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 
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.
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
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,
Finally updated today after the cable arrived. Sitting here now I can sense an uplift in SQ. The music sounds sweeter and more composed.
Somebody tell me the update has no effect on SQ and it’s bias confirmation. Or is it real?
Never had the confidence to trust my own ears on anything but major upgrades!
Naim fine tune the firmware before releasing any new version to make sure it sounds right. From what I can remember 4.7 was very good. It might sound unlikely, but it’s not just you.
I checked on the 4.4 & 4.7 firmware DSP file, they are indeed different file numbers so might sound different.
But as I said in previous post #19, it seemed to be a matter of personal preferences & different streamer models & systems.
I think it is indeed preference as I tried the 4.7 firmware for a while but eventually reverted back to 4.4 as I preferred the sound. I believe there was a debate at the time and opinion between the two was split.
I guess much will depend on the surrounding setup and environment. More listening needed but it appears to have tamed some of the unwanted exuberance in my system. I guess on a different system this taming could be a detractor.
That said I’m still not 100% sure I’m not imagining it, time will tell.
edit: Interestingly just did a search and first post mentions ‘dampening’ of the treble. I guess one listeners dampening is another listeners sweetening.
In the beta room there is an short explanation in the FAQ about what this “tuning” involves. Don’t want to copy it because of rules, but I get the impression that some members are making too much of it. No change is done to the bits that are delivered, so nobody “pressed a loudness button”
If I recall, and looking at the timestamps, the debate was a choice provided to NDS, NDX, ND5XS and N272 users as to which firmware version was preferred, with different DSP settings:
4.4.72
4.4.73
which then got blended into the 4.4.75 release, following that feedback and listening test undertaken in Naim HQ.
The firmware releases have been subsequent made introducing Tidal related functionality and fixes, with 4.7 being the current since the beginning of 2019.
I don’t believe the Beta 4.8 release (4.7.31) makes any changes to the DSP settings from the 4.4.7x releases.
You need to compare .dsp file numbers.
Whatever, no point in going over old firmware, we are not going back there.
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