[Big Red Machine]

My paradigm is etherneting the Touch to the network and back to the computer which has an external HD attached.

Is there any sonic advantage to just connecting the hard drive directly to the Touch via USB? 

Will the computer still link to it and control the Touch via SC?

[firedog]

No sonic advantage. In fact, in some systems it may introduce noise from the HD or the HD PS into the Touch.

When you attach an external HD to the Touch, it activates the internal version of  SB server, Tiny SB. Your Touch then runs off of that and not off of the SC on your PC server. Tiny SB is much the same as the big version, but you lose some secondary functions, like the plugins. Some users report good results in sonics and usability this way, others don't. Apparently some external HDs work well with the Touch, and some don't. You just have to try your drive and see.

[Big Red Machine]

Much  appreciated.  I didn't even know the Touch had a USB and SD slot until today.

And as I often outsmart myself, I wanted to check with the pro's.

[rbbert]

Is anyone here running the Touch with a NAS drive as the main file source (with the server software running on the NAS, Touch connecting wirelessly over the network?)

[JEaton]

Is anyone here running the Touch with a NAS drive as the main file source (with the server software running on the NAS, Touch connecting wirelessly over the network?)

I'm not, but many people do this. An NAS is nothing more than a computer, so it's the euqivalent of running the server on a computer on the network.

The problem with many NASs, though, is that they're very low in computing power, so they don't run Squeezebox Server particularly well. Some are so sluggish that it's not recommended at all. You can buy NASs that are capable (generally those with Atom processors) but they're expensive. You could buy an NAS with a dual-core Atom processor or put together a small PC with that same processor and more memory for 1/3 the cost.

[eclein]

Vortexbox appliances are pretty cheap now....smallgreencomputer.com  sells 2tb ones now for $499.  They were a bit cheaper before but that's pretty good and they work great.

[pardales]

No sonic advantage. In fact, in some systems it may introduce noise from the HD or the HD PS into the Touch.

When you attach an external HD to the Touch, it activates the internal version of  SB server, Tiny SB. Your Touch then runs off of that and not off of the SC on your PC server. Tiny SB is much the same as the big version, but you lose some secondary functions, like the plugins. Some users report good results in sonics and usability this way, others don't. Apparently some external HDs work well with the Touch, and some don't. You just have to try your drive and see.

I have my WD hard-drive hooked directly to my SBT and it works great - especially controlled from my iPod Touch app.. The first HD I plugged into it did not work. So it does depend on the drive. I have not compared SQ yet of direct connection vs. network connection. I also have not tried the SD slot though I will eventually. I am about to try the Bolder modded Jerome power supply on the SBT to see what difference it makes. Then, maybe the digital-out mod.

[Len_Dreyer]

I have my WD hard-drive hooked directly to my SBT and it works great - especially controlled from my iPod Touch app.. The first HD I plugged into it did not work. So it does depend on the drive. I have not compared SQ yet of direct connection vs. network connection. I also have not tried the SD slot though I will eventually. I am about to try the Bolder modded Jerome power supply on the SBT to see what difference it makes. Then, maybe the digital-out mod.

Pardales, what size hard drive are you using and how full is it? Also, is it usb powered or does it have an external power supply? Thanks.