It has the capabilities that you are looking for, supports file systems that contain symbolic links (if you fancy to create alternative ways to access your music files using plain directories and symbolic links, MPD support this) is mature and well supported (has been around for meanwhile 18 years) and has been adopted or supported by many mannufacturers including Bryston, Sonore, Chord and many others.
If you like MPD, you can later add upmpdcli (a UPnP front-end for MPD, see (An UPnP Audio Media Renderer based on MPD) and have the advantage of both worlds on a single machine directly connected to your DAC.
You can then access your files (among others, by browsing your directory structure with or without symlinks) either through an MPD client (graphical or text-based, as you fancy) or via a standard UPnP control point.
I do not know how MPD compares sound quality wise to Audirvana but you can find this out easily.
I doubt that Naim will ever develop a software that can compete with MPD or Audirvana, let apart porting such a software to OS X. But … hope dies last, of course!
The fact that a (UPnP) renderer obtaines the data from a UPnP does not imply that music files have to be transferred over the LAN, though.
I run an instance of MinimServer (a UPnP server) and upmpdcli (a UPnP renderer, via MPD) on the same RPi that is directly connected to the Naim DAC. When I select this server as a source for upmpdcli, no music files get transferred over the LAN at replay time.
The same holds for the last generation of Naim streamers: they can fetch music data from external UPnP servers over the LAN but they do not have to do so.
One can connect a USB drive to a ND5XS2 (NDX2, ND555), switch on the device’s internal UPnP server and call it a day. The only problem is that the UPnP server running on the Naim streamers (and on the Uniti Core) is almost unusable, at least for classical music. But this is a software quality problem and the design of the Naim streamers is, in principle, impeccable.
I guess Naim streamers should probably be called Naim network players because they can but do not need to rely on external UPnP servers.
When saying I don’t need UPnP, I should have clarified that what I do need is rendered digital music output via USB to go direct to DAC, my DAC being just that not a player (I’m wary of using other Mac Mini outputs like optical that use the computer’s audio circuitry and drivers).
But Chord do not have an upgradeable streamer do they? Also, if Naim buys Chord, they’ll have to decide what to do with all those fancy colored buttons … that’s not easy.
I’ll pile-on to the DAC-less streamer. Such a no-brainer. I don’t buy the, ‘cost would be similar (to an ND5 XS2/onboard DAC)’ nonsense. The Naim tech is already here. Put it in a smaller footprint box with the typical digital input/output offerings—heck, even a connection for outboard PSU—and Bob’s your uncle. No need for five versions of this with superfluous or hierarchical box upgrades. Just one. Potential legacy owners get an uplift in tech/user-ability; new buyers in the market or to Naim as a brand don’t know what they’re missing anyway and get a fantastic streamer.
Right, but, for reasons that I fail to understand, Naim appear to have come to the conclusion that it is not worth trying to keep owners of legacy products on board. I personally find this attitude arrogant and shortsighted. My hope is that they will come out with something interesting in 2021 because … 2019 and 2020 have been quite boring in terms of Naim news! Let’s see what the new season brings!
If Naim were to buy Chord, or merge with them, the logical thing is to use the best from both, retaining existing profitable ranges initially and developing even better products, so, for example based on existing products, perhaps an NDX2 front end with TT or Dave DAC, in a new box design. RF isolation/blocking that allows use of more energy efficient SMPSs instead of passive PSs. Maybe a choice of Trad Naim or Chord voicing in otherwise identical products.
But I doubt it will happen with Naim’s present ownership, nor with Naim’s fierce independence before that.
In my view Naim are doing very well hardware wise. But their software is far below standard. Getting into a company like Chord is not going to help them because Chord are focussed on hardware, too. What Naim needs is better interoperability and a decent UPnP server.
Agree wholeheartedly! Either different DSP settings or basic bass and treble controls. Not all music is recorded the same and one should not have to avoid listening to the music they love because it doesn’t sound right through their system (especially at Naim price levels)!
There’s also the room/speaker variation. Our system plays beautifully in our lounge because we have carefully auditioned, selected and tuned it to be just right for us. It might sound the same in another room but this is unlikely. If DSP profiling can be incorporated, as opposed to filters, it will bring Naim to the same level of customisation now in use by some of the competition. My car system can be DSP’d.
For Qobuz reason I feel. However @nbpf have always interesting arguments but he seems to criticise all servers and streamers, no one can offer what he is searching for.
Forgive me Nbpf, just my feeling that you have too high levels of requirements.
The tone controls/DSP suggestions here apply just as much of course to all replay, not just streaming… As does this one, extracted from my contribution to another thread earlier today:
I have often suggested that there is a case for “loudness” compensation in hifi, by that I mean increase in the bass and treble to at low listening levels match the roll-off of human hearing as sound gets quieter. The same concept but far more refined that the crude on-off loudness button used on boomboxes and used to be found on cheaper hifi systems some years ago.
The concept would be to gradually change the frequency response as the volume control is lowered, from flat at high level, and with the contour matched to the known response curves as sound level setting drops. To be effective and not wrongly distort the heard sound it would need a means of calibrating in the room because it would vary hugely with power amp, speaker sensitivity, listening distance and room, and input signal nominal level. Calibration would be needed on first setup and then when a component is changed that may affect the sound level for a given volume control setting.
I guess would be tricky to implement well, and it would take an innovative manufacturer to do it. Of course, potentially someone could do manually for themselves using DSP, but fiddly and less likely to get right, so I commend it to Naim, and to any other manufacturer of high quality hifi equipment.
As mentioned in previous posts in this thread by a number of contributors, because they have failed to introduce in due time a small stand alone (and, ideally, upgradeable) transport (as dCS have done with the Network Bridge, Primare with the NP5 Prisma and Meridian with the 210, for example) that would have allowed owners of nDAC, NDS, NDX and ND5XS to exploit the capabilities of the current Naim streaming platform (better connectivity, Chromecast, Airplay, Qobuz, etc.) with their legacy DACs. This would also have avoided the significant losses of values that we have observed in the second hand market for these devices.
