Clearly you’ve not used the Audirvana app then. Compared to that, the Naim app is the Bently of apps.
For whatever reason, I’ve not had the issues mentioned above on multiple devices. I wouldn’t discount the networks ability to trip up the UI but it is true that the app is highly dependent on the UPnP server configuration too. Thinking of images and search functionality here.
Not sure if this is a reply to me. Whether the Audirvana app is worse is of little consequence to users of the Naim app, and I think we can agree that the Naim app should be good irrespective of how bad the Audirvana app is.
One example from the above, “The preview list isn’t particularly helpful, so you end up selecting ‘More’ most of the time.” This is a consequence of the preview most of the time not showing what you need, so you first need to click More. To get to More, you first need to scroll down. Only after clicking more, you can sort, for example. This is 100% a question of UI design and 0% a network issue.
All I mean is that “bad” is subjective in comparison to other things. Of course, the best of anything could still be bad though how this is judged without good examples is hard to say.
A lot of complaints over the years were related to performance and responsiveness. And Naim largely came through on this. It tends to fly with a large library of albums appearing instantly. Functionality is another matter though.
You might have to walk me through this preview list issue. I’m not sure what this is. I’ve never seen a preview or a more button. It just finds all my music and opens what I want. What context do a preview appear in? We might just be thinking of the same thing by different names.
Regarding the responsiveness, it may well have been worse in the past. Whether it works now depends, I guess, on details. E.g., I use Qobuz and I have what Naim considers a lot of album favorites (2000). The app on Android is unusable for up to 10 seconds every time you wake up the mobile and every time you switch between apps. Very annoying, e.g., you cannot use the volume buttons during this time. For this issue, I was also told by forum members that it is my network. Also not true (as I kept telling them), and Naim’s software people have acknowledged the issue.
As for the preview, go to e.g., the Albums tab while being logged into online streaming. The albums that you see are the preview (which shows, I believe, only the recent additions, but this is not obvious unless you already know. Edit: In particular when you are new to the Naim app, all your Qobuz favorites are considered new, if I remember correctly, so it is not clear what it is that it shows in the preview; it becomes clearer as you add albums later), and there is no sort menu anywhere (I circled the top right in the screenshot as one might expect it there, and because it will be appear there after some steps):
To see the sort option and more from your library, you need to scroll down, where you will see a More button. Needing to do this (scrolling down to find a hidden button) is also somewhat non-obvious:
Then, after you click More, it shows all your favorites and you are allowed to see the sort menu (in a rather tiny way):
(screenshots from Android)
An example of really poor UX and functionality in the Naim app:
I have a large upnp server attached, so i want to search for an artist in that server:
Only to find out that the app doesn’t search in the attached server, it shows the text “No results”.
Now it does apparently find results in iRadio, in this case only one (The Higherside Charts), but for some reason it won’t show that result directly. You will need to click on SHOW to find out what it found, and whether it’s relevant.
That’s just annoying and makes the search more or less unusable (for me at least).
BubbleUPNP searches through my upnp server just fine:
Another thread that may be of interest:
@Suedkiez Interesting. That would suggest they’ve not nailed management for online libraries yet. Which is a shame. I use almost exclusively iRadio and local streaming. Management of the local library is mainly just image cache with functionality handled by the UPnP server (in my case Asset).
@litemotiv Hmm this works for me. I go to albums (which are on Asset) and start typing and it gives me results. iOS and Android. I just don’t know what to tell you. Have Naim Support responded to you?
I think an easy fix would be to mention that what you initially see is a preview (like, mention “latest additions” somewhere). Then make the More button visible without having to scroll for it. And make the Sort menu visible immediately; it can automatically switch from Preview to More if it needs to.
You are probably typing in the Filter field? That does seem to work yes, but it only filters results in the current directory i think.
I was referring to the main Search (magnifying glass) on top of the page.
Maybe a difference between iOS and Android?
For me (Android) I can confirm what’s reported by Litemotiv. I do not get any search results from my UPnP servers. Only the possibility to filter what’s already shown in the current view.
Correction; now 21 songs into playlist so 4.7 the best! I switched the nds off and back on, seems to have done the trick. Thanks again @davidhendon
Rest assured, someone will be along soon to tell you it’s your network!
Regardless of how fond we all are of Naim, there is nothing wrong with staying critical 
Some would like us never to criticise the beloved Naim. After the last firmware debacle I am strongly in the being critical camp, hopefully they have learned from it.
Until the app has a unified search function I’ll never use it for music playback unless I have no choice. I just don’t understand why it can’t it’s daft having to go to a seperate section to search for your own music. Is it a limitation of UPnP? as Bubble manages this perfectly fine. It searches UPnP serves and streaming from one search window.
I think the main issue is the price point, Naim equipment is expensive so people expect a lot from an app when it’s offered. It currently doesn’t meet the quality standards most people expect from the brand, and it hasn’t for a number of years.
Ofcourse the app is technically ‘free’, but it’s a necessary part of the streaming ecosystem. Something like BubbleUPNP only costs a few quid as well, and it does almost everything better and includes some other great functionality (like adding cloud shares - dropbox etc). Bubble is developed by only one guy, so there is no reason why a larger company like Naim that sells streamers for thousands of pounds each wouldn’t be able to provide the same level of functionality and usability.
Bubble ofcourse doesn’t offer all the functionality we need to control our streamers, so unfortunately we cannot simply switch to that as an alternative.
Unless I’m mistaken , it does have a unified search. Just tried with an old Qb mark 1. For example if I go to the Tidal icon an do a search, it searches Tidal and the UPnP server. Or have I misunderstood ?
The only server it’s able to search is the Core, or the built in server that runs on the streamer if you use it.
Exactly. Use a separate UPnP server such as asset to it get nada I hate proprietary rubbish like this. It was bad enough they didn’t support other upnp controllers properly for gapless for a very long time to.
I still don’t understand that there’s no lock screen widget for Android. Every single music app, inc. Mom and Pop developed, has it.
It’s such a basic feature you wouldn’t even check if available. Certainly not for a brand like Naim and at the prices they charge.
There’s also still functionality not available through it, only using the remote.
Just make sure the basics work well, with good and consistent UI and UX. Only then start adding more features. They seem to be taking the opposite approach which I don’t understand.
Hallelujah to that, brother.
I don’t have any issues with it either, it plays my music.
