Best NAS for streaming a FLAC music library with Navidrome or Plexamp (2026)

Updated 2026-11-12 · Pick: UGREEN NASync DXP2800: $389.99 on ai.ugreen.com (checked 2026-11-03): https://dealectric.com/go/ugreen-nasync-dxp2800

Short answer. The best NAS for streaming a FLAC music library with Navidrome or Plexamp is the UGREEN NASync DXP2800: its Intel N100 meets Plex Media Server sonic analysis requirements, Docker runs Navidrome, and on maker wattage it costs about $11 a year to power, lowest of the x86 picks.

Searched as: Navidrome docker installation official documentation Plexamp requires Plex Media Server Plex Pass sonic analysis requirements NAS

How this table was made: each figure comes from the maker's own US product page or manual, or from the reviewer named next to it, checked 2026-11-08. Dealectric does not test units itself. Rows with a Buy link are products Dealectric lists: the links are affiliate links, and their codes are re-tested in the brand's own cart every day (last check 2026-11-13).

What the differences mean

A music server stays on all day and night but spends most of that time idle, so its running cost comes from the power it draws while waiting. These yearly figures assume 4 hours of drive access and 20 hours with the drives asleep each day. They use the makers' own watts and the US average residential electricity rate of 18.16¢/kWh (EIA, August 2026).

• DXP2800: (16.38 W × 4 h + 5.24 W × 20 h) × 365 = 62.17 kWh, × 0.1816 = $11.29 a year.
• DS225+: (16.98 × 4 + 6.08 × 20) × 365 = 69.17 kWh = $12.56 a year.
• AS5402T: (22.9 × 4 + 12.7 × 20) × 365 = 126.14 kWh = $22.91 a year.
• TS-264: (29.086 × 4 + 18.288 × 20) × 365 = 175.97 kWh = $31.96 a year. Compared with the DXP2800: ($31.96 − $11.29) × 5 = $103.35 more over five years.
• If the drives never sleep: DXP2800 16.38 W × 8,760 h = 143.49 kWh ($26.06); DS225+ 148.74 kWh ($27.01); AS5402T 200.60 kWh ($36.43); TS-264 254.79 kWh ($46.27).

Your setup	Fits
Plexamp with Sonic Analysis and Navidrome on one box, at the lowest running cost	UGREEN DXP2800: x86 N100, 8 GB DDR5, two M.2 slots, Docker for Navidrome $389.99: https://dealectric.com/go/ugreen-nasync-dxp2800
You want Synology DSM, and the library is played a few hours a day	Synology DS225+: lowest measured draw with drives spun down (3.5 W in ComputerBase's test of the same platform), but only 2 GB of RAM buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FC2888KF?tag=dealectric-20
You run many containers alongside the music server	QNAP TS-264-8G: 8 GB (max 16 GB) and 2 × M.2 out of the box, at the highest power cost buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLJ97L82?tag=dealectric-20
You will schedule the NAS to sleep overnight	Asustor AS5402T: 0.71 W in S3 sleep, the only sleep figure any of the four makers publishes buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM28JVWX?tag=dealectric-20

Why the makers' watts don't line up, and what reviewers measured

Each maker tests with a different drive setup. QNAP's footnote says its TS-264 figures were 'tested with drives fully populated', so both bays were filled. UGREEN's DXP2800 and DH2300 figures were taken with a single 2 TB hard drive (UGREEN lab figures, as listed by StarryHope). Synology's spec page refers readers to a separate method article, and Asustor's footnote names its test drive as a 16 TB Seagate IronWolf. Part of the gap between 5.24 W and 18.288 W therefore comes from the test setup, not the hardware.

Reviewer measurements with two drives keep the same order. ComputerBase tested the DXP2800 with two 20 TB HDDs at 18.6 W idle and 7.3 W with the drives spun down. In the same table, the DS224+ (the same Celeron J4125 and 2 GB platform as the DS225+) measured 18.6 W and 3.5 W. PCWorld measured the TS-264 at 26.5 W idle with two 4 TB IronWolf drives. LinuxLinks measured the AS5402T at 29.2 W with two 7,200 rpm drives plus two NVMe SSDs. The TS-264's idle draw is 7.9 W above the DXP2800's. Running all year, that is 7.9 W × 8,760 h = 69.2 kWh, or about $12.57 at 18.16¢/kWh. These tests came from different labs with different drives, so treat the gaps as approximate.

