Tidal Connect

Please add it to the SuperUniti. Thanks. :pray:

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Maybe that post will enlighten you.


Stevesky

4d

HI @LJS,

When using Chromecast the stream is bit perfect and native upto 192kHz/24bit. The downside of Chromecast + Qobuz is that itā€™s not really designed to run at such high sample rates. The buffer sizes are far too small (hence prone to drop outs) and the Chromecast stack is very inefficient so uses nearly all the CPU time in the streamer. Not only is this bad for unit response times, but not also great for sound quality as the electric noise floor of the product increases as everything works harder.

For this reason + others, earlier this year we integrated Qobuz natively into the platform.
Benefits:

  • Proper buffering - We buffer up to 50MB of data at a time so very robust from internet data fluctuations. The average 16/44.1kHz track is fully loaded within 15secs, hence its playback from RAM buffer.
  • Efficient - near enough the same as playing a native 192kHz FLAC file from a NAS.
  • Faster to connect / play / do stuff.
  • Runs from the internal streamers Play Queue. Once the app has loaded in the play queue the streamer just gets on with it independent from the app / things in the cloud etc.

Overall, I would recommend use Qobuz via the Naim app if possible.

Best regards

Steve Harris
Software Director
Naim Audio Ltd.

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I had seen that post. But as I mentioned, maybe theoretical, but I donā€™t hear the difference with Tidal myself. Thatā€™s what matters to me, like to you it doesnā€™t matter that you canā€™t measure a difference between Ethernet cables. Itā€™s about what you can hear or think you can hear, not about what someone else says.

You also use tubes (like me soon), no engineer will tell you tubes have less distortion / measure better than solid state, yet many people prefer the sound.

Also, he mentions the high sample rates, I use Tidal with 16b/44.1kHz. So maybe itā€™s more audible with 24b/192kHz from Qobuz?

Never experienced drop outs, but then I do have a good, stable & fast network.

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The most important is that you enjoy :+1:

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Makes me wonder why other brands (Lyngdorf) offer this TODAY and Naim says happy 2021ā€¦ It to many times feels like Naim is taken by surprise.

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To clarify, we were not ā€˜taken by surpriseā€™ - weā€™ve been working with TIDAL on the project for some time.

We just have other software priorities before we release this particular update.

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Your customers are not important?

Our customers are always the most important. All of them. Not just those whom use TIDAL! We understand what an exciting development this is, and are sorry itā€™ll mean being patient a little longer - in the meantime, there are still plenty of ways (including direct casting) to enjoy TIDAL on our systems.

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Are you able to share with us an idea when in 2021 we could expect such an update, @Naim.Marketing ?
Are we talking more of the beginning of 2021, the mid, or the end of next year?

I really would appreciate an estimation of that timeframe.

Thank you!

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Leave it with me - iā€™ll see it if we can share a more detailed update.

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Thank you, @Naim.Marketing!

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He said no such thing. There is no Chromecast hardware in Naim hardware itā€™s all software. He said itā€™s code uses more memory and resources and may sound different nothing more.

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[quote=ā€œfrenchrooster, post:62, topic:11949ā€]
Ā« the Chromecast stack is very inefficient so uses nearly all the CPU time in the streamer. Not only is this bad for unit response times, but not also great for sound quality as the electric noise floor of the product increases as everything works harder.
[/quote] Ā»

Itā€™s exactly what Stevesky wrote

That is good news @Naim.Marketing. I might even sign-up for the beta program when itā€™s ready. Looking forward to it!

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Because if sound quality is a priority, then my expectation is that with tidal-connect it will support the first unfold of MQA (Tidal masters) e.g. better than 44/16 where available. Otherwise, Naim already support 44/16 with their applicationā€¦

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I would assume that Tidal Connect will will support MQA in part by giving you the ā€œfirst unfoldā€ that the Tidal app can do. I canā€™t say I liked what it did when I tried it, but I guess itā€™s nice to have options.

Editā€¦apparently not! See Steveskyā€™s post below.

"Why would I use Tidal Connect instead of Chromecast?
Two reasons: 1) Gapless playback; 2) MQA Masters. Neither is supported by Googleā€™s Chromecast.

Why else does Tidal Connect matter?
It gives us something that Spotify Connect currently does not: the ability to stream CD-quality and hi-res content ā€“ in addition to its less-often discussed lossy tier ā€“ from the comfort of our couch and without relying on third-party integrations. No more manufacturer-coded streaming apps, no more Roon, no more Plex and no more Audirvana. We need only one of Tidalā€™s native apps."

Also, whilst I do appreciate having the Tidal function in the Naim app, the user friendliness is nowhere near that of native Tidal. Looking forward to 2021ā€¦

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Sometimes I do wonder whether I should have looked elsewhere, but unfortunately I donā€™t think thereā€™s anything that can match the sound of my Star. When upgrading I will definitely check if any competitor has come close, (and has better software support) , but they will have to be really close for me to consider.

Of course there are alternatives on this huge market. You just have to find it, thats the tricky part. Iā€™m getting closer to the end of 272 but donā€™t now where to go since I wont get down the 300 boxes road :slightly_smiling_face:

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Does it play Quobuz? Spotify?