To answer your original post, I use Tidal Hi-Res and have had it for the past 5 years, originally MQA and now FLAC.
I chose Tidal over Qobuz because I wanted the Music Videos and Music Concerts that Tidal also stream.
Ive also found Tidal’s music library has always had any music Ive searched for, so impressed with that too.
Sound quality wise Ive found Tidal Hi-Res gives my Pure Audio Blu-ray discs a good run with the discs just marginally better and same for my CD player which just slightly beats Tidal CD quality streams.
I can confirm that. I stream optical via my hifi rose rs130 into a chord Dave at 24/196 with no issues at all (and it sounds brilliant)
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Is the input limited to those figures, or is that a recommendation.
It’s hard to believe a 16k nd555, which is basically a DAC with streaming board is only capable of those figures. It won’t be long before 24/192 will be classed as low res. Anyone contemplating using the nd555 as DAC in the future is in for a shock.
Ndac manual indicates 32/192 for s/pdif, no differentiation between coax and optical.
Nds is 24/192 no differentiation between coax and optical.
Have they really decided to limit the performance of current equipment. 
It’s a recommendation I think. I can stream 24/192 Tidal Connect to a Wiim Ultra and output it via optical to a Nova OPT in. Seems to work just fine.
WiiM Ultra
Naim app OPT in on Nova
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SPDIF is constrained to 24 bit (Actually by default its 20 bit, but with an option 4 bit extension), therefore you can only send up to 192/24.
Internally the Naim streamers, or at least some of them can do 32 bit within the streamer itself.
I was aware of the NDAC manual saying 32 bit on SPDIF but I assumed that was a miss print, as the SPDIF standard does not support it within the framing structures
Simon
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Now we’ve stumbled on this, I’m more intrigued why all current OC and NC devices spec 24/96 for the TOS input….?
And yes, nDAC spec doesn’t seem to differentiate any difference across its inputs, whether they be Coax or TOS (though it’s one of those classic ‘doesn’t mention’ manual scenarios…!)…but clearly as @Fatcat reports, it does input 24/192….
Is it just a ‘play safe’ and adhering to the original TOS spec…?
SC
Evening
I sent a question to Future Shop regarding their HDMI to Coax converter. This post is the question and the next is their answer which I have to say sounds very good, especially as they suggest trying the option that doesn’t use their kit first and then, even if I did buy their kit then a return is fine if it doesn’t do what I want it to. Very impressed TBH.
Have a read
My Question:
I am looking for a way to grab the high-res audio from a Blu-ray player and feed it into my HiFi (Naim NDX2) streamer.
Looking at various Blu-ray players (that don’t cost the earth), it seems HDMI output is obviously the standard, along with a coax digital output on some players. The problem is finding out exactly what resolution the coax output reaches and whether it is really hi res or not very hi res at all.
I’m going to give it a go, probably buying a Sony UBP-X800M2 which has HDMI Audio output and also coax.
The manual says this:
Audio Output
48kHz/96kHz/192kHz PCM]
[48kHz]/[96kHz]/[192kHz]: Sets the sampling
frequency for the PCM signals output from
the DIGITAL OUT (COAXIAL) jack.
I have heard that Blu-ray copyright might restrict this output to 96kHz for some reason, and if that is the case then I will have to use the HDMI audio output – however there is no HDMI input on the streamer.
That’s where a converter comes in, and I am looking at your Blustream HD11AU HDMI Audio Embedder / De-Embedder. I would then use the HDMI audio out from the Sony player, into this converter and then coax from the converter to the streamer.
My main question is whether the coax output on the converter will go to the full potential of the Blu-ray input – ie up to 192kHz or will it not go that high for any reason (copyright or technical limitations).
I guess my second question is if you had any better ways or getting what I want which is simply high-res audio from Blu-ray.
You can get Blue Ray Audio discs (which cost a fortune) but increasingly there seems to be a Blu-ray version of an album included in the deluxe album packages and I’d like to be able to play them. The Cure | Songs of A Lost World is a recent example as is Peter Gabriel I/O from last year.
Your thoughts would very much appreciated.
And the answer from Future Shop …
Thank you for your email and inquiry about our Blustream HD11AU. It’s great to hear you’re looking to maximise the audio quality from your Blu-ray collection on your Naim NDX2 streamer.
