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.
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.
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.
