Naim NDS Streamer Update from 4.4 to 4.7

Just noticed my unit is on 4.4 and latest is 4.7.

Read through installation instructions and stuck at the first hurdle trying to install drivers on my 64 bit Windows 10 laptop. Error message on trying to install is as follows. Any help greatly appreciated.

Is this the installation of the driver for the USB connection, like this?

Excuse the maybe silly question, but did you download and unzip the zip file? If you just open the zip file in the Windows Explorer but don’t unzip it, and then start the installer from within the zipped file, it will not find the driver files, I suppose.

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Ha brilliant thank you Suedkiez not the first time you’ve helped me out. I owe you a pint :beers:

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That worked? Fabulous. :slight_smile: I don’t even own an old streamer and just downloaded and skimmed through the instructions. It was a long shot, but I guess having worked for decades in software support does give me a bit of a 6th sense :speak_no_evil:

Haven’t installed the update yet but the driver is at least now installed on my laptop. Not going to interrupt the sound tonight :sunglasses:

Good luck and smooth sailing. And thanks for the pint, maybe after the pandemic if the mothership opens its doors and lets the rabble in. :beers:

P.S.: I have the instructions now, so feeling ready for everything. And anyway the old-streamer experts like davidhendon will be watching :slight_smile:

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The next hurdle is a data cable. Have a few cables with the right connectors but Murphy’s law dictates they will be of the charging variety and finding one locally will be akin to finding one in a haystack :grin:

I would guess that most cables are data cables and you’d have to go looking for a charging-only one

You need a mini USB to USB cable, between your computer and your Nds, to do the update.
@Mike-B can help .
Suedkiez, you can too of course, but you have the new streaming platform, so the update is straight away from the screen or tablet.
There were some difficulties for some, like me in the past, to do the updates. Mike B knows very well all that.

I know, like I said I downloaded the 4.7 update and read the manual to help Stu and so far it was spot-on. It’s normal computer stuff, not hard for me, but like I said, the old streamer experts will arrive to help

Yes , the manual says so and Stu has some, but the manual also says that it needs to be a data cable, not a charging-only cable. Stu was concerned about that, but in reality most cables should fulfill the requirement

FWIW, Naim just revealed that a new firmware release (v4.8?) for legacy streamers might be coming soon:

I was just about to update my NDS from 4.6 to 4.7, but will wait for this (hopeful) new release before faffing around once again with archaic cables & drivers :nerd_face:

After you’ve succeeded in doing it once you’ll have no trouble repeating it if another update arrives. The first time does seem slightly scary, but if you follow the instructions to the letter it should work fine. The vast majority of failures seem to be the result of just one minor step being done incorrectly, so it’s worth reading through the accompanying instructions carefully before you start.

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Cheers Chris. I managed it twice on my 272. Current NDS inaction is more due to laziness, not fear. I also recall that 4.7 was mostly about bug fixes and didn’t noticeably change SQ.

Yes, it was mainly a Tidal functionality fix.

Do these updates change/improve SQ in people’s exeriences?

They can have a small effect on sound quality. Naim tweak them before release to make sure they are happy with the sound.

The problem with these cables is that many products, for example digital cameras before the days of connecting it to a computer became a thing, bundled a mini USB to USB A cable in the box for charging purposes. These cables often only had the dc pins connected.

The first time I did a firmware update on a Naim streamer, I had three cables in my old cable box that looked as if they would work, but in fact only one of them did.

In case anyone wonders, you can go directly from 4.4 to 4.7 without doing any intermediate updates first.

Best

David

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Yes, but the days before connecting cameras to computers were a long time ago. Sure, someone may have such a cable left in a drawer. Then it just won’t work and it will be confusing if someone did not read the instruction or did not realize what the “data” part means. But Stu did.

But if you buy a new one, most likely it will carry data or it is not super hard to find out. E.g., the first random search result on Amazon says “charging and data transmission” in the description.

It depends — during the long ago early days it seemed to depend on an individuals preferences, the whole system (e.g. speakers) & the Naim model such as preferences between NDS & NDX users.
There was some experiments with different DSP programs, but the end of the day it always seemed to be individual preference.

A long time ago FR. Yes I remember the difficulties, but the detail is a bit ‘hazy’.
If I remember, the problems were mostly people using the wrong Silabs USB driver.
The latest Naim PDF instructions have the right links to Silabs,

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