Newbie with Naim, Tidal, Roon.... Questions for users

Hello everyone…After 40 years of dreaming about a Naim system… I am finally in with a NOVA. I am expecting it to arrive today. I always used separate components so far and have 0 experience with Room and Tidal. I already ripped my whole CD collection (WAV format) on an external 2T SSD drive that will be connected via the USB port of the NOVA. I will also be using TIDAL (native from the NOVA)… The NOVA will be connected via an Ethernet connection. So, here are my few questions. I thank you in advance for your help.

  1. If I only use the SSD drive and Tidal… Is there any advantage to also use ROON or is the Naim app ok?
  2. Is Ethernet better than Wi-fi to connect the NOVA on the net?

No clue on question 1 but 2 yes ethernet is preferred but without cable should also work nice.

As there is no MacOS desktop naim app (beside using the iOS app on the new M1 Macs) I opted for roon and like it very much. It’s a great software for discovering your collection. And if you like, it seamlessly integrates your collection with Tidal (and Qobuz). Just try it for free.

Have fun with your Nova!

  1. I do not use Roon and only use the NAIM App. Others on the forum use both.

  2. I have a NDX 2 that I use for streaming. I have a NAS with a couple of thousand CD’s ripped and stored on it.

From my router I have an Cat5e cable ethernet connection to a Cisco C2960C-8PC-L switch, my NAS with my music collection also has a Cat5e cable ethernet cable connection to the Cisco C2960C-8PC-L switch. I then have a Cat5e cable ethernet cable connection from my Cisco C2960C-8PC-L switch to a English Electric 8Switch. The English Electric 8Switch is connected to my NDX 2 with a Chord C-stream Digital Streaming Cable.

Using the NAIM app on my iPad I select the music from either my streaming service, Qobuz, my NAS or Internet Radio. No wireless connection is used and for me that makes for a seamless solution.

Thank you folks for the quick response. What is the advantage of using a switch? Why not connecting directly with a CAT6 or CAT7 to the router?

Thank you very much for the answer. Will Roon find my library even if is is plugged behind the NOVA using an external HD?

No, you’ll need to attach the drive to your Roon Core, or another location where it can see it on your network.

If your router has proper switch ports built in it’s fine to use them. No need to over complicate things, I would just get things up and running in the simplest way possible.
After that if you feel the urge to tinker with your network, feel free!

This depends 100% on what you expect an app and your music database to do. There are many things Roon can do that I cannot be without. If all one wants is to find an album and play it, it is overkill. The Naim app has some idiosyncrasies but is reliable and works well now for what it does. The iOS version is better in many ways still, while the Android version lacks some features and tends to have a slightly more quirky UI.

The pro and con Roon arguments have been rehashed too many times to be honest. I am reluctant to mention again what I like about it because it will only lead to someone showing up and telling me how wrong I am or that it is too expensive. For a partial list: https://community.naimaudio.com/t/roon-1-8/14361/17?u=suedkiez

Edit: Plus, you cannot “only use the SSD drive and Tidal” with Roon. Roon requires a server application that can be either installed on a regular computer (Windows, Mac, Linux) or can be a dedicated appliance (which they also sell as the Nucleus, but the basically same can be had cheaper)

Hello everyone… thank you all for the very quick responses. I will start by using TIDAL and my library from a HD for now and hook up my NOVA with a good quality Ethernet connection… I believe this should be a very good star… I will learn to play with my new system, enjoy the music and see from there if adjustments needs to be made.

Once again, thanks a lot.

A very happy new Naim family member.

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I use both Roon (running on my Mac Mini) and TIDAL. I notice that I make less use of Roon since I started using the Naim app.it is very good and it works really well with TIDAL. Also, putting your music on an external hard drive and connecting it to the Nova works really well.

I would not have bought Roon if I would have had my Naim a few years back. Of course it does add to the experience, but for casual listening you don’t need Roon.

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