Possibly a fairer comparison (still not saying that Naim should do it) would be that I run a 1995 vintage 52 preamp. The more recent 2xx preamps have the ability to take a RC5 interface cable from Naim digital sources and be remote controlled from them. In my T-shaped room where I don’t have line of sight to the pre, that would mean I could control volume via the streamer app without changing position. I don’t think Naim should have produced a retrofit for the 52 to give me that feature that wasn’t part of the original amp spec, nor do I think that every hifi streamer manufacturer has signed up to an open-ended commitment to incorporate every new hires service.
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Now you can’t blame Naim, for Qobuz lack of programming. Gapless can be done via ChromeCast when done right. Roon is proof of this. It plays gapless to Chromecasts from Tidal, Qobuz or local.
It works for Tidal to, you just can’t cast MQA via their apps it will just default to HiFi, you however can via others apps though.
I’m not trying to blame anybody, just pointing out that streaming hi res with Naim is a lot more challenging than other manufacturers and should be addressed, what is the point of produced high quality high spec streamers that have limited access to hi res content.
I like my Naim systems, and hope they continue and prosper, I just think sometimes they make it difficult for themselves and easier for others.
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I won’t argue with you their. They do make a rod for their own back
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Wow. So even though one of the issues with doing this has to do with the hardware itself, they should still do it or you’ll be really really mad.
Nope. I’m only talking software here.
This!
I’m talking about software updates. Way more easy than hardware upgrades. They want to be ‘high-end’? Their support also should be and otherwise you are just Samsung.
You know more than we do?
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I prefer native solutions.
Sorry but I ‘tackled’ way more difficult challenges. That’s why I dare to say easy. And yes I can imagine it is difficult for the NAIM team but that’s why I said, get professionals doing the software.
I think customers expect way too little from companies and that’s why they get away with it.
How can you say you don’t expect them to not support new streaming services? You are fine with “Sorry but you can buy our new hardware coming out next year that will support it”? Sorry but that’s just stupid.
And again, I’m talking software updates here. Most hardware will be run by software in the future. Don’t let companies get away with giving only a few years software support. That should be made illegal.
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No, it just occurred to me that a small plug in Ethernet box similar to an Apple TV that would deliver any audio stream from the web to the Naim streamer, updatable firmware on-line and operated through the NaimApp would be quite elegant and include MQA and future new on-line technology.
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How often in 20 years have you worked on feature updates for software which had been replaced by a newer version? Especially how many times have you seen such feature updates when they would require additional commercial licensing and agreements in order for work to start, and generate no incremental revenue?
While I agree some companies’ streamer ranges seem to get more updates for new services, none guarantees or even implies that all future new streaming services will be added in perpetuity or even for the physical life of the product. For many of these newer companies I suspect that they may not even offer hardware repairs beyond 7 or 8 years.
20 years? Ah - a newbie.
(50 years here and counting)
I’m pretty furious with Microsoft because the programs that I used to run on Windows 2.0 won’t run on my Windows 10 system - and it’s all just software.
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But you are not… in the Naim products the hardware and the embedded software are very closely linked, with the embedded software being constrained by the hardware. This is done so there is much control as possible over SQ in terms of noise and SQ perturbations. Naim streamers are definitely not general purpose computing platforms.
I can’t see it happening, they don’t even have downloadable older firmware versions for Uniti/new Classic streamers - I prefer an older firmware sonically on my Nova which I managed to get a copy of from support but I don’t think they readily offer this these days. There may be licensing issues and incompatibility with control Apps going forwards as APIs change/develop.
It would be nice for your older device to have access to new services, but I can’t see it happening - no Qobuz integration on the new streamers - it’s supposed to work via Chromecast, but that precludes gapless. Qobuz were in a precarious position a few years ago, so perhaps I can see why Tidal was supported, Spotify is more obvious. The Amazon service is not available yet (if ever) so probably little point getting worked up over something which may never happen.
Naim is a premium though niche brand, and diverting profits to continue software updates for much older devices is unlikely to work economically beyond a certain stage.
I suspect I have several DVD/BluRay players with built in ‘apps’ that no longer function at all. The small print always advises these cannot be guaranteed to work indefinitely.
Yes - infinitely more of an issue than manufacturers not offering new options as they become available. I bought a smart TV, and part of its appeal was the apps that gave access to various content. Great, except less than 2 years later several of the apps ceased to work, restricting usage of the TV. Apparently not the manufacturer’s own fault, as due to changes by the supplier, and the manufacturer was not going to spend the effort of updating multiple different firmware on multiple different discontinued models.
That is much more serious an issue than not adding new services, yet sadly happens all the time in the fast-moving media software world. And that same thing could happen in an instant to any Naim streaming product if Tidal or Spotify were to change something that Naim couldn’t accommodate in firmware for any reason, losing people the online streaming functionality on which some depend,