Having been using Tidal Max with our NDX2 for a year with various hardware and software workarounds, I can confidently say this new firmware with the native Tidal implementation sounds better than we’ve ever heard.
System has been in constant use today. I’m re-evaluating my previous opinion that 24/96 was a sweet spot for the nDAC. Have listened to loads of 24/192 Tidal content today (Tidal Connect) and it sounds fabulous.
The width of soundstage is incredible, would honestly think we’d tweaked our speaker positioning.
Noop, on my NDX2 it rather often stand and rotating when a new track try to start. When i jump a track forward and back again it start the track that previously failed.
Hi @Alley_Cat , can I ask you how you revert to an older firmware in case you are not happy with the sound? Also can one choose the firmware to revert to?
I wonder if this last update affects sound quality in general and not only streaming services like Tidal.
There is a mechanism to do so via a web browser but it requires having a copy of the older firmware, and unfortunately Naim have never posted firmware online for the Uniti or subsequent streaming products (unlike older streamers where you needed to update manually via a cable and direct computer connection). If firmware only affected features/functionality then it probably wouldn’t matter but the firmware can be tweaked to alter the overall sound - what works for one person might not for another, especially as we all have different systems.
I had one of the very early Novas and was quite frustrated when a firmware updated altered sound quality significantly for the worse for me, though many others preferred the updated sound and feature enhancements that came with it.
I was kindly sent a file to allow me to revert to the version I far preferred (simply far more analogue sounding/warmer with nicer bass), but that was years ago and I suspect something of a one-off in the early days. I’ve not reverted for ages primarily as the old firmware did not support Qobuz/Tidal/Roon, and Qobuz support is pretty important to me now. I think there’d also be a risk of more modern firmware potentially not using quite the same update methods so trying to revert to something pretty old could brick the unit.
To be honest, I think I’d say that the current firmware is probably the best sounding one to date. Something which was I gather identified in beta testing.
Thank you @Alley_Cat, I do get your point, indeed I’m mostly concerned about the sound quality and I’m worried that I might not enjoy the tweaked sound (even though I’m pretty confident I might like it). That’s why I still have an old firmware on my NDX2 and luckily I’ve never really cared about the extra features.
The choice would be easy if one could test it and revert it in case the sound isn’t as expected. Maybe I should contact Naim support before deciding what to do…
Despite my thoughts, I highly appreciate that Naim is constantly developing firmwares to improve sound, even though I’ve never bought any Hi-Fi gear thinking that the company might change its sound signature over time. I might expect the sound to change because of its age and use.
It was distinctly inferior to Qobuz in SQ, and the transfer process using Soundiiz converted some of my favourites to Tidal one’s making it fiddly to get rid of them.
Not every one has English as their first language. There’s more pleasant ways ways to ask for clarification. Although I’m sure you could deduct what he was trying to say if you really wanted to.
So happy with this new update! Switched from Qobuz to Tidal last year because I understood that hires Tidal would soon be available via the Naim app. Took longer than expected. I used mcconnect for a while, but I much prefer the Naim app.
According to Naim (Richard commented somewhere) the short slogans mentioned in the app when initiating the update are the release notes.
For the new internet radio service, a lot of information is dropped in the corresponding (moderated) thread - otherwise it’s bits and pieces here and there.
Thanks
From that thread, the only mention I can see re. streaming is -
These updates are not only improving the internet radio server but improving our streaming capabilities too. TIDAL’s new 24-bit, 192 kHz streaming tier, TIDAL Max, is now available through both the Focal & Naim app and TIDAL Connect.
Which doesn’t seem to indicate there’s been any change that would modify the quality of the sound.
If Naim have modified the Firmware to improve sound quality, why aren’t they banging the drum about it?
There has indeed been no official release notes published beyond the one liners with the update in the app itself.
As @PhilippVH shows there used to be clear information distributed with releases. Some thing seems to have changed in the way Naim communicates and it seems that the radio silence there was in communicating when these changes would be released now extends to release notes and how to operate new releases
PS: no mention on e.g. Instagram yet. Maybe to come, when they’ve rolled-out all variants this week.
You could imagine it’s an important update some people really waited for - then again, all the streamers will notify the users directly.
