Help....playlist frustration with Naim app

I have an NDS and Synology NAS using their MediaManager. The frustrations I have are:

  1. How do I create a playlist on the NAS that can be read by the Naim app. I use multiple devices.
  2. How do I import playlists created on iTunes?

As the previous forum as archived I cannot search so please excuse me if these have already been answered

The Naim app is very unimpressive; seems a poor strategy when this is extremely important when using digital.

I assume that Roon is not an option if I want to use the NDS properly…which is truly impressive!

Thanks in advance; this forum is such a source of help

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I use Playlist Creator running on a PC to create playlists on my NAS. I do have to manually edit the file to get the format of the filepath correct for Asset on QNAP (but that’s easy once you know the required format). Asset has a setting for the location of the playlists and it finds them well.

It’s not as spontaneous as creating them in the Naim app, but they’re reliable and easily found within the upnp option in the app.

You might be able to export your iTunes playlists to a text file, then do as above.

Many thanks Gavin, unfortunately I am a Mac man and use Minimserver.

What format do I need to save the playlist in and where should I store it???

Sorry for such basic questions

There seems to be a Mac equivalent called M3Unify (which might also solve your iTunes issue) - looks to be a free download.

These utilities create a .m3u file - basically just a text file. There’s a small bit of a header at the top of the file, then each track in the playlist has two entries, the second of which is the path and filename.

I have a Music folder on my NAS, and I have a Playlists folder under that. I simply need to put the path to this folder in my Asset set-up - I’m sure there’d be a similar setting for minim.

There’s a little bit of manipulation of the paths in the M3U file because Asset is Linux-based (I think) and needs the slashes etc. in a particular format. But that’s easily done in any text editor - I use Notepad.

Within the Naim app, these playlists appear under UPNP, and not where the Naim app created ones would appear. But I can then access these playlists using all of the phones / pads we use to control our streamers.

I presume you have tried, and possibly rejected the idea of using the Naim app’s own playlists? This is so much easier than having to open a computer and delve into the server to manage them. Just a shame that they sometimes become corrupted.

Yes…sadly; I use multiple devices.

The app is really second rate, very disappointing after spending so much money on the NDS

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If you wanted to use the Naim app playlists on multiple devices you would have to transfer them manually from one device to the other. I guess storing them locally will be preferable for some, as different users can each keep their own playlists, but we all have different ways of using our streamers.
Personally, I find that the Naim app serves my needs pretty well. Some prefer Roon, but the cost is quite high once you’ve bought a license and hardware to run the Roon Core. To make the NDS into a Roon Endpoint is possible with third party hardware such as Sonore UPnP Bridge or Airport Express.

Chris: thanks again.
A question about Roon…will your suggestion not degrade the SQ?

I’ve used Roon into my NDX via an Airport Express, and it did sound a little worse than UPnP, although how much of that is down to the AE or Roon itself is hard to say. I mentioned the AE mainly as it’s a very low cost way to give Roon a try on old platform streamers, although some Roon functionality isn’t available over Airplay. Still, a good way to trial it if you want to see if you like the Roon UI. A Chromecast Audio would be another low cost option. I haven’t tried the Sonore, that may be better - perhaps someone who uses it will comment?

If you want to create playlists that can be used across devices, then look to using an OpenHome controller such as LuminApp or Linn’s Kazzo or on Android BubbleUPnP in conjunction with BubbleUPnP server running alongside your normal UPnP server application. This allows for this and is of course free.

@anon91915252

Could you expand on this a little please, would be interested in getting this working if possible?

So I run Linn Kazoo on my Mac with BubbleUPnP server (also my Mac). How would i go about getting my playlists shared with say Linn Kazoo running on my iPhone?

Thanks

I think I’ve worked this out, here is some information in case it’s of use to others…

In my scenario I have Linn Kazoo on my Mac and want to also install it on iPhone and share playlists between both devices. I have Asset on a windows PC and music stored on QNAP NAS. I also have the BubbleUPnP server installed on my Mac. I’m not sure that’s most optimal place for BubbleUPnP and will possibly look to move to same device as Asset (more investigation required)

Install Linn Kazoo on iPhone.

Having installed BubbleUPnP Server on device of your choice then under “servers” make your desired UPnP server a “proxy media server on this LAN”

This will allow Linn Kazoo on iPhone to see your UPnP Server (in my case Asset)

Using Linn Kazoo on iPhone select the “Proxy Media Server” for your UPnP server

You should now be able to browse your UPnP server as normal from Linn Kazoo on your iPhone.

With regards sharing play lists easily between devices then I’m assuming this is the method alluded to in the post above unless someone can advise of an easier method……

On device A clear any current play queue………load desired playlist into device and start playing

On device B go to current play queue (which should be the playlist loaded on device A) and save that queue as a playlist on device B with same name as playlist on device A.

Now both devices will have same playlist, just got to remember to keep them in sync!

Note……this method of sharing playlists will also work with the Naim app if for instance you wanted to share playlists between an iPad and an iPhone (no need for BubbleUPnP server).

Playlists are a huge pain with Naim and UPnP. I found it awkward to have to use the Naim app to listen to music but a laptop running something like iTunes to create a playlist. Its a disjointed experience and is one of the reasons why I have just switched to Roon.

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Yes it is horrible. I am unclear with Roon though…how will it interface with the NDS, Will is alter the signal path and downgrade the sound quality. The whole point of buying the NDS is the SQ

Agreed, very sub-optimal.

I gave up creating playlists offline for import into Asset. Much prefer using the app capabilities and creating them dynamically whilst listening but back to the device portability issue.

Does Roon solve that issue across multiple devices?

I am about to setup Sonore UPnP Bridge software with Roon. With this setup, you use the Roon app and “push” music to your NDS over the network connection. From the NDS perspective it is exactly the same as when you use the Naim app - unless you start using DSP in Roon, etc.

Hardware wise there are a number of devices that run Sonore UPnP Bridge. I have bought a Vortexbox Mite - can’t tell you how good it is yet until I get it up and running.

This is very helpful. Thank you…does the NDS take LPCM?

Very interest to know how you get on.

Can the core be on a NAS or does it need a pc?

HI wilro15…tried to pm you but found that there is no longer that function.
I was wondering how your implementation was going as this is exactly what i would like to do.
I am a bit confused by all the different conficuration choices for the vortexbox mite so would be really greateful for guidance.
Many thanks

Hi Davidr

I have all my local music files stored on a NAS drive (Synology). The Roon Core runs on a Mac Mini. I use the Vortexbox Mite to run the Sonore UPnP Bridge software. The Mite has lots of options for software that it can run such as DLNA server, Plex, Roon Ready Endpoint or even Roon Core (this is not recommended as the Mite is not powerful enough).

What setup do you currently have? There are other options you may want to consider. For example, Audiostore/Vortexbox do a more powerful machine that can run the Roon Core and Sonore UPnP Bridge at the same time - this might be a more elegant solution. I chose the Mite because of the gear I already have.

I am sending WAV to my NAC-N 272, there is an LPCM option, but I haven’t tried it yet.

HI there,

Thank you very much for answering I have put more details here, so rather than duplicate threads I wonder if you could look at what I say here. Many thanks in advance