I have recently purchased a pre-loved NDX and am very slowly working my way through setting it up…
Firstly I am unable to connect the NDX via ethernet cables and so am attempting to use WiFi, the radio seems to be working fine as is Spotify
However, I am having difficulty connecting my iMac to the NDX - its not displaying in the uPnP window, but a home theatre amp situated further away is, I suspect its a selection on the iMac that I have overlooked but am at a loss as to where to look?
I have tried to connect an iPhone via the USB and this also is a bit hit and miss, any ideas?
Finally (for now…) does the Naim app only work with Naim hard disc drives etc or should my Mac be displaying on it?
Hi, if you want to play music files stored on your Mac, or any other network connected drive, you need to run a UPnP server. You can run this on the Mac. This is what the NDX will discover in its UPnP input.
Your iPhone should work via USB. It’s really designed to work with Apple Music (previously with iTunes). If you are using a different app try playing something in Apple Music then open the app you actually want and it should play from there too.
I have a MacBook with Muso QB1 and Muso 2 and the Musos just appear as an Airplay option without any other settings being adjusted. However, they don’t always want to talk to each other and I have no idea why., our what remedy restores the connection.
Asset is strongly recommended - I use it on a Synology NAS and can also be used on an IMac. It can convert (transcode) files to WAV which the NDX prefers (over flac anyhow)….
Asset or Minimserver are the two tried and tested music servers to consider. They are reasonably cheap to buy, and well supported by their developers. Asset is a bit more user friendly. Some like the very versatile, configurable metadata handling of Minimserver, especially for Classical music.
If you rip CDs or buy downloads, DBpoweramp is produced by the same people as Asset. Get them all as a package and you get a complete CD ripper, metadata editor and server.
So to recap, to get the NDX to play the music files on my iMac I need to download the Asset server software onto the iMac, this will then enable the NDX to see the iMac under the UPnP setting alongside the AV amp that’s downstairs, I then select the iMac and all will be tickety boo?
If I purchase the DBpoweramp package would this sit on the iMac and work alongside Apple Music or would I need to re-rip all my files again to the DBpoweramp software? Getting a bit confused.
You need the Asset (or other) software to serve music to the NDX via the UPnP protocol. This will mean your iMac will need to be on when using the NDX.
Assuming your network is sorted (ie iMac on same network); the NDX will ‘see’ the Asset server software and music folders.
Have you stored your music locally (ie on your iMac?). If so, point Asset to the music folder and it will scan the folder and begin to ‘serve’ the music files over the network…
Servers such as Asset scan your network for available drives with music files stored on them. You can grant it access to your Apple Music stored library, along with any other files. It will merge them into a single library so that you don’t need to switch from one folder to another if you want it to.
You shouldn’t need to re-rip anything, unless you have used a lossy format and want to use higher quality lossless files, in which case you may want to re-do them. Either DBpoweramp or Apple Music can do this.
If your AV amp can see other music files, presumably it has a UPnP server of some sort running on it that the NDX can see? If this is a proper UPnP certified server it should be able to find the files on your Mac as well, in which case you wouldn’t need Asset. You would just need to allow it access to the files on OSX.
Not sure I fully understand what you are trying to explain.
I don’t use the AV amp for music, just for TV and films and would prefer to keep it that way.
The NDX currently only shows the AV amp in the UPnP selection window, I assume after downloading the Asset software that it will show the AV amp & the iMac?
The UPnP input on the NDX shows any UPnP servers it can find on your network. So whatever this AV amp is, it must have a server of some sort on it, but yes, if you don’t use it for music you can ignore it.
Its only around 10ft away as the crow flies, but to conceal any wiring it would need to be at least double that length and a real pain in the backside.
Am I right in thinking that by connecting the iMac optically I would still need to find a way to control and choose the tracks?
USB won’t work, but optical would if your Mac has that option. You would be jumping from the Naim app for volume and input selection, to a different app for browsing, play/pause etc. so not quite as neat as it could be.
Well, I downloaded Asset Server and all seems to be working ok!
Only problems I have are some missing artwork and a few weird moments, probably caused by the nut behind the wheel as I get to grips with the new interface.
So, it’s a massive thank you from me for all your help folks, very much appreciated.
Sadly I still have the problem of no album art on a huge amount of albums on the initial selection page, but when you open the “book” the art is there. I have cleared the cache, but still no art work on the initial selection page, any other ideas folks?
