iSCSI looks like a local drive to the system. How is the sound quality compared with a real local drive?
Yes it is Block level based not file level based as SMB/NFS, meaning as open and manageable as internal storage.
At first day, initial 30min, I did not notice anything. I assumed it was make-belief. It was like good timing on the overall sound...
The difference is not as noticeable on solo instruments or vocals. It is when two melodies play on top of each other it comes through. The background gets synced and on big tracks with a lot of instruments, you can hear every melody/instruments....They all come through without a fatigue of listening. The forground is not dominant/charming, the whole stereo spectrums is like one.
1. As always the system disk where windows is installed is the worst performer, here the difference is big. Very polluted and lifeless in contrast.
2. Same disk as system/980 Pro, but on a dedicated disk for software/music, here the difference is still noticeable but not as much. Sounds good on this disk, but ISCSI is like a breeze of fresh air/life together with the above mentioned technicality.
3. Samsung EVO 850/870 SSD on the sata port, it has a different neutral sound than the 980 Pro. Still the same noticeable difference/technicality. 980 Pro is such a nice textured sound. 980 Pro on guitars, the texture of the guitars comes through. Avoid the EVOs and get the PROs for HiFi for internal storage. ISCSI Target is fine with EVO870, however I will upgrade to PRO ASAP!
I installed Foobar2000(system, dedicated disk) and Opera/browser on the ISCSI/Synology which is behind a network chain as explained above, that I think also has something to do with the difference maybe. I tested 3 different DACs. R2R, Cirrus Logic and ESS. Cirrus Logic and R2R were the most beneficials.
NAS -> RJ45 - SWITCH -> SFP(single or multi) -> SWITCH -> SOURCE. (I actually did try put NAS on the last switch before source, with same improvements.)
I completely mixed Foobar and Opera in such a way I could not remember them both in taskbar and windows.
-I resize the windows and put them on top of each other and minimize to taskbar, then when clicking on the first one in taskbar I take it to one side, and the other to other side.
Testing on Foobar it was still easy to pinpoint which I liked, and it came down to the ISCSI everytime. Also on Opera/Browser.
The easy decision is on music where a lot is going on in the stereo spectrum. However still noticeable on solos "simple" music.
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Important thing to notice here is that the software Foobar is running portable on internal dedicated disk Samsung 980 Pro. The browser is running completely portable on the ISCSI. Opera has been tested portable on: System disk, dedicated disk 980 Pro - EVO850 - EVO870
The same disks for Foobar, and files is on the same NAS, same files but different Share types SMB vs ISCSI.
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It has been a week now, and I confirm this difference. I tried soo hard to disproof what I heard from mood and emotions. Even on a bad stressful day, tired after work I noticed this difference.