Hi.
This is in fact a worthless discussion and such can be fun.
Myself, I own a N5200 and bought it, when one of my suppliers for PC-stuff recommend it, because it would be build around a Unix-like system. I wanted only that, in my home is no place for anything else and thus, I excluded some other recommendations that was considered earlier.
Fact is, I wanted a NAS as redundant storage place for a lot of data, so I wanted raid5 and I wanted NFS and FTP services on that. N5200 delivers what I wanted, but not out of the box. Without those further modules, that gave a chance to access the busybox (the embedded Unix used in that NAS), it wouldn't have been usable for me.
So, even with a working N5200, I wonder, why I bought it at all.
Sure, the mechanics is a bit smaller than PC environment usually is, but that NAS is uncomfortably loud, so that it will never gather a place in a living room, where a small design may count.
Even this, take a look here:
http://www.pcengines.ch/alix1c.htm
That is a small mini-PC that can boot from internal CF or USB device.
It is not as fast as the one used in the N5200, but, it offers one PCI slot and thus could probably take a real hardware Raid-Controller. Thus, it could build a NAS easily.
But that is also true for any other ordinary PC motherboard and there it is no big trouble to build a NAS with higher performance, such that media-server tasks could also been build in, as running a VLC-Server and such. Booting from USB is about common today, so it is really easy to operate any desired system in fast and save way and control the system raid and have it exported to the network.
Personally, I would not take busybox, what doesn't mean I wouldn't like it, but it is no need anymore to use those reduced Unix because a fully operable one with NFS and SAMBA and FTP and TELNET and SSH fits on a 1GB stick and left out some space on it.
So, to name it in a short: I cannot tell, why I once thought I would have to buy a NAS that somebody else build to meet someones needs, instead doing this myself in a way I want it. Thats unbelievable and I can just shake my head about my own ignorance.
With that, I fully understand, when one is happy to get rid of others products.
I know, my next NAS will be build myself for me, as I want it and as I need it.
There is no reason (or is anyone here to know one single point) to buy a NAS from any factory in the world, including Thecus.