You can adjust these by selecting the grid and it will give you larger icons.
@Oxbow Thank you for your considered and empathic response to Qobuz’s precarious position. I am sure you are absolutely correct in your reading of the situation unfolding. I was waiting for Spotify to unfurl its hifi tier, but its increasing corporate arrogance ( as well as it’s CEO’s investment in war technology ) eventually put me off and I decided to trial Tidal and Qobuz. Tidal is undoubtedly the slicker operation but there was a sincerity and deeper appreciation for music I sensed within Qobuz. But I was frustrated with my initial experience and I was pointed to the letter from the Software Director explaining the complexities of Qobuz and Chromecast and Naim. My lack of technical knowledge prevented me from entirely understanding it, but its account of problems entirely matched my own initial experience. Perhaps I over-reacted.
I want to stay with Qobuz for the reasons I have stated, but also feel that for its own expansion it does need to match the other services with its connection simplicity. Not putting resources into this will impede its progress when its competitors are offering easier connection options. There is a developing interest in hires/hifi streaming and the market I feel will take off. Qobuz’s sound quality stands for itself and I do hope it does succeed. It is a hyper-competitive market and profit margins must be low or non-existent as prices plummet.
My frustrations are as much about the closed world of audio, and the almost ‘mystical’ and esoteric qualities of some of its practices, softwares and equipment, and the large price tags which accompany the rhetoric. I prefer simplicity and am loyal to ‘solid’ equipment manufacturers, such as Naim and Kef. The developing streaming world resembles, to me, the language and hype which accompanied the reverential development of turntables years ago.
I dearly wish both Naim and Qobuz well; there are competing interests and products which may I guess Naim further developing a more sophisticated app for use with Qobuz, but I would welcome Qobuz continuing to develop its app and connection options.
I’m a bit late to this, but what’s wrong with just using the Qobuz input in the Naim app? It works really well.
@Mike_S yes, this selects one album. I would rather prefer to see larger icons of all of the albums forming a grid, rather than a long list I have to scroll down through. Within the native Qobuz app that is the format. Though I am sure with greater use I will become more accustomed to it.
You can do this though. It would be helpful if Naim had a video showing new users how to use the app!
Thanks. Ive worked it out. I now see a grid system of large icons for albums and playlists etc. makes things a lot easier.
His reply :
« I set up my subscription with Qobuz, download the native app, select my music for my library and also my playlists, and spend 3 hours trying to get the app to play without stuttering and freezing. I am immediately confused and put off, and need to seek information to make it work. Why should I have to do this?
I discover that it plays well on the Naim app, though the functionality ( small icons for albums etc ) makes it less pleasurable, but it functions. There is no stuttering nor freezing. So I use the native app to make my selections and then play through the Naim app. Fine - but not ideal. I just want to use 1 app which is both visually easy to use and plays music without stuttering.«
That is the key. We want the lossless spotify connect - like technology.
But Chromecast is lossless too. Yes, not perfect for instance with gapless, but the whole situation is what it is and the blaming misplaced. A product, in this case Qobuz, not ticking all boxes that one would like is not something that’s unheard of
Hi Mike
I don’t understand why you say Naim don’t have apps for Windows and Macs.
I just started using qobus with the Naim app on my iPhone and also on my MacBook M1. All working well and Naim app seems pretty good and easy to use.
Using the Naim app with qobus embedded in the Naim nd5 xs2 also appears to give the best sq according to Steve Harris.
Reading this post I am confused as to why I would need chromcast or an app made by qobus or roon.
It’s probably because Naim don’t have apps for Windows and Macs
It’s true that the iOS app can run new M1 Macs, but only those. And it’s still an iOS app running on the Mac, and not what one might expect from a fully-featured native macOS application. Though true that it’s better than nothing.
For Windows, there is nothing until Windows can run Android apps, and then it will be be same situation, a mobile app running on Windows, not a fully-featured Windows application that makes use of a fully-featured desktop OS. Though, again, would be better than nothing.