To answer your main question: Yes, the Blustream HD11AU will pass through high-resolution audio up to 192kHz via its coaxial output. It’s designed to extract the audio from an HDMI signal without any downsampling or alteration, allowing you to enjoy the full potential of your Blu-ray discs.
Regarding your concern about copyright restrictions on the Sony UBP-X800M2’s coaxial output: While some Blu-ray players may limit the sampling rate of their coaxial output due to content protection, it’s not a universal rule. Do double check, but my quick research, suggest that the Sony player’s manual suggests it supports up to 192kHz, but it’s possible some discs might enforce a lower rate. The HD11AU provides a reliable workaround by extracting the audio directly from the HDMI output, bypassing any potential limitations on the coaxial output.
As for alternative solutions, the HD11AU is indeed a very effective way to achieve your goal. Another option could be exploring dedicated network audio players with HDMI inputs, though these might be a more expensive solution.
Using the HD11AU with the Sony UBP-X800M2 is a solid approach to enjoy high-resolution audio from your Blu-ray discs on your Naim NDX2. You appear to have the connections you need to do this.
With regard to Digital Co-Ax use, we have customer with extremely high end systems that actually have a preference for this connection, So I believe that this is also a very good transmission mechanism. I would let your ears do the deciding, Chris.
Or if you want to use the HDMI route:
Blustream HD11AU HDMI Audio Embedder / De-Embedder
I would suggest that you give it a try, if for any reason it is not suitable, let me know and we can arrange a return, so you have nothing to lose.
Hope this help a little,
With kindest regards,
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I recently acquired a Unit Nova which has allowed me to receive Qobuz. After streaming both services for a while, I have switched to Qobuz from Tidal. I also found Qobuz to be a tad warmer which I preferred on most tracks.
Also, no matter how many times I tried to set Tidal to hi-res or Max, it would only ever stream the music at 44/16 CD quality. In contrast, from the first stream forward, Qobuz always automatically streamed in the highest possible resolution and indicated very clearly at the song selection stage if the file was available in hi-res.
So Qobuz has just been a more simple format for me and I don’t notice any real different in the use of either platform.
And again, I do prefer the sightly warmer presentation that the Qobuz streams provide.
Hope this helps.
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Silly question perhaps but is it on the latest firmware that supports hi-res Tidal? And have you checked your Tidal account to ensure that Max is selected? I don’t know which browser you use but in my preferred browser, Firefox, when I go in to Tidal account settings the Max option is not available but if I use other browsers it is.
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i minor niggle with qobuz - but significant if you use playlists a lot:
they periodically delete some of my playlists - i have contacted support but beyond confirming that the playlists have been deleted and they have no way to recover them they have given no guidance on why this happens or how to avoid it happening in future
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Interesting. My Nova does still need the latest update which may be what allows it to receive Tidal Max which I guess is a new thing for them. I should do the update shortly, but I think I’ll stay with Qobuz for now anyway. Thanks tho, good thinking.
I have done all the correct selecting bits for Max and the Tidal App says its on Max, so it’s gotta be the update.
That’s weird. Haven’t experienced that problem luckily since I started with Qobuz 4-5 years ago. That would be a decisive matter to me in my choice for a service.
Maybe you can sync them with a free Spotify account and vice versa by using Soundiiz. That way you create a sort of backup.
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thanks for the suggestion - i need to do something and that sounds very sensible
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I’ve just got a Muso 2 (my first foray into the Naim world) and intend to trial both streaming services.
I have a noddy question. If I stream Tidal via Tidal Connect on my iPhone 16, will this adversely affect the quality of the stream compared with streaming direct from the Naim app? Asking because my only streaming experience so far has been via Spotify Connect and iPhone to a Sonos speaker.
No, Tidal Connect will send the stream straight to the streamer, so quality shouldn’t be affected. The same applies to Spotify.
The only way you would route the signal through your phone would be through Airplay or Bluetooth.
Thank you for the clarification, very helpful.
Indeed with Tidal Connect the streamer fetches the stream directly from the CDN (series of global cloud servers)
Hi @cgthecameraeye
Did you buy one of the Blustream HD11AU HDMI Audio Embedder / De-Embedder devices and test it out and if so what did you find out for Hi-Res extract from HDMI to coaxial?