The NDS and 272 were designed to play native Tidal.
Tidal was a late update and from what a read was not easy to shoehorn in, so I doubt it was designed for it
It was launched with native Tidal and Spotify so it was designed to run those services.
Then apparently I thought wrong, it was an update that came at least at the very beginning of its lifecycle, News and informations about Naim Audio | Naim Audio
But I believe it is limited to CD quality. And did not some kind of support for something arrive later in the liffecycle and was not easy for Naim to do, or did I dream this?
When What HiFi reviewed the 272 in August 2016 they noted that “Spotify Connect is built-in as is native support for Tidal”.
And the 272 is not limited to playing files at 16/44.
Yes, that’s why I wrote the above, the review is in August IIRC and the firmware update for Tidal in October, so likely right from the start in the hands of anyone who purchased a 272. But @jmtennapel’s point is not wrong, even launching with it does not necessarily mean the hardware having been designed for it from the start, and I believe the difficulty is well documented in many threads here about streaming problems.
Edit, mixed up the years, firmware 4.4. was Oct 2015, the review indeed Aug 2016 as you wrote
Personally I think the idea of a digital preamplifier meaning a dac with volume control but at a 282 level or higher could be relevant. Used either with or without xps/555. It would be easier to maintain in terms of software easier than the now no longer produced 272. Then you could use a Naim streamer or Naim could produce a streamer without built in dac. Personally I hope for something with less boxes than my current Ndax/ps555/Ns01/252. Even with a streamer/preamp like the 272 is, Naim must have been doing something right considering all the fans this box especially with ps555 has on the forum. Leaving out the streamer should make it possible to get above 272 in sq.
Claus
My point was that Suedkiez claimed “I believe it is limited to CD quality.”
But it isn’t.
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Via Sonos port is one way
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Thanks for the correction. To be clear, I believe it’s a great machine and if I had been a this point 5 years ago I would have been happy with it for 5 years and surely more. Wanting one now, though, it’s just not a good time.
The 272 with 555DR gives excellent SQ.
It can be made to play streaming services (as well as local streaming) very well in various ways, e.g. Roon, Audirvana, MConnectHD, Bubble, etc.
Obviously these are not as simple to set up as the current streamers, but then the price of a 272 now reflects that.
So there will always be an equation of SQ, convenience and price to consider.
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Certainly, but given recent comments from Mr. Henderson I believe I will wait it out 
(and I am tiding myself over with my NAD C 658 streamer/pre, which is not the pinnacle of creation but pretty good, and in the meantime i can save up )
yes indeed the price of 272 now is very attractive…
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Without getting into the MQA debate, it doesn’t support hi-rez Tidal.
Back to my point that media isn’t standardised yet.
Hang on have i missed something, does Tidal do Hi-Res then?
I don’t mean MQA.
No just MQA up to 24/192khz Which sounds rather nice!
I use both Qubuz and Tidal, both sound ace.
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Oh, not seen Hi Res files, mind you i haven’t been looking!
Is there a button to press to show Hi Res material?
There are two Tidal subscription tiers, normal (ogg I believe) and hifi, which was originally CD quality (streamed as flac I believe). If you have hifi subscription you now also have the option to choose albums in MQA ( in supported apps, e.g. Tidal’s own and BluOS). The albums are displayed twice, 16/44 and MQA, the quality logos on the album listings differ. I don’t use the Naim app but I believe I have read that it also shows both, but will always play 16/44 regardless of what you choose.
Tidal HiRes is MQA and they call it Masters. You should see the Masters label beside the album. Provided you have HiFi subscription.
However, as Naim does not support MQA, you can listen to it at CD quality (16/44 kHz) only.
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Ah that’s ok then, i thought that i was missing out on a significant development for a moment!
I do have an AudioQuest Cobalt and i have set up my system to play via a laptop through the Cobalt so that I can listen to the MQA content. From my experience some tracks sound good, (better perhaps) and others less so. I suspect this has a bit to do with the producers playing with different masters.
For example using Roon below, 2 versions of nevermind. Unfortunately it’s a little more complex than a flac or qubuz and need either specialist hardware to decode or Roon to do a partial ‘unfold’. Hence not Naim streamer compatible without Roon.
This is definitely one of those topics that sparks a lot of opinion, my suggestion is to try for yourself.