Hi how can i stream tidal hifi and masters from the native tidal app to my 272 without using the naim app? I dont see the 272 as a device but see chromecast as an option Which means one more power source to a chromecast device and not sure the video chromecast is the same as the now obsolete audio chromecast in sq? Any experience? Other options?
You can’t. If you use Mconnect app and upnp you can get the first mqa unfold , but that’s it. Your not getting the full MQA process. The final rendering deals with final reconstruction of the mqa material and applying upsampling and the specific filters for the DAC. As Naim does not support mqa rendering you don’t get this stage. So your output will be also limited to 96/24 as thats the max the first unfold goes to.
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You can also use a DAC that supports MQA and then input to the 272 as an analogue audio connection.
I have tried similar but not tried it as a digital input from a MQA capable DAC.
The main constraint here is the lack of MQA full unfold in Naim DAC’s.
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Audirvana via UPnP is another option to get the first MQA unfold. It also transcodes Tidal files from FLAC to WAV. Thus far it’s my preferred way to stream Tidal with the NAC 272.
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Thanks folks
A friend mentioned a dac called bluesound does anyone use this?
Video Chromecast is not as good as Audio Chromecast in terms of handling HR audio files. I forget the specs now, but it’s significantly different.
Best
David
Yeah thats what I thought will do some research on bluesound + roon
Thanks
The way I currently do this is using an iFi iDSD Micro USB DAC which I’ve used both with Audirvana as a front end as well as with Roon. the output from the DAC is RCA which then connects directly to the amp, which in my case is an Arcam AV amp.
There’s a few key points to reiterate here, namely that Naim don’t support any type of MQA decode natively in their products, past or present. If you add Roon to a Naim based system that can do the first unfold of the MQA data in software, the final unfolding part to achieve output and playback of Tidal Masters beyond 24/96 requires a DAC that can do that in hardware.
Given the equipment I own and can use to actually test these things and give a real world opinion on, I’d expect this to be the only realistic way to give you a true full unfold of MQA source material.
My understanding is that of the option available that partially support MQA in software like Roon or Audirvana, they are limited to only being able to output a 24/96 analogue signal, to go beyond that requires a DAC that supports full MQA unfold in hardware.
The 272 cannot support being a Roon endpoint either so to utilise Roon to give a 24/96 output still requires a mediator between the Roon Server and your 272. The suggestion to evaluate Audirvana as an alternative is viable as that is based on UPnP which you 272 does support.
Hope that all helps anyway!
I use MConnectHD app on an iPad.
It sounds a bit better than the Naim app.
The app works, but it’s quite clunky to operate.
I tried to get Audirvana working, but it would not find the 272 via upnp and the Audrivana control app kept switching itself to a deadend page, so I gave up faffing with it. I may try again some time soon.
I bought a Bluesound Node 2i recently, but it sounded rubbish compared to my 272/555DR native Naim app so I returned it.
Thanks jimdog
The spec doesn’t seems much better than the dac in the 272 i am not too technical when it comes to dac specs and dont want to import something for questionable benefit if any
Audirvana updates often seem to fix one bug only to introduce another. Latest version of Audirvana refuses to find my 272 with the Mac Mini on an ethernet connection, but finds it instantly if I switch the Mini over to wi-fi (and then stays connected with wi-fi turned off)…
Has anyone on here used Audirvana successfully with a 272?
I’ve only ever used Audirvana with a USB DAC connected directly to the machine running Audirvana.
I’ve also never owned a 272 so can’t comment on these specific combinations alas.
Yes, I’m using it successfully right now : )
If you mean 100% bug free, then no (but that’s also been true of my experiences with Bubble, Minimserver etc).
Audirvana’s stability has improved over the year or so I’ve been using it, and their customer support are pretty responsive. Maybe give it another try?
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I never got it to work consistently with my Atom either over UPnP.
Also, in fairness, I’ve found Audirvana works almost flawlessly for local streaming. The occasional hiccups typically occur when streaming Tidal – which itself has caused various problems for 272 owners, even when streamed directly via the Naim app.
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If your using it from a laptop on wireless then yes you could get issues from Tidal like that much like Roon can as Tidal stream is going to the laptop wireless then back out wireless to the router and then the Naim it’s not a single direct link.