The Synology DS225+ is the honest alternative. ComputerBase measured its platform at less than half the DXP2800's draw with the drives spun down, so if your drives sleep most of the day it costs about the same to run. The DXP2800 still wins this question for two reasons. It ships with 8 GB of RAM against the DS225+'s 2 GB. And Plex calls Sonic Analysis 'very CPU-intensive', saying it can take 'hours or even multiple days'. Sonic Analysis needs an x86/x86-64 CPU, 64-bit Windows, macOS or Linux, Plex Media Server 1.24.0 or newer, and a Plex Pass on the server admin's account. You don't need a subscription for remote listening: Plex says its remote-streaming requirements 'apply only to movies/TV/video media' and do not affect music streamed to Plexamp. Navidrome publishes Docker images for amd64 and arm64, so any of these boxes that runs Docker can run it.

Not recommended

The UGREEN NASync DH2300 has the lowest running cost on paper, $8.02 a year at (13.72 × 4 + 3.304 × 20) × 365 = 44.15 kWh. It still fails both halves of this question. UGREEN's own Navidrome guide says the DH2300 does not support Docker, so it can't run Navidrome that way. Its Rockchip RK3576 is an ARM chip, and Plex says Sonic Analysis isn't available on ARM processors. Its low maker figure also didn't hold up in testing: NASCompares measured 9.5 W idle with two 4 TB IronWolf drives. For Navidrome and Plexamp, choose the x86 DXP2800.

Sources

• UGREEN power figures, measured with a Seagate 2 TB hard drive: DXP2800 16.38 W drive access / 5.24 W published lower-power state; DH2300 13.72 W / 3.304 W — ai.ugreen.com
• DXP2800 figures taken with one 2 TB HDD (UGREEN lab); Intel N100, 8 GB DDR5 (max 16 GB), two M.2 2280 slots; OCinside about 7 W idle in two-drive RAID 1 — www.starryhope.com
• DH2300 Rockchip RK3576 8-core ARM, 4 GB soldered RAM; NASCompares 9.5 W idle with two 4 TB IronWolf drives — www.starryhope.com
• DH2300 does not support Docker; list of Docker-capable UGREEN models — ai.ugreen.com
• Synology DS225+: Celeron J4125, 2 GB (max 6 GB), 16.98 W access / 6.08 W HDD hibernation, 19.6 dB(A), 3-year warranty — www.synology.com
• DSM 7.3 brings back third-party HDD support for storage pool creation on 2025 Plus models, DS225+ named (NASCompares) — nascompares.com
• QNAP TS-264: Celeron N5095, 8 GB (max 16 GB), 2 × M.2, 29.086 W / 18.288 W tested with drives fully populated — www.qnap.com
• QNAP TS-264 Container Station supports LXC/LXD and Docker — www.qnap.com
• Asustor AS5402T: Celeron N5105, 4 GB (max 16 GB), 22.9 W operation / 12.7 W disk hibernation / 0.71 W sleep; test HDD Seagate IronWolf 16 TB — www.asustor.com
• US average residential electricity price, August 2026: 18.16¢/kWh — www.eia.gov
• ComputerBase measured DXP2800 18.6 W idle / 7.3 W standby and DS224+ 18.6 W / 3.5 W — www.computerbase.de
• PCWorld measured TS-264 26.5 W idle / 16.8 W sleep with two 4 TB IronWolf drives — www.pcworld.com
• LinuxLinks measured AS5402T 29.2 W with disks idle / 15.4 W hibernating — www.linuxlinks.com
• Plex Sonic Analysis: x86/x86-64 only, 64-bit OS, PMS 1.24.0+, Plex Pass, 'hours or even multiple days' — support.plex.tv
• Plex remote-streaming requirements apply only to video, not to music in Plexamp — www.plex.tv
• Navidrome Docker images for linux/amd64, linux/arm/v6, linux/arm/v7 and linux/arm64 — www.navidrome.org

Published 2026-11-03; updated 2026-11-12. The buy links are affiliate links; see the disclosure. Corrections welcome at [email protected] or /feedback.