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Client

A destination if you're thinking of signal flow. A client receives music files and plays them back.

DAC

Digital Audio Converter. Traditionally a device that converts digital audio into analog audio. More recently DAC's have been outfitted with USB inputs and even network connections so that they can also interface directly with computers.

DLNA

Protocol that is derived from UPnP to normalize A/V content interoperability over a home network by simplifying the rather complex flexibility of UPnP so that there are clear guidelines for software developers and hardware manufacturers alike. It is a protocol that describes and prohibits what types of media can be played. UPnP is used for device discovery that basically forms the bottom layer for DLNA.

Generic info: UPnP/DLNA ar protocols for consumer media component communication that allow compatible devices in the home network to "talk" to each other. In the UPnP/DLNA architecture, there are Media Servers, Media Renderers and Control Points. You can have multiple of each, for example, a music library on the PC, one on the Mac and two media renderers; one in the listening room and one in the bedwoom. Servers merely serve up the media and don't actually decode the file (the media renderer does) but the Media Server (UPnP/DLNA compliant NAS) must provide streaming services for the rendering clients as well as Content Directory services to allow the Control Point to browse the available content. To provide the Content Directory service, the Media Server must be able to open and read the file, for example if you want to play FLAC files, the Media Server must be able to read the metadata in the FLAC file.

DMC

Digital Media Controller such as eLyric and Plugplayer from iPad or TwonkyManager and Kinsky Desktop from a computer.

DMP

Digital Media Player. Not externally controllable but control is via supplied IR remote or a built-in (touch)screen and/or buttons on the front panel)

DMR

Digital Media Renderer, normally controllable from an external Digital Media Controller (DMC) like eLyric and Plugplayer from iPad or TwonkyManager and Kinsky Desktop from a computer. Supports UPnP external control point pushing music files to it.

Ethernet

Wired network inside the house. Everything goes over ethernet: audio, video and all your (naugthy) internet activities. Ethernet is very reliable and potentially very fast, depending on the switches and routers in its pats as well as the hardware in connected computers but lately wireless is catching up, getting faster and faster. And although it isn't as fast as wired ethernet, it is fast enough for 1080P video streaming or copying of large media archives. In short: for most people wireless is plenty fast.

Hard drive/Hard disk

Digital magnetical storage that uses multiple fast rotaing platters and multiple magnetic reading/writing heads cramming ever increasing storage capacity in a universal size and with universal connections. Very reliable, also due to built-in error correction. This error correction and its associated circuitry could well explain why rotating hard drives sound different from solid state drives (SSD). A hard drive can be inside a computer, in an external USB/Firewire/other connection method -housing or in a NAS.

IP address

Equivalent of housenumbers in a street, in which the street is your subnet and the numbers are assigned to all devices that are connected in that subnet, either automatically via DHCP or manually. If you assign them manually, you may get an ip-conflict if a wireless device has taken the same address as you manually specified for a device that is switched on after the wireless device has taken its random address.

i-Device

Referring to the ever expanding line of Apple products that can function as audio servers, clients or remotes, such as iPod, iPad, iPhone etc.

NAS

Network Attached Storage, but also used for Network Audio Server and other less popular abbreviations. Network Attached Storage is the most prevalent one. Basically a NAS is simply a hard drive attached to your computer that can be accessed like any other drive. Used this way, the NAS is "compatible" with all files. It merely serves the up for processing downstream. However, many NASes are also able to run other services which are not strictly file serving services. Examples of this could be an FTP server, BitTorrent client/servers and (which the audiophiles users are interested in) UPnP, DNLA and iTunes sharing. With these latter services, the file format does matter. The iTunes sharing service will only show file formats it knows the client (iTunes) understands (i.e. AIFF, ALAC, AAC and MP3). What makes it more complicated is that in UPnP and DNLA, the useable formats vary depending on the client device as well as the UPnP software installed. Strictly speaking, a NAS shouldn't influence the sound quality. But I have experienced the opposite situation, in which a Macbook Pro, running PS Audio's eLyric server software, sounded more airy and refined than a Synology NAS running its native server program. I will investigate further and will post my findings here.

