Though DLNA and UPnP are different, for our purposes they are interchangeable. Thus the streaming signal path is almost like a train with locomotives at each end. Once your streamer-DAC and iPad control app know there's music available, they can send out requests for certain tracks, and sit back and wait while MinimServer does all the work on the NAS, finding the file and sending the data to the streamer. All UPnP devices look for this "music available here!" message. MinimServer will scan the folder, read the file tags such as artist, album name, track name, genre, and then broadcast availability on your network. You install MinimServer on the NAS, and then point it to the music folder. MinimServer or some other UPnP / DLNA server program knows and understands the inner workings of your NAS, and also knows how to tell the network that there’s music available. Besides, would you want a streamer that slows or crashes or hangs as often as your computer does? Building in complex file functions is not the high-fidelity way. The streamer should do as little processing as possible, and focus on sending the DAC a clean music stream. Some streamers can find shared folders on the network, but as with everything hi-fi, the high-end stuff goes for the leanest, fastest, simplest solutions. Well, a streaming DAC can receive and send data on the network, but it doesn’t know how to dig into a Synology or QNAP or Buffalo NAS and navigate the file structure, looking through various folders for music. So why on earth do you need one more program such as MinimServer to play music? Your NAS is also connected to the router. Your streaming DAC is connected to the router. (Except if you get a Mytek Brooklyn DAC, which also functions as a preamp and offers two line-level inputs, one of which can be turned into a phono input on the menu.) If a DAC does have a volume control, then a DAC plus power amp is an elegant, easily upgradeable musical solution, as long as you don't have any other sources to connect. Remember, even if there is a volume control, DACs can be set up to bypass it! Always double check you have an attenuator in the signal path before connecting a DAC to a power amp, otherwise, you’re going to blast a 100 on a volume scale of 0 to 100 into your speakers and ears. The PS Audio DirectStream DAC offers a volume control on the unit’s touchscreen. The Mytek Brooklyn has a knob, but as the knob used for different functions, it may or may not control volume at any given point. Lumin DACs, for example, have no physical controls, but offer volume control on the iPad app. Just looking at a DAC won’t tell you if it has an active attenuator, you need to look into the specs or menus. Yes, but you should do this only if the DAC has a volume control.
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