I am new to the Naim forum, so I apologize in advance if this has been covered.
What is the correct way to connect a Roon Nucleus or Roon Nucleus + to my Naim ND5 XS 2 for the best quality?
Thank you in advance for any advice.
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The best way to connect the ND5XS2 and the Nucleus to your home network is via wired Ethernet. The ND5XS2 will be the Roon endpoint, the Nucleus acting as the Roon Core.
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Welcome to the forum. Exactly what @james_n said. Over the network is the only way between Nucleus and ND5XS2
This is very easy. Install the Roon app on your mobile devices / computers. Plug the Nucleus into your network, and ideally also the ND5XS2 (wired). Turn on the Nucleus and wait a minute. Start the Roon app and it should find the Nucleus as well as the ND5XS2
Roon has very good documentation and thatās the best place to look for first steps
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Thank you for the great advice.
Q. If I only have one high speed internet cable. What is the best connection path to get the best quality?.
Usage 30% onboard hiRes digital files - 60% Streaming, (Tidal Master & Qubuz)
Thank you.
Iām not sure I understand the part about āonly one high speed internet cableā. This is what you most likely have to do:
The internet is connected to your router. The router probably provides wifi and has a few ethernet ports for wired connections to the local (ethernet) network.
One way is to connect the Nucleus and the ND5XS2 with ethernet cables to the ports of the router. However, this requires that you run both cables to the router - which may or may not be possible or convenient depending on the location of the router.
If running two wires to the router is annoying, or if you want more ports for other stuff, buy a good cheap āunmanaged switchā like the Netgear GS305 for about 15 euros. This also has a few ethernet ports, and it extends the network. Put the switch in the vicinity of the Nucleus and the ND5XS2. Connect one port of the switch to the router - thereby you only have to run one cable to the router. Connect the Nucleus and the ND5XS2 to the other ports of the switch.
The Nucleus, the ND5XS2, the switch, and the router, donāt have to be in each otherās vicinity, you can put them wherever, as long as they are connected as described. Though is probably better to keep the Nucleus away from the ND5XS2 and anything else in the audio rack. Neither the Nucleus nor the switch have a fan, so you can place everything just as you like. You can also put additional switches in between, if thatās somehow convenient for other devices you may have (printer, NAS, or whatever).
The Nucleus absolutely has to be wired, but this should not be a problem as it can also be placed next to the router, for instance.
The ND5XS2 should ideally be wired as well, it saves a lot of headache and just works. If for some reason this is difficult, the ND5XS2 might get away with being on wifi, if you have a reasonable one - but it can be difficult at least with hires material (and Roon uses quite a high streaming rate because it streams everything on the local network as uncompressed PCM data). If all else fails, you can set up a mesh wifi network (all good modern routers support something like this), which can get you a good wifi coverage.
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@Suedkiez
Nice answer. Not trying to hijack thread but would be interested in your opinion.
I run fanless nuc running ROCK to router (with fanš) then to streamer in listening room as picture below. Would adding a switch improve anything bearing in mind router would remain.
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A switch might give you more versatile connection options that would enable you to keep your NUC away from the sensitive HiFi boxes.
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Thanks chaps back on topic.
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Iād agree here on keeping the NUC/switch away from the HiFi best you can. I run Roon on a Mac Mini which is actually on a shelf in my garage. That is hard wired to a switch in the garage which is then connected over fibre to another switch in same room as hifi.
The main part with a Roon setup is making sure the Nucleus/ROCK server is hardwired to your local network, itās less critical for the end point to be hardwired but, where possible/practical, itās preferable for any end points to also be hardwired.
If the Roon Server and Streamer are hard wired to the same router or switch thatās fine and is a nice and simple setup.
You can go far beyond that in terms of switches and Ethernet cables, many find positive results but be warned, for the uninitiated, it can be a very expensive experiment!
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Thanks Mr.M for the considered response and good general advice.
Consensus is to put physical distance between NUC and Hifi - I get that.
Iām not scientific enough to measure the level of EMI/RFI using router and NUC in close proximity to hifi but from listening alone itās not ruining the music experience.
If using a switch rather than a router was ānight and dayā Iād consider but from responses Iām underwhelmed by the level of enthusiasm which is good as far as Iām concerned.
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Indeed so my friend, indeed soā¦
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Thank you everyone for your informative answers.
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