Password

All routers these days come with SSID and password from the factory. You can choose to simply make note of these settings (often supplied on a sticker or separate piece of paper), use these and never look back. Your wireless apparatus remembers the network but if you buy new gear, or if you wish to let visitors use your network, you need the info again. So keep it in a place where you can remember it. You can also choose to change the SSID and/or password to something you can remember. Just make sure your chosen password isn't so simple that even non-masterminds can guess it.

Router

Device that interconnects several devices in an ethernet subnet. A router is more intelligent than a switch (which merely interconnects all devices that want to access the network) because it can also contain a firewall and a small operation system.

Server

Basically any computer that runs software which is written to serve up files to any attached device that asks for it. A NAS is also a computer, albeit one running a very basic operating system, optimised for its serving tasks.

Switch

Sort of a light version of a router. A switch merely passes on all data on any of its inputs to any of the connected devices without any discrimination or intelligence.

UPnP

Protocol for sharing media devices over a home network. This protocol makes it possible for compatible devices (servers, renderers, control points) to speak to each other without difficult configuration. In short: UPnP is used for device discovery while DLNA puts restrictions on the media that can be played. You can for example, discover your server from a client. But it does not guarantee any compatibility in audio/video streaming from it.

Ripping NAS

A NAS with cd rom drive that can rip and store music, usually semi-automatically, even adding tags and moving the resultant audiofiles to the appropriate locations.

SSD

Solid State Drive. Hard Disk that doesn't contain rotating disks inside, but rows and rows of memorychips instead. A SSD is faster than a regular harddrive and also completely silent. They don't however have eternal life; apparently the memory chips have a finite amount of read/write cycles. However, their lifespan is more than accurate for normal computer use and should exceed the time you'd want to spend with your hardware, before something new comes along. SSD drives tend to sound different from regular rotating disk drives with music playback (through the same computer, same files etc): SSD will be livelier, more focused and tighter but the older drives will sound fuller, more relaxed and more fluid. Which is better is perhaps a matter of taste. I can only guess why this difference is audible but I suspect that it has to do with the built-in sector handling and error correction in normal drives versus the very different address allocation assignment system in the SSD drives.

SSID

The identifying name that the main router on a network has or has been given. This can often be changed to whatever you like.

Streaming

The process of continuously sending data packets and unpacking them at a constant stream, in order to achieve gapless music playback of a file that isn't actually downloaded, only kept in temporary memory, in chunks. Technically, streaming isn't the same as music playback; instead it is comparable to uploading/downloading. Therefore, the music playback quality shouldn't be affected by cables and routers, as long as all the data is present, or recovered. This is in stark contrast to music playback via coaxial digital cable, or USB cable, in which the music is played in real time, on a time constant and thus the cable and all other circuitry in line, affects the sound. Strictly speaking, a NAS that streams music to a client, shouldn't influence the sound quality. But I have experienced the opposite situation, in which a Macbook Pro, running PS Audio's eLyric server software, sounded more airy and refined than a Synology NAS running its native server program. I will investigate further and will post my findings here.

Wireless

Although it isn't as fast as wired ethernet, it is fast enough for 1080P video streaming or copying of large media archives. But there is the matter of security. All networks can be tapped into by other people if they have sufficient knowledge and patience but Wireless is easier to break into because of its boundless nature: neighbors can simply pick up the signal through walls. Then again: lots has been done to secure this and as long as you have made sure that your network is protected by a password, it isn't easy to break into unless the person doing so is some sort of computer megamind. In short: for most people wireless is plenty fast and safe enough.

WPS

WiFi Protected Setup. A user friendly standard for achieving secure wireless transfers in a home network.

This list is still a work in progress. I will add and edit info over time. If you find any inaccuracies, please mail me.