NAC 272 wired - what on earth is wrong with the Naim app?

Streaming Audio
1

Many moons ago I got a NAC 272 and used it on wifi with BT internet and 2G wifi. While the naim app was ugly as sin it worked, and I could play an album and the app would show the album, tracking the highlight down the tracks as it played.

BT supplied 2G and 5G capable routers, and problems started, the app would lose touch with the 272. Music started would carry on, but it was tiresome refinding the NAC272. There are no other control points or streamers on my network.

I have now connected the 272 via ethernet to the BT smart hub 2, which is connected to my Synology 214 NAS running Asset. So the 272 and the server are wired. It might sound a little better.

Trouble is, the app still flaps about, sometimes losing touch with the 272. Retry finds it again, but then I have to press Upnp, and it’s all tedious and not gracious living. The app woes seemed to start when focal appeared on the scene, but it may just be coincidence. I thought going wired would fix this, but no.

This seems to be a persistent problem with the Naim app. I tried turning 5G off, and for an album it behaved, but after that it barfed yet again, so I re-enabled 5G. I have the SH2 set to Mode 3 which is the most compatible with old wifi. I don’t have any old wifi on this network, the tablet is a Samsung from 2019.

I unplugged the ethernet from the 272 and the music stopped after a few seconds, so I an dead certain sure the 272 isn’t on wifi, and the Synology doesn’t have wifi.

The app is on wifi. I suppose I could get a USBC network card and trail a cable over the floor, but that’s pretty poor for the 21st century.

Have Naim given up on making the app work right with the 272? In the past I put it down to using wifi to 272, but that clearly isn’t the problem.

In the early days of having the 272 in a different house I was closer to the 272 and I used to select the albums from the green display on the 272 and perhaps I should toss the blasted Naim app for the frustration it causes me and get myself a pair of binoculars and go back to that, I am about 2.5m away from the 272 so I can’t read the display without optical aids :wink: I don’t use Tidal etc.

So please, forumites, please tell me how it is. Do I need to just suck it up, drop the app like a hot rock and use the 272 front panel display with binoculars? There’s a gonzo charm, I suppose, and I can’t fault the reliability. Is there a competent UPNP app I can use that isn’t Naim? At times I’d like to use my laptop to control it. I used to be able to do that with BubbleUPNP on the Synology making the 272 an OpenHome player, but that doesn’t work after a synology update.

Or do I need to go and buy a WII - something and patch this in via SPDIF, and then uninstall the damned Naim app and preferably firewall its source so I am never tempted to waste any more time with it again. I can’t understand why a normal UPNP controller won’t see the 272 but neither foobar2k nor the PC app I used to use via Bubble’s synology server patch can see the 272, though the ip address is pingable. Can somoeone confirm the raw NAC272 is not a UPNP renderer, even though it can browse a upnp server?

Of course, if I am doing something stupid I’d like to know, and fix it :wink:

Streamer version : 4.9.40 App version (Android) 8.1 (1444250)

2

What’s the basic topography of your network? Other routers, wi-fi repeaters etc

3

No other routers and no wifi repeaters. Max cable run is ~7m. I use the BT hub as the network switch. FWIW it identifies itself as a Smart Hub 2 in the control UI. It is operating with fibre, though at ADSL rates. Synology, SH2 and the 272 are in the same room.

I don’t get outages with the music, well as long as I don’t unplug the ethernet cable :wink: My TV works OK on wifi for replay etc, so nothing obviously ratty with the wifi. When I used the 272 with wifi I also didn’t get any interruptions to the music

1 Like
4

Ok, that should be fine. I ran a 272 with Asset UPnP without issues on a BT router.

All I can suggest is reboot everything starting with the router giving a few minutes between devices.

1 Like
5

I’m wondering if the issue is having the Smart Hub set to mode 3? As you say, that’s designed to help connections to older WiFi devices. But here the only relevant WiFi device is the Samsung tablet, which seems to be not in the first flush of youth but is really not so old. I would reset the Smart Hub to defaults with no special modes. That should ensure the tablet gets the best connection and might address your issue.

2 Likes
6

I only set it to Mode 3 this lunchtime in an attempt to fix this disappearing problem. I’d tried as @Guinnless suggested and rebooted everything. So far it’s lasted three tracks without doing the disappearing act, so it’s not yet time to raise a :wine_glass:. Indeed it’s just disappeared again, after 15 minutes. So I will set to Mode 3, I don’t expect a fix, but at least other stuff will benefit.

Having done this I checked the SH2 firmware which is v0.46.02.10311-BT and was updated Dec 2025 so it should be well clear of this legacy problem.

Update: changing to Mode 1 didn’t help, conked out after 16 minutes. It’s been playing an album and there was no hiccup in the music with all this flapping about. Which is the main thing, I guess, some low powered bins or opera glasses are starting to look like the way to go.

1 Like
7

Ah ok, understood. Any chance you could borrow a different device to run the app on as a test?

8

OK, I have closed the app on the 2019 Android and fished out a Galaxy Tab A which is from 2016, though it appears to connect to the 5G network (as did the other one). I’d uninstalled the app from this, assuming the flapping was a fault with this old unit. App looks different though the version number is the same as on the other unit, 8.1.

It made it nearly through an album before losing touch with the player. Seems uptight now, the app won’t list the servers, I have split off classical from other music with an Asset instance.

