I’ll have a bash at that later, Nigel.
For now, I have to go and visit someone, as I’m losing the will to live here.
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It seems to me that your network is fine (although is very outdated). Did you look at your streamer? Tried to power off and on? Or factory reset it?
Ok great Dave -
You only have one router (TalkTalk) and one local intranet running as the 192.168.001.xxx subnet - your iPad (.16) and your ND555 (.20) as well as your Extreme wifi access point (.22) are where they are supposed to be, at least as far as I can tell. Doesn’t look like IP conflict or network topology at this point.
It might be worthwhile to go to a place in your house with good “regular” wifi from your TalkTalk access point, join via that SSID, and see if the Naim app has an easier time to find the ND555. That would tell us if there is any issue with the extended wifi connection (via your Express … Hard to know, but it is not nice to see your Airport screenshots with different info (one has 2 Express and nice solid lines; one has only 1 Express and a sketchy looking dotted line)
I would leave aside the idea of changing from using TalkTalk as router for now, as that’s a whole other thing and your setup was working before your absence.
If I understand, you have 2 wifi networks going on. Perchance are they both on the same wifi channel? It kinda sounds like a weak wifi issue; could be both ended up on the same channel after the re-start(s?)
I never “needed” two separate wifi networks. But in 2020, the Airport Extreme-to-Airport Express is not the most robust wifi you can get. But if it worked well enough before, it should work well enough again.
If nothing works, restore the Airport Extreme to factory settings and start again with it. That worked for me in the past in the face of random issues.
I suggest to diagnose the source of the problem, break the network down into minimal configuration (TalkTalk router (with WiFi enabled), HDX and ND555 hardwired) and then build up again from there. When the problems start again you’ve found the culprit.
If you get problems with the basic configuration, turn off the WiFi from the TalkTalk router and plug in the Airport Extreme again (Bridge mode), then rebuild from that base point.
@dave-marshall well your not alone in setting up your network like that, I have a Vodafone router into which I have an AirPort Extreme connected (via Cable) it is set to Bridge mode and create a wireless network, then there is a variety of Airport extreme’s and express dotted around the house as shown below.
The Vodafone network is called vnet and the Apple stuff is split into 2 networks macnet and macnet 5ghz.
macnet is on channel 6, vnet is on channel 8 and macnet 5ghz channel 52
All is working fine with the new naim app on iPhone and also an older version on a ipad2
Uniti is wired into the airport express and NAS is wired into office AirPort Extreme.
All are working fine.
Have you tried shutting down all the routers and naim kit then just starting the talk talk router, when started then start the extreme, once that has started start the express and then the Cisco switch. Finally start up the hdx and then the 555
Hi everyone,
Back home, suitably cheered up after a bit of socialising, so thanks to everyone for all the help offered thus far.
I’ll have a bash at some remedial action later this evening, after dinner.
What I don’t understand is that this setup has been rock solid for the last five years, both on my previous NDS and my present ND555, and nothing has changed, other than plugging the long ethernet cable back into the Cisco.
First thing to try, as suggested, is to exclude the Apple kit, and run the cable directly from the TalkTalk router to the Cisco, (which I have to include, as both the streamer and the HDX run off it, then reboot things, router > Cisco > HDX > ND555. 
Hi @GrahamK, that’s largely what I’ve been doing thus far, to the point of distraction … but your screenshot echoes my own, and, as I mentioned above, has worked faultlessly for the past five years.
I can’t help but wonder whether it’s not so much a problem with the streamer on the network, but rather a conflict between the Naim app and the network, though I’ve checked the IP address shown on the streamer’s screen, the results of a Net Analyser scan on both networks, and the IP address on the app, and they’re all identical.
I think I’ve posted this on another thread in the past, but as someone who retired last year after 35 years in datacomms it resonates a lot.
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Know what you mean, Eoin,
I’m far from IT / network savvy, but why my plug 'n play setup should start misbehaving all of a sudden is doing my head in.
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I guess you’ve tried replacing the cable? I had intermittent problems connecting to my server with an ethernet cable, DC continuity tests were perfect, but I managed to resolve my problems by replacing it.
When I had the Ciscos, white and also blue with external ps, I was quite regularly loosing my server ( Unitserve then Melco).
I was rebooting all every week.
Now, with only the Etheregen in the chain, it doesn’t appear anymore.
So perhaps a try would be to disconnect the Cisco and see what happens.
I’ve had my Cisco for four years and have never once had to reboot it. It just works. Maybe you had a dodgy one.
Then you had a damaged (or given the age) old and failing Cisco switch.
This may well have degraded the SQ as well (possibly all the time, but probably intermittently).
Well, that’s everything back to normal and on song, once again.
Broadly following the advice from @Xanthe, I stripped everything down, and restarted the TalkTalk router, with it hooked directly into the streamer, via the long ethernet cable, and established that Tidal was working fine, and that the Naim app remained in communication … no more of the dreaded “streamer not responding” messages.
Next, the long ethernet cable into the Cisco, with a local lead from there to the streamer … still good, no drop outs on Tidal.
Next up was to reconnect the HDX server to the Cisco, and play some stored choons.
Everything is rock solid, and the iPad has bucked it’s ideas up too and is no longer sluggish to respond, as before.
So, what’s changed?
Well, I’ve no longer got the Airport base station hooked into the router, and it seems to be pushing a strong enough wifi signal into the Airport Express in my music room, as the iPad is working fine, controlling the server / streamer / pre-amp.
I’m still baffled as to why a previously reliable setup should have stopped working, but am simply chuffed that today’s more straightforward way of connecting things up is working fine.
A thousand thanks to everyone for the helpful advice, and as has been said many times elsewhere … this forum? … bleedin’ brilliant, innit.
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Just out of interest what is the Airport Express now providing / connected to? Glad to see you’re sorted btw.
Sorry Kevin,
Since my previous post, the AirPort Extreme is once again hooked into the router, and connects wirelessly with an Express in the music room, to provide a wifi signal there for iPad control.
Ah makes sense now, thanks. Are you avoiding plugging anything Apple into the Cisco because of concerns about dirty power?
Not really, when I started fault finding this morning, I thought of it as building a Lego model, insofar as I would restore each part of the network chain one at a time and run it to prove things were ok.
The Airport Express in the music room was only ever to provide a wifi signal in there for the iPad, so once the network was solid again, and the Express was doing its job, I stopped short of plugging it back into the Cisco, as previously.
I don’t imagine that was what was causing the issue, but who cares, it’s all working again, and the music has ben restored, Chez Dave.
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Both were new, unused.