backup app. For those that are looking for a good and affordable NAS for digital audio storage/server purposes.
I am looking into building a server so this sounds interesting. Have you compared it to dedicated servers sound wise? The website lists your location as Germany yet the flag is Dutch and name French. I’ll read the Dutch article and work on my reading. It’s been a while.
Hi I made the choice to use one of these as a server for my audio files and I don't hear differences in audio quality compared to the other devices I have. It just works reliable, boots very fast and I experience no issues at all which in itself is worth the recommendation. The updates don't seem to stop as we are on firmware 5.15.106 since July which is the fourteenth version of the OS 5 branch.
Please note we are talking about a 75 Euro device performing like a champ. That is something different than a Roon Nucleus 😀 I prefer it over QNAP/Synology devices.
Did you just assume my nationality? 🙂 Regular EU mix here and proud of it.
Please note we are talking about a 75 Euro device performing like a champ. That is something different than a Roon Nucleus 😀 I prefer it over QNAP/Synology devices.
Did you just assume my nationality? 🙂 Regular EU mix here and proud of it.
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Thanks for the reply. I am still researching. Using an old MacBook right now. I did not assume anything. Just curious and in way way trying to offend. What is see in the post is your name a , I think, Dutch flag and underneath a join date and by location it says Germany. And you quoted an article that was written in Dutch. That would be interesting to me as I was born there and studied there and live in the states. That’s all.
This NAS is different from using a laptop or pc as it is meant to serve files as main feature. That is what it does quite well/fast/silent without much energy consumption and without high risk of losing data when using 2 disks in RAID 1.
Oh no offense taken, you missed the "🙂" probably. I try to speak all 3 languages and live in Germany so I am used to German but like you I am Dutch originally. Niks aan de hand.
Oh no offense taken, you missed the "🙂" probably. I try to speak all 3 languages and live in Germany so I am used to German but like you I am Dutch originally. Niks aan de hand.
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Remember RAID is not a backup. The RAID array has redundancy so it has no interruption in service. It does not have redundancy for data safety.
The NAS for just the disk thing is something we call "Drive shucking". Great exciting job. Always on the hunt for good deals.
The caps etc in these are unlikely to fail. From the dozens and dozens of broken NAS's I've seen and handled, none were dead because of caps. They don't perform a super critical task.
The NAS for just the disk thing is something we call "Drive shucking". Great exciting job. Always on the hunt for good deals.
The caps etc in these are unlikely to fail. From the dozens and dozens of broken NAS's I've seen and handled, none were dead because of caps. They don't perform a super critical task.
Yes a known fact but still it is way better than a single disk in a laptop or desktop computer. Just the fact that the NAS stays put where one places it makes up for less risk of failure.
* Which defective NASses you see most often? I think Synology with broken CPUs? BTW even when electrolytic caps don't perform a critical task the leaking of electrolyte when they bulge can be damaging.
* Which defective NASses you see most often? I think Synology with broken CPUs? BTW even when electrolytic caps don't perform a critical task the leaking of electrolyte when they bulge can be damaging.
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I haven't seen leaky electrolytics yet. They don't seem stressed that much. Only in units with a built in power supply do you see that they suffer from lack of airflow.
The units I have seen most defects in are indeed Synology NAS's. I don't think it's specifically Synology being bad. They seem to be a more prevalent brand nowadays. A while back I'd still see them with broken Atom chips (the known premature degradation.) Broken traces from vibration has also happened, though I don't know how.
The units I have seen most defects in are indeed Synology NAS's. I don't think it's specifically Synology being bad. They seem to be a more prevalent brand nowadays. A while back I'd still see them with broken Atom chips (the known premature degradation.) Broken traces from vibration has also happened, though I don't know how.
No Synology for me anymore. When they die they are often practically irrepairable. QNAP is more reliable but at a price. Both brands have a tendency to put bloatware on the devices.
They also offer a vast amount of apps which can be overwhelming. Boot up time can therefor be annoyingly long.
I have a few of the EX2 Ultra and like them. They seem best bang for the buck. Makes one wonder why people do the “disk shucking” with the 2 disk EX2 Ultra. To put the disks in a Synology NAS 🙂
They also offer a vast amount of apps which can be overwhelming. Boot up time can therefor be annoyingly long.
I have a few of the EX2 Ultra and like them. They seem best bang for the buck. Makes one wonder why people do the “disk shucking” with the 2 disk EX2 Ultra. To put the disks in a Synology NAS 🙂
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Probably... Different device and it was April 25, 2018. Today is August 17, 2021 and just in the last 1.5 year there were 15 updates for the completely revised OS 5. In 2018 devices of the same family still were on OS 3.
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For those interested: yesterday I tried out a budget model QNAP TS-230 (in baby blue which is a first 🙂) with quad core 1.4 GHz ARM CPU and 2 gb DDR4 RAM. The EX2 Ultra with its dual core 1.3 GHz ARM CPU and only 1 gb DDR3 RAM is much faster in booting and file transfer. At QNAP focus is on many apps and features but less on fast booting and practical everyday use. The warning message when setting it up that China government wishes to monitor devices was a little strange. After setting it up recommendations to buy extra modules/apps/licenses (whaaat!?!?) and many warning messages that one should do this and that. I sent it back.
Also the nth firmware and app updates for the EX2 Ultra came out only yesterday. WD seems to have a strong wish to maintain their stuff.
Also the nth firmware and app updates for the EX2 Ultra came out only yesterday. WD seems to have a strong wish to maintain their stuff.
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