Tidal Max not working

Not sure that’s correct. Naim streamers have always supported Tidal haven’t they?

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This ignores the entire design and purpose of the devices in question. Yes DVD players did not suddenly play BluRay as the lasers could not read the smaller tracks on the discs due to the wavelength being used. These are things that cannot be fixed OTA. It is a hardware limitation.

The streamers are designed for updates to remain relevant in an ever changing online world. Any device that cannot or will not move with the digital content and APIs it consumed is called “obsolete”.

They are even marketed as being designed to remain relevant and future proof through updates, it is literally stated in the marketing material that many customers read before they buy.

Therefore, expecting updates for a premium priced product is quite normal and is part of the price you pay. That is how the makers remain competitive with others who do do this.

Imagine applying this same logic to your smartphone: “Sorry you bought your phone a year ago, you should be grateful that any of the app developers provide updates free of charge so your phone keeps working”.

Not to mention that the streamers can already consume FLAC, this is an open standard that is by default supported by the streamers.

So, customers who have paid a bundle based on the device and how it is marketed, have every right to expect the device to remain relevant free of charge.

Disclaimer: Personally I am sure that Naim will release this update on time and have their reasons for the delay. I am simply responding to the concept of having to be happy with a digitally connected device not moving with the times and comparing it to obsolete hardware limitations.

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The current 2nd gen streamers have always supported Tidal. When the 1st gen streamers were developed there was no Tidal, or Spotify, Apple Music etc. That’s why they were designed to stream ripped CDs over a local network, play iTunes downloads from USB attached iOS devices.
The lack of support for CD quality and above streamed from the web was regrettable but that’s all history now.

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Thanks Chris.

Actually not 100% correct as I’ve just checked and the manual supplement indicates Tidal support for the that whole launch range. NDS, NDX, etc.

I’m not sure how, the NDS came to market in early 2012 and Tidal was launched in 2014.

Chris has already posted good info, while I was searching for the thread linked below.
This will clearly answer your question perhaps? Direct from Naim…

I found the answer as I said its in a manual supplement available on the Naim website. The whole initial range supports Tidal, just not from launch.

While a product remains in current production, wouldn’t disagree with receiving firmware updates. Once production has ended, I have reservations about upgrades, beyond repairs and servicing.

The fundamental point is however, that Tidal is responsible for format divergence, which has had to be abandoned or reversed.

Agreed Max will likely arrive in due course, less likely in isolation, but perhaps as part of other developments.

Yes, but the point it that, as Steve’s post explains, Tidal support was shoehorned in years after the platform was developed to satisfy customer demand. It just about worked reliably for some, but not for others.

But production has by far not ended. In fact the same streaming platform was just used to release two whole new series of products recently. If support would already be ending it would be grossly problematic.

FWIW the Tidal format never changed, they were always serving FLAC in lieu of MQA. What changed is the interface to the Tidal systems, so the API that is used for communication is talking a slightly adjusted language. So that is what needs to be fixed in a firmware upgrade so that Naim streamers are aware not to ignore the high res options anymore. Previously it would get unintelligible data if attempting to consume it, now it gets a format Naim can already play. (I’m almost certainly oversimplifying the fix but it covers the gist of it).

These API changes are common on the web. The only reason any of it still worked for Tidal is cause Tidal did a good job in making their interface backwards compatible. There are best practice patterns when implementing an API to ensure that. But any older interface runs the risk of deprecation over time, so you HAVE to update to the latest to ensure continued function.

Naim never stated clearly that Tidal was limited to 16bit/44