M connect is on iOS phone, bubble on an android phone. The things phones can do these days ……
So my next question…how do I interface my Pixel (6) with my ND5XS 
£299 for lossy MQA seems a dumb deal to me and hardly cheap.
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Is MQA lossy then? I thought the whole point of it was transfer of high resolution files?
The CS1 does stream Qbuz. I just checked. Seems it’s worth a punt to me. £299 is hardly much in naim spending terms (a couple of lengths of Naca5)! If it outputs 24bit
24bit/192Hz into the ND5XS Dac, would that not work?
Technically a case can be made that it is lossy, that doesn’t mean that it sounds worse than a full fat equivalent.
This is why it’s worth taking time to do the demo, you may be chasing a mirage; or something that makes a small difference on particular files, many of which you wouldn’t listen to anyway.
A friend bought an IFI Zen as a stop gap, might be worth also considering if you decide to go this route.
For more info on the case against MQA I posted a couple of links here:
https://community.naimaudio.com/t/96-24-vs-cd-44-16-really/27353/35?u=mrunderhill
Certainly DOES NOT mean that their view is correct and the scheme doesn’t have benefits. I have a healthy respect for Bob Stuart.
M
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I used to stream Tidal for quite some time until I discovered Qobuz sounds a lot better and is cheaper.
I would echo similar comments here recommending a switch to Qobuz, Tidal streams in comparison seem coloured and muddled with Qobuz giving a more natural open and transparent sound.
This just with a Bluesound Node 2i, whilst at my dealers earlier this week listening to the new 200 series, comparison of Tidal v Qobuz really was remarkably night and day as they say.
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I agree, my earliest streaming was with a laptop and Meridian Explorer DAC which was really very good.
The thing with MQA (aside from its coloured sound imo) as I understand it, was developed as a means of delivering “HiRes” audio over slower bandwidth internet services which is no longer such an issue. Most broadband services even at the lower end of the available speeds now are more than capable of delivering full HR files (FLAC anyway).
Theres possibly some benefit with MQA encoded CD with a suitable player but then we already have SACD.
There may be some anti piracy benefit to MQA that is supposed to indicate that the file is an authentic one originating from the original studio label, but licensing has to be paid similar to the old Dolby NR.
Overall, I think MQA has been developed as a solution to issues that in the main no longer need resolving, so is perhaps kind of anachronistic?
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That might give the first unfold, but not fully unfold as that requires an MQA licensed DAC, and if you’re taking a digital signal from the NAD you’re not using its DAC. There are other alternatives if you really want to bother with MQA first unfold (e.g. you could use software like Audirvana on a computer to do first unfold and send to the ND5XS), but I do wonder why anyone would want to. You’d have to listen and decide for yourself if you prefer the MQA version of life, or if you want high res in bit perfect form instead use Qobuz or download hi res files.
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The fact you want it on the cheap suggests you yourself aren’t convinced.
Why not use a software that makes the first unfold and send it to the streamer.
MQA IS lossy. It is a scam and nothing more. It will not sound better. Do not waste your precious time and money to get it.
Regards
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Slightly off topic, just to be clear: no Naim steamer supports MQA, including the current generation.
(They support Qobuz, though.)
On topic: if you like a simple option (without fiddling with apps, laptops/smartphones, …) adding such an additional box gives you a few options to explore: MQA and/or Qobuz, analogue through the extra DAC or through the Naim DAC. With some risk, you’ll not be convinced of the invest, if you cannot test it beforehand.
You may need multiple apps/remotes for all the boxes, but that’s for everybody to decide, what’s convenient or tolerable for them.
The MQA discussion has taken place through several threads on the forum, just type in MQA in the search feature.
In the past on the MQA website they used to list companies that supply products that supports thier proprietary licensed software.
I did a side by side comparison of TIDAL vs Qobuz a few years ago and Qobuz won hands down. It was $5.00 less a month and even cheaper with a yearly subscription. …of Course with the Disclaimer: My Room, My System, My Ears.
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Yes, but you couldn’t experiment full MQA on Tidal vs Qobuz hires, just comparing Tidal Flac 16/44 vs hires Qobuz.
@bailyhill , if he is still with us, could compare. At that time he had the top Meridian dac and sold the Nd555.
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That is correct and I have no interest to explore MQA in any form. If I did I would explore a vendor that supports the format. Or go to a dealer that sells and demonstrates products that support it.
The subject has been beat to death and plenty of discussions have taken place.
Since it says “on the cheap” here, would the NAD be any better than the Wiim pro for half the price? I have to admitthough I was a fan of the NAD sound before I joined the Naim Comunity.
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