Hello,
I am using Naim Mu so 2 with TIDAL on a smartphone via bluetooth.
I saw a network transport/ streamer Hi Fi Rose RS130 delivering hi-res digital output signal via HDMI.
Can I connect it to the HDMI of Mu So 2 and receive a sound quality improvement vs the sound quality delivered with Bluetooth from a smartphone (Tidal).
Welcome John,
May I ask why you don’t simply use the Naim app with integrated Tidal, which will play Tidal at the highest possible quality?
Sending the signal via Bluetooth is possibly the worst way to connect to your Muso.
If Tidal doesn’t show within the Naim app, you might have to “enable” the input in the settings, via the app.
Or use Tidal Connect?
The HDMI input on the Muso is HDMI ARC, specifically designed to take the audio channel from a TV. Unless the HiFi Rose output is also ARC it won’t be compatible. If it is I can’t see why you would need it when the Muso already supports HiRes audio from Tidal.
HDMI ARC and HDMI are both stereo compatible. So yes, the Hifi-Rose will function. Having said that, in fact this potential setup will practically be useless anyway.
Because:
First of all neither HDMI nor HDMI ARC will support anything above 16bit/44.1khz. Only eArc supports higher resolutions up to 24bit/192khz. So you might as well stick with the Tidal capabilities that are offered inside the Naim app.
Secondly, the Naim Mu-So Gen 2 does not support MQA so the Mu-So would not understand any MQA output from the Hifi Rose anyway. So you might as well stick with the Tidal capabilities that are offered inside the Naim app.
Thirdly, even if the Naim Mu-So would be able to understand higher res FLAC type output from the HiFi Rose (which is prevented by the HDMI limitations anyway) it would require at minimum a firmware update from Naim first to understand Tidal’s new hi-res FLAC format.
Which, fourth and final, is required anyway if you want the Naim’s internal Tidal streaming capabilities to understand the new Tidal hi-res FLAC streams at all …
Which in turn brings me to the following advice: Just get Qobuz instead 
They can both handle 2 channel stereo PCM, but Naim streamers only accept ARC, so anything else won’t work. Not that it really matters, as already mentioned there is no need for this workaround just to get Tidal onto a Muso.
Had Qobuz here for 8 months but hated the interface and it doesn’t support connect, Qobus said months ago they were working on their connect version but it never surfaced. I’m sure Naim will release a firmware update for Tidal’s new hi-res format.
Yes, the ability to get hi-res streamed audio natively on the Nova and Mu-So v.2 without all of the MQA “unfolding” nonsense is definitely a strong argument in favor of Qobuz. It is just plug-and-play.
Ya Bag the BT. If you don’t use naim app if you have iPhone just connect vis Airplay2
@Wditters
My Panasonic 4K Bluray player sends up to 24/192 from pure audio bluray discs to both my Denon AV Amp and Lumin Streamer/DAC via HDMI no problem.
So, it’s not somehow downsampling the hi-res to 16-bit/44.1 kHz to go across the HDMI cable and the signal actually arrives at your Lumin or Denon in full 24-bit/192 kHz?
The Panasonic DP-UB 9000 outputs full Hi-Res from its HDMI outputs, the highest I have on my discs is 24/192 but mostly 24/96 and some lower than that and sends that to both my Lumin Streamer/DAC and Denon AV Amp, no downsampling going on, its full Hi-Res over HDMI cables.
Noting thats not using HDMI eARC or ARC which outputs from a TV which might well be lower res digital audio. From my TV over HDMI ARC thats normally 16/48.
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