Hi @Airdavid, three additions to what has already been said.
The UnitiServe does not come with a remote control, you can manage it through the n-serve app on your phone/tablet or through the UnitiServe desktop app for Win/Mac.
As far as I’m aware the UnitiServe cannot be managed by an external streamer. You control it through the app, and it sends out a digital signal only. It does not accept any incoming control signal from any external streamer.
The UnitiServe does not send out an analog signal, it’s digital only via BNC or optical out. So you must have a DAC to convert the bits into current!
Dear @bas72,
thank you for your reply.
I do know the UnitiServe needs a DAC to convert from digital to audio.
But within this framework, based on what you wrote, if I have music ripped into the UnitiServe, what does a streamer (such as NDX2) do beside managing the music that comes from various providers (tidal etc …)?
I thought it was used to manage the ripped music inside the unitiserve (or other music servers like Melco etc) …
Or maybe I’ve lost some points…
I must admit: I own the SSD version of the UnitiServe, so my ripped CD’s are stored on a NAS elsewhere in my network. So I have to take a small step back here, because I am not entirely sure if an NDX can use the internal HDD of a UnitiServe as a network location. My gut feeling says it can’t, but I might be wrong.
In short: I’d say you can use the DAC inside the NDX for your UnitiServe, but only when the UnitiServe pushes the music to the NDX. I don’t think you can use the NDX to pull music from your UnitiServe. But again: I’ll happily be corrected by anyone who has this setup running…
The Unitiserve used over your network with an NDX2 would use the UPnP protocol, which is a sort of 3-way communication between the server (Unitiserve), streamer (NDX2) and control point (Naim app.) The Naim app primarily communicates via the NDX2, through which it can browse the content of the Unitiserve, and tell the NDX2 to pull music files from it.
If you use the Unitiserve into a directly connected DAC (instead of a network connected streamer) then all browsing and control is done using the N-Serve app which communicates directly with the Unitiserve.
Thanks again for this chat, @ChrisSU!
So buying or having a streamer only for cd ripped into a musicserver or a UnitiServe wouldn’t make any logical sense?
You may find that it’s better value to buy a DAC with a coax SPDIF input, yes. A used Naim NDAC would be a good option, for example.
Of course, many people think that they only want to stream their local collection, only to find that there is a whole world of music accessible to them at high quality through Qobuz, Tidal or internet radio.
Sorry @ChrisSU,
so in order to set up a local network , I don’t need an internet connection.
And in order to set up the local network and communicate a music server (which contains files deriving from ripped CDs, such as Unitiserve, Melco, etc.) and the specific app on iphone, ipad, pc … with/without streamer streamer, what do I need besides wifi or an ethernet cable?
An home router (which works in the absence of the Internet) set up in some way (via pc maybe?) that acts as a hub between the music server, the App and streamer (if any), and to which I connect the ethernet cables of the music server and streamer (if any), right?
Hi David
Depending on your needs, you need to run a network in your home. For most, the hardware that does this, and controls it, is included in the router supplied by their internet provider, but you can buy such a device yourself if you have no internet service.
Individual devices connect to this network using either an Ethernet cable or using WiFi. It’s still only one network, just with two different ways to connect to it.
Servers such as the Unitiserve typically use wired connections. A standard Cat5e Ethernet cable of suitable length is all you need.
Control devices such as iPhones and iPads normally use WiFi to connect. If you use a computer for control, either wired or WiFi connection is fine. Streamers also have either option, although a wired connection is usually best for them to maintain a reliable connection.
Thank you so much, @ChrisSU!
Now it’s more clear to me (hopefully).
So, in nutshells, two configurations are possible, both with a local network (i.e. through a router) and App (via iphone, ipad, computer…):
Music Server (with files from ripped cd) -> router + DAC: in this case the music will be managed by the App connected directly to the music server;
or
Music Server (with files from ripped cd) -> router <- Streamer: in this case the music will be managed by the App connected directly to the Streamer, which “sees and reads” the files of the music server.