Thanks All
Chris - Yes, I already did try plugging my laptop into the 272. Unfortuntately, though, the laptop does not have an optical cable output, so I had to run an HDMI from the laptop into my Samsung box and out to the 272 via an optical cable. After doing that, it sounded really nasty, as one might expect! Any SQ advantage the Tidal desktop MQA had was more than wiped out by the circuitous routing of the signal, and perhaps also because the laptop sound card is low quality.
Chris - Thanks for pointing this out about the Roon connection. This is precisely why Iām struggling to know which thing to do next. So Iād like to know whether Roon will give me better SQ. So I could try that free test of Roon on my laptop. My concern is that anything that runs on my cheap 4 year old Asus laptop will not sound good because of the electrical noise in the laptop, because I canāt plug it directly into the 272 (except perhaps via the USB input??) and because the components of the laptop are quite low quality.
Or is there a way to make Roon work with my laptop?
I also have a good quality iPad - could I use that instead?
Chris - In a nutshell, I would be trialling Roon in order to see whether the SQ was better because of Roonās MQA unfold. So would a test of Roon on an old cheap laptop actually be able to tell me that?
Guinnless - what NAS do you have?
Can it get any easier for playing than clicking on Tidal tracks on my iPad?
As regards cataloging - thatās easy in the Naim app fed by Tidal too. I can search by artist, album, track, genre, their recommendations, their and my own playlists, etc.
But yes - the one thing that tempts me to get a NAS and ripper system e.g. from Illustrate is to get better SQ - from CD rips and from hi res files.
But some commentators have said that on their systems CD rips are barely distinguishable from Tidal streamed files, which makes me hesitate to add another layer of complexity and expense.
My NAS is an entry level QNAP 128a - 1TB. Files are stored as FLAC and transcoded to WAV by Asset media server. This will cover me for roughly 1000+ CD rips and downloads.
Asset can display your library in pretty much any way you like to suit how you would normally search.
I have better Tidal quality because I use Bubble UPnP and compared to Tidal via the Naim App itās extremely close to CD rips, partially because Bubble can transcode FLAC to WAV.
I like owning music though so if I like something on Tidal Iāll buy it, possibly in hires dependant on cost. Or even vinyl
Wow - Guinnless - would you explain that to me a bit more fully please?
Thatās exactly what Iām looking for - even better quality reproduction of Tidal.
So if I buy say a 1-bay 1TB QNAP, will I then get free Asset with it?
And will I operate that via my iPad or my laptop PC?
Or does it come with a remote control?
Is it easy to use and reliable?
Have you had any problems setting it up and using it with a 272?
thanks
Jim
Hi Jim, Asset is free for the trial version which is slightly feature limited but the full version is cheap enough. 30 quid or so. Use dBPoweramp to rip CDs.
Access to the NAS is via a web browser so you can use almost any computer device.
Easy to setup and use. As with any computer work give yourself time, tea and biscuits.
My streamer is an ND5XS but the principle is exactly the same for the 272.
And youād be able to play hires downloads.
Setting up Bubble requires a bit more tech and is covered in the old forum once Naim have finished the archive.
Setting up a NAS with a server will probably fry your brain when you first set it up, but once thatās done, you can more or less forget all about it - it just works in the background, and you control everything from the streamer/app.
You normally control the NAS and server from a web browser on your computer, but thatās just for setup and any occasional maintenance. The advantage of using a tried and tested NAS (QNAP, Synology) and server (Asset, Minimserver) is that there is plenty of support available from the developers, your dealer, of forum members, so you will be OK!
Steady on old chap, youāre frightening the horses. Based on my first steps 5 years ago, I donāt agree, I ran the install disc (www.program these days) following the prompts & then started ripping with dBpoweramp, it was remarkably simple.
But to agree on the rest of your post, itās continued in much the same way since and over time Iāve been constantly & steadily been learning & fine tuning the NAS & all that goes with it. All good fun.
Well, maybe a bit! Still, it can seem a bit confusing if itās completely new to you, but the main point is that help is nearly always available, and once itās done, you can more or less forget about it.
Chris - is the server in this case Asset - i.e. a software music server? Not a server as in the hardware of an internet server?
I feel that I should be able to do this.
I have always set up my own computers and HiFi and AV systems and internet stuff since I got my first HiFi in 1980. But, yes, it does sound like quite a complicated set up as it sits in the middle of so much other kit and software.
Yes, Asset is the UPnP server. Itās the software that you run, usually on the same NAS that you use to store the music files. Iāve never set up Asset myself, but Iām told itās somewhat easier than Minimserver, the other popular option here, which I did manage to set up with my limited IT skills, so Iām sure youāll be fine.
Guinnless - are you saying you have music playing from rips and hi res files that you stream locally that sound better than Tidal files?
Or are you saying that you can get better SQ from Tidal files because the QNAP and Asset will also transcode (i.e. do initial processing) on live streamed Tidal files?
thanks
Jim
Tidal streaming doesnāt use the NAS. I have a Raspberry Pi running Bubble UPnP server that acts as a proxy server so that Tidal is seen as a local stream by the Naim streamer. And Bubble can also transcode FLAC to WAV for an extra boost of quality.
Simon-in-Suffolk is the chap who came up with this arrangement on the old forum.
Before I got my Core,I just had a western digital 2TB hard drive plugged into a port on my Toshiba laptop.The laptop had Jriver media player installed on it,and it managed all the music on the external drive.It served the music to my N272 using UPNP (Ethernet connection).It sounded quite good,but I did not like the fact that the laptop was on all the time,so I went with the Core.Jriver is not Roon,but I believe it works the same way.A friend set up the Jriver for me,so I really do not know the technical side of things.
Hi Richard (or anyone else who knows the answer to this) - The light on the āMy Passport Ultraā HDD does come on when I plug it in to the 272 USB slot. I plan to format that HDD to FAT32; add some audio files to it; then Iām hoping that I can click on HDD on the Naim app on my iPad and play the files from there.
Does that sound possible? Has anyone tried playing files from the HDD option on the Naim app from a 272?
If it works, will the Naim app show me a tree of files and folders on the HDD?
thanks
Jim
So I downloaded Bitches Brew in 24 bit from Qobuz - and a 44.1 16 bit track of Albert Collins and John Zorn called Two Lane Highway from the LP Spillane.
Neither of them would play on the reforamtted FAT32 HDD on the 272 USB slot - as Mike et al predicted. The Miles Davis LP did play on my crappy Sony Walkman pen drive, but obviously sounded nasty/fuzzy.
So I really do have to sort it out.
Maybe a Zen?
When you consider what it can do, a Zen Mini is a pretty good option, I think. Yes, itās more expensive than a NAS, but it does come pretty much ready to go as a CD ripper, downloader, music store, metadata editor, internet radio, Roon Core, with native support for Tidal, Qobuz, BBC iPlayer, etc. Or just get a NAS, which you could buy for under Ā£300.
yes, much cheaper
but will a NAS run Roon?
then do I really need Roon if the first unfold of MQA is barely audible
unless everyone is being coy about the MQA unfold, because MQA is such a toxic technologyā¦?
As always the question is what will get the best SQ in the end - will I ever get the SQ of a Zen from a NAS?