Amazon will sell me 3x25 opera glasses for £25. It’s starting to look like the best option, and if I never get to see that blasted Naim app ever again it’ll be too soon. I don’t really like having a glowing screen if the lights are off for music, so I’m getting the feeling this is the way to go.

Thanks for all your help guys, but the Naim app is rubbish in my system or with my hardware. It needs to go. An analogue solution to a digital problem :wink:

9

I have NDX (same hardware as 272)
All Ethernet connected via a Cisco network switch
BT SH2 now on full fibre, but faultless previously on the old copper.
Synology DS214 with UPnP Asset DSM-7
iOS and Android app.
It just works, no issues whatsoever on the iOS app. I rarely use the Android app, but have not had a problem.

First thing, the BT Smarthub2 needs to be on Mode 1, but the mode setting is nothing to do with this problem.
I suggest a total power down and a systematic power up starting with the BT SH2 and let it finish its restart process
On th BT UI set the BT and all clients to DHCP.
Switch on each device, make sure each is on DHCP …..

1 Like
10

Now that is one thing that I haven’t changed. I suppose I could see if it works on my iphone, though I hate adding apps to that, and the screen is far too small. But that can be fixed.

You have the same NAS and server.

I suggest a total power down and a systematic power up starting with the BT SH2 and let it finish its restart process

I have done this following @Guinnless suggestion, there was no apparent change, I started the SH2, then the DS214 and finally the 272

The app pathology seems to be on the wifi so I may try adding a separate AP on a different SSID to eliminate the BT wifi stack.

I did try first with my birdwatching bins which couldn’t focus close enough, then some low-end Nikons that could. The problem with just using the front panel display is that is it’s fine on music I know well but on a CD I haven’t listened for a while I have no idea how far I am through the album. So while I am taken with going front panel for classical and discs I know, sadly I probably still need the glowing rectangle of doom for unfamiliar stuff.

One question @Mike-B - do you use asset instances? I have several instances on the one server, and I wonder if this is causing the app grief, though the naim app should be able to cope with multiple servers on one IP. I used to have classical music on my old 212 NAS but shut that down to save power and noise.

11

This sounds like a phone/tablet Wi-Fi issue rather than a Naim streamer one. Check phone connectivity, permissions and wireless channel.

12

Possibly.

Remove them and have just the one basic instance if you can.

I have a 272 but use the Core and it’s been very flakey in the past but not recently.

Just to clear. The issue you have is not music stopping, it’s the app losing connection to the 272?

13

I’m not sure what you mean by 2G and 5G? Do you mean the mobile network? If so, that has nothing to do with controlling your 272.

If you want to see if a different app is better for you then try MConnect.

Stop playing around with the BT router. It’s a decent bit of kit in its default state.

Restore router defaults. Power down (not merely standby) the entire system. Wait for 5 mins. Power up router. Wait for 5 mins. Power up 272.

14

No

You haven’t commented on my suggestion re DHCP, are all your devices set to this.

I have split out 2.4 & 5G and have no problems, but might be worth reverting to BT default

And as per @spile …… a phone/tablet Wi-Fi issue rather than Naim.

15

I was thinking the same as @spile . I had this issue with the Primare app, OK on an iPad but dropping out on my Android phone. It was down to permissions re power usage on the latter, basically switching off the app from continuous use therefore dropping the queue.

Not the most technical answer I’m afraid but maybe a way forward? So many people use a system just like yours faultlessly it must be solvable.

Bruce

1 Like
16

It looks like it in the BT SH config, I haven’t actively changed anything here

@spile I have restarted all the devices, switching off at the wall and waiting 5 mins :wink:

@BruceW Thanks, power management is another avenue to chase. I don’t really want the Naim app on my ios phone, but it’s a last resort, as in general apple most things seem to work better than android

17

Why not have the Naim app on your ios phone?

Huge numbers of satisfied and glitch-free Naim app users on Android though. Note my issues were with the Primare app, not Naim, which has always worked perfectly.

Bruce

18

OK if you haven’t changed anything ……. The BT Smart Hub 2 manages network IP addresses automatically with DHCP and its the default setting. ….. so if you haven’t delved into this, leave well alone.

19

I tried the Naim app on the iphone. It looks much better, seems more responsive, I was considering buying an ipad from Argos, but eventually 3/4 of the way through an album it showed a blank display saying no track. Full marks for keeping its head in adversity, shortly afterwards it recovered, and showed the track that was playing, and the right time. And there is an aggressive screensaver timeout on my phone, so maybe this was an issue.

picking up on the kind folk that have suggested things to try:

@simon I’m not sure what you mean by 2G and 5G? Do you mean the mobile network?

I mean the 2.4GHz wifi and the 5GHz wifi, BT supports both, though I am starting to get the feeling not very well

Thank you. I didn’t realise there were options to get rid of the infernal Naim app!

@jay The issue you have is not music stopping, it’s the app losing connection to the 272?

Music plays fine, no dropouts whatsoever, and gapless where appropriate. It is the android app losing touch with the player status, and not bothering to try to recover that is the issue with the android app. The Ios app seems to handle recovery far more competently, particularly as there’s a 30s screensaver timout, the android tablet has no lock screen, as it is/was dedicated to this job

1 Like
20

A couple of other the thoughts.

There’s an option in the app to ‘stay connected’ but I am not entirely sure what it does.

What screen does it disconnect from as my app (Android) takes a while to find albums from the selected artist page (Uniti Core).

1 Like