Need advice on what to purchase to hold 1TB of music and connect to my new Innuos Pulsar.

@phishhhhh4 

Can you provide me with a link to NAS you purchased? Seems I have to return my Samsung SSD and USB cable.  
 

@lalitk thank you so much for this simple answer. I assume the Samsung SSD only takes a type C connector. Which AQ cable do you use? The one linked? 

@antigrunge2 what specific NAS do you suggest and why do you think I need this added cost/complexity? Thank you.

Thank you @drrsutliff and everyone else here. Looks like I am all set to purchase the Samsung SSD linked above. Easy and cost cost effective. Perfect!

I will either build my own usb cable and add the adaptor to C or buy the AQ.  

 @vonhelmholtz  that is an interesting option.  I assume, not sure, the sound quality is not as good? 

Ok now I am even more confused. How does a NAS hook up? No direct storage, meaning no external SSD drive? I just ordered an SSD as linked above.  Oh my, Innuos really!

Seems I have to use a NAS? If so, it must connect in some manner. Perhaps an Ethernet jack? Innuos should have built this thing to allow for simple direct SSD or thumb drive.  Big miss in my opinion.  

I have a lifetime Roon membership, but only use Sense because it sounds so much better. Therefore, I have no need to use my Pulsar as a Roon endpoint only. Really am disappointed I have to buy a NAS with the added complexity of processing built inside these NAS units. Probably also need to power the NAS with an LPS to get the best sound and avoid introducing unwanted noise. 
 

I really feel Innuos needs to offer direct connectivity of a nice SSD. I have owned the Zen, Zenith and now the Pulsar so I am a big Innuos fan.  The Pulsar sounds better than the Zenith and by a good margin when streaming. I would still buy the Pulsar knowing this issue, but it is unfortunate.  
 

@asvjerry

I don’t see me ripping anymore CDs or buying music files in the future. Since I have 1100 CDs ripped only using some 60% of 1TB, it seems reasonable to buy a 1TB. I will look at 2Tb since it is only a little more money 🙂.

@thyname

My Raid is simply two HDD drives storing my music. The second redundant drive is a backup in case the first one fails. No ethernet connection so won’t work with the Pulsar. I purchased this for backup only, not intended for daily use.

@thyname

Tbe Samsung SSD drive cost me $69 and if direct connectivity was allowed that would be my cost. Nice.

A NAS will cost me at least $300-$400 and many cost upwards of $600-$700. In addition, I will need to buy an LPS to power it if I want the best performance. So much added cost and complexity compared to a simple direct USB thumb drive or SSD. Am I missing something here? Learning fast now 😬.

Love to see links for a 1-2Tb NAS in the $200 range. Is this possible for a good one?

I did contact Innuos and shared my disappointment in a constructive manner. 

The Pulsar is like a Zenith 3 plus Phoenix in sound quality or so I read. Not sure this is really true. I loved my Zenith 3 and will miss its ease if use with internal storage. The Zenith 3 also rips CDs and auto loads them. The Pulsar costs some $1100 more than the Zenith 3 with no CD ripping ability or storage. Not too much to ask for the ability to plug in a USB thumb drive or SSD. No cannibalizing worries here in my opinion.

I have always owned Innuos units with internal storage so I did not have to deal with all this stuff I am now researching. I suppose it’s good to learn something new!

@phishhhhh4 

That is the big question here. My experience with those cheap switch mode wall warts is they inject noise into your digital front end without fail.  Will this also play out on a NAS? I’m not sure why it wouldn’t! 

@chilehed 

Well, I sold it. 

@chilehed

My thoughts and experience match yours 100%. I stream most of the time as I find it sounds as good or often times better than ripped CDs. The Pulsar will sound better than the Pulse and Zenith 3. I good friend compared his Zenith 3 to a Pulsar in his system over a 2-3 week period and he much preferred the Pulsar. He said the Pulsar exceed the Zenith in every sonic parameter. He is very impressed with the Pulsar. I will share my thoughts after full burn in of some 200-300 hours.

Innuos told me a NAS should sound as good as the internal storage in the Zenith.

Understand.  Hope you are correct! Thank you @phishhhhh4 

@thyname 

Funny, I owned the Phoenix reclocker and sold it after realizing it did not improve my systems sound quality with my then new MOJO Audio dac.