Best way to play FLAC

Streaming Audio
1

Hi, Novice here. We recently were given a Mu-so 2nd Gen. Our grandkids helped us to convert our large collection of LPs and CDs to “FLAC”, which now reside on a portable hard disk drive. As someone who is not so great with computers (neither is my wife), what is the best way for us to be able to play these on the Mu-so? Ideally, controlling the music through the Naim app for iPad and with album art showing. While the specs need to go on to read the titles, our brains are still good enough to recognise LP covers albeit however small. We do have a Macbook and a router. So any suggestions would be welcomed. Full disclosure, we are not looking to spend big money, but looking for a practical solution. Thanks. Johnny.

2

Hi John and welcome.

I’m just about to start the business of ripping my CDs to a NAS to play on a NDX2, so I’m not qualified as yet to advise, I’ll be interested in the replies that you’ll surely get.

Regards,

Lindsay

3

You need a upnp server, so you could install assett on the macbook or purchase a Nas and install it on that… or if you speak nicely to the grandkids :grinning: I’m sure they could set it up on a Raspberry pi.

2 Likes
4

… but in the meantime, you might (sorry - specifications are a bit ambiguous to me… ) be able to get away with plugging the portable drive directly into the usb port on the Muso.

2 Likes
5

That’s what I do with my NDX2 (512GB USB flash drive into the USB socket and turn on “server” function in the app). Everything shows up, album, artist, album art, etc. I suspect the Muso will be similar.

2 Likes
6

If the Mac is on all the time, or you’re happy for it to be on when you’re playing music, then if the portable drive plugged into the muso doesn’t do the ttick, this would be your cheapest option. I am not familiar with the Musi, so others would need to advise, but when I had a Naim streamer I found that the free UPnP server app called Serviio worked well on a Mac mini and could be accessed easily by the streamer controlled by the Naim app. If Serviio is still free, then it is a zero cost option to try on the Mac.

7

You can play the files on a muso, but without metadata or artwork; there isn’t server mode, just USB folder view.

8

Thinking you might not be familiar with the term UPnP. Also assuming you would prefer to avoid purchasing a NAS (which is a standalone hard drive with some special features).

Basics only (and from a Windows guy):

  1. You attach your portable hard drive to your Mac.

  2. You install the UPnP server app (like Serviio mentioned above) and start it up.

  3. You let Serviio know where to find your music (which directory/ies).

  4. Serviio spins around for a while, building a database of your music with a bunch of information and cover art. The database is in a form that the Naim app can read. (But make sure the server, the app, and the Muso are all on the same network.)

  5. You turn on the Naim app. You select the MuSo (maybe unnecessary if that’s your only Naim product). The app will search for the UPnP server on your network. Once it’s found it, you drill down through levels (e.g. genre/artist/album/track - there are other options).

  6. You click on the album/song you want to play. The Naim app tells the Server to play that track on your Muso. Beautiful music fills your room.

That’s if all goes well the first time, but how often does that happen? If not, you follow up with some of the more knowledgeable people on this forum (as I have several times).

3 Likes
9

Apart from images that might be perfect if the OP hasn’t attended to metadata (none automatically from LP, and often inconsistent or wrong from CD, at least with classical music), but has named and filed methodically. Are you sure album sleeve images aren’t seen is saved in the album folder?

10

I suggest you to try asset upnp: install it on your mac, configure it to scan your usb drive, then you can browse by folders and filename from the naim app.
You can test a trial for 30 days, then if you like, you can buy it .
Take a look here https://www.dbpoweramp.com/asset-upnp-osxmanual.htm

2 Likes
11

Won’t you have a problem with track names that don’t begin with track numbers? (e.g. “Help” vs “01 Help”)? Won’t the former show up in alphabetical order?

12

I added track nos 01 etc to all when manually naming. .

For double/triple albums I settled on numbering 101…201…301 etc.

13

Someone showed me how to do an entire library with one command in JRiver. The only issue is that some tracks end up beginning “01 01 Help”, but it’s just the filename (not the track name) so not a big deal.

Edit - one thing I’m not sure has been mentioned.

Make a backup of your drive. You (and your kids) don’t want to go through all that ripping again.

14

I have a Muso II in my bedroom. It’s hooked up to my router via WIFI and everything on my system just shows up. It finds and plays the music on my NAS and all artwork shows up ( I’m using an iPhone with naim/focal app) Tidal plays fine with the artwork, Internet radio also works fine.

15

Serviio is a good upnp server for video but not so good for music. Far better to spend the £30 or whatever it is for Asset as that’s designed from the ground up as a music server. FWIW that’s exactly what I have running on my NAS, serviio for video and asset for music.

1 Like
16

All I can say it worked flawlessly with my music collection and ND5XS when I used it. I only moved on because I changed from ND5XS to a software renderer (Audirvana) feeding my DAC direct, so not needing a UPnP music server anymore.

17

I would try your drive plugged into the Muso direct first and see if that allows you convenient use and no wifi connection issues.

If you want more control then plug the drive into your Mac. For a free software server you could download logitech media server, then add the upnp/dla add on which is available on the website. If you ripped with software that captured the metadata you should see the info displayed. If you ripped just the music file without the metadata, you will have to add that separately. (Ask the kids). :grinning:

1 Like
18

Unfortunately the Musos lack the built in server of the other Naim steamers, so you only get a basic folder view in the USB input.

1 Like
19

Now Lyrion Music Server :grinning: A remarkable product for the price ($0.00).

1 Like
20

@GrahamK thanks for the suggestion. What is the best NAS for someone with pensioner budget? I need to investigate further as the grandkids don’t know much about this.