Regarding Roon, you will know if you try it, explore its wealth of features, and - importantly - if you have a need for these features. Not everyone does, but it’s not even comparable if you do.
Ahhhhhh - I was unaware that the Naim app wasn’t available for older macs or pcs but it is available on iOS and I believe android devices which can be inexpensive and are couch friendly
My pluses for using qobus on the Naim app:
It’s integrated on the nd5 xs2 it streams rather than me casting to it from an app.
I can look for albums, artists and tracks.
I get cover art and info on the music being played.
I can look for other music while listening to the current selection.
I can mark favourites.
I get the best SQ using the Naim app and the integrated qobus facility.
Apple Music, Tidal, Qobus and Spotify are all different in terms of UI but not so much that I would turn my back on any of them for that reason.
Does Roon maintain the same benefits that Steve Harris listed for using the Naim integrated qobus facility?
Roon works very differently. The Roon Core server streams essentially the raw PCM data to the streamer. The Naim streamers implement first-class Roon support, so essentially the same things apply as what Steve said about using Qobuz in the Naim app.
However, for me it’s about the Roon features, e.g.:
- Detailed metadata with credits including musicians and production personnel for most releases. E.g. for the Center of the Universe album by Giant Sand, it shows the main musicians, additional musicians, engineers, etc., on a per-track detail level:
- Ability to add and edit metadata where missing, and this includes the content from Qobuz, over which there is otherwise no control at all if not using Roon
- Clicking on said metadata to browse around. If I like the organ player on an album, just click on it and learn more about them, like a short bio and other albums they worked on, then simply play this with a click. So if I clicked Chris Cacavas in the album above, I get an overview with dates, bio, etc.
And a discography with his other works and contributions:
- Detailed ratings, not just favorite yes/no. I can give 1-5 stars, a heart, and others. Meaning that my real favorites are “hearted” but I can also remember other albums by giving them stars without them cluttering my hearted favorites.
- Ability to filter for all this data, so I can have Roon display, e.g., all albums where a certain artist performs, but only from the years 1960-70. Or all albums on a particular label in my library. Or all albums that I gave 3 stars or more. Or only my absolute “hearted” favorites. And so on, the possibilities are endless. E.g. a small selection of these categories, clicking one or more of them would display only these albums from my library:
- Tagging albums and artists with my own tags, which can be completely arbitrary and don’t have to conform to file tags. Like I can tag all artists I have seen live, all record covers I love, etc.
- Combining these filters and tags and saving them as a bookmark, so I can bring them up with a single click.
- All of this covers Tidal, Qobuz, and my own local rips in one unified interface
- Distinction between original release date and reissue release date when sorting by date.
- Integrated lyrics
- It knows about compositions being a separate category from tracks/songs, so it displays how many cover versions exist of the song, and can list and play them. Marked here in green, the first number is the number in Qobuz, the second one how many are in my personal library:
- Many other things. In summary, I have no idea how I would have control over my library without Roon, and it continually teaches me things about it that I didn’t know, like who worked with whom, etc.
I may be wrong but if I were to use a connect qobus app on my phone of computer in the future I would be streaming to that device and if I wished to listen on my Naim gear I would have to cast from that phone or computer to the Naim device via Chromecast or AirPlay or some other method.
Why would I do that when it seems to run against the benefits listed by Naim earlier in this post?
No, it would be implemented like Tidal Connect, i.e. not needing Chromecast or Airplay. Much like the Naim app, and like already exists with Tidal Connect, the Qobuz app would act like a remote and only tell the streamer what to play, the actual streaming would be done by the streamer.
One would do this if one prefers the Tidal/Qobuz apps over the Naim app. They have features that the Naim app does not, so some people prefer them.
Hi Suefkiez
Your reply regarding Roon is much appreciated and I have subsequently spent some time on the Roon site. I like their philosophy towards business, their people, technology and music and can see why others like yourself extol Roon’s virtues.
I’m no longer confused
That’s great news
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