Coputer or NAS

A NAS is a computer and has an operating system. As long as the device you are using can connect to it over a network, has the software to provide an interface to choose items from the NAS like JRiver or an Oppo 103/105 you should be all set. It will be a learning curve so expect to get frustrated. But once done it is a lot of fun.

I see. I'm not sure if the Logitech Squeesbox has the interface to choose the item from the NAS. I'll have to read more about it.
Thank you for your answer.

If you are going to use a DAC you may have to use a computer so you can use the digital or USB outputs to your DAC. I do not know if you can play Hires from a NAS connected via a network directly. I have not tried it with my Oppo yet. I will try it this weekend and inform you when done. So all this means is it depends on the equipment you are connecting to the network is smart enough.

The NAS is easier to maintain and a must if you want to use central storage or stream other media like movies.
Some NAS come with bundled software for the Logitech like the Synology. A great value/money is their DS212j (2 bay storage) that currently comes up nowadays for $160. Pop in some fast HDDs (best to use the red version), start the Logitech Media Server and you're done! The SBT should be best connected wired to avoid rebuffering on hirez files (if they are installed in different rooms). If you dont want to put new wires, you can try the Ethernet-on-powerlines adapters; a starter set (two of them) cost around $60-70.

A dedicated (modern) PC is faster but you need to have them in the same room. I recommend using JRiver and JRemote.
I have this solution for my HT room but not for the 2 ch listening room where silence is appreciated.

You right. I'll use either digital or USAB output from the Logitech to the DAC, and I'm hoping that the Logitech can recive the Hires files via the network. I'm looking forward to hear if it works with your Oppo.

NAS stands for Network Aware Server. It is a hard drive that connects to your network through the router, just like a network printer.

In the same manner that every computer on your "home network" or INTRA-Net can print to one Network Printer, those same computers can share files centrally on the Network Aware Server.

The learning curve isn't difficult at all, it's just not the same as each computer having its own usb printer or usb external hard drive. To use a network printer, each computer needs a driver that sets printing services to send the job to the network printer.

To use a Network Aware Server, you would access its web based setup from a computer, and in the NAS's setup allow it to share with only the computers you want.

NAS drives can be set up in a couple of different patterns. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives. RAID 1 would have two drives in the same enclosure running as mirrors. If one drive dies, the other still has a copy of the data. So an NAS with two 1 terabyte drives has an effective size of 1 terabyte.
Another RAID pattern you could chose is called Spanning, the data is spanned across both drives, no mirror image. Another term for that is JBOD (just a bunch of drives). In that scenario, two 1 Tb drives equals a 2 TB NAS. The disadvantage there is that if data is lost on one of the two drives, none of the data can be accessed from even the survivor. RAID 1 is safer in my opinion.

I just purchased the SONOS Connect and love it. I can access the NAS from either a smartphone or tablet, which are quieter and easier to use than a laptop or desktop computer. The SONOS has two kinds of outputs, digital into your own DAC, or analog (L/R) into your preamp's aux in

If you think about it, the NAS and Network server makes sense, especially down the road. The sound is very good, and if you have a computer on a router, why not take advantage of the infrastructure that already exists. There's no need to own more than one printer for the same reason.

Thank you guys for the info. It's very informative and I feel more confident now to go with the NAS and not computer.

Western Digital has one and two drive NAS unit's available. I would of course recommend the two drive unit set up RAID 1 (mirror). The drives are user replaceable, so if one drive in a mirror fails, you can replace it with a standard SATA drive and be on your way. If the motherboard were to fail, I would expect the drives could be moved to another housing to salvage your data.
You can plug an external USB drive into the WD NAS units to expand storage BUT that external USB drive will only work with that NAS and it's volumes (which I think is stupid).

I'm not sure about the Logitech unit you have, but my Sonos can access the NAS while every other computer is off. Sonos has free apps for either computers, tablets or smartphones. Download the App, find the Sonos over your wireless network, and it's intuitive from there. You can have multiple devices (such as smartphones) loaded with the app to control the sonos, so anyone in the family can access the music. And you can have more than one Sonos ("Connect" is I think the model) access the same NAS, meaning you can control and play music from any room in the house without affecting another Sonos on your network.

NAS is a great way to make the data available to anyone or anything on the home network.

I am also interested in any success stories people might share regarding running Logitech Media Server on a NAS type device with multiple Squeeze clients connected.

NAS is network Attached Storage.

It has no participation in the management or configuration of a network but rather is just a dumb box with lots of storage space that is plugged into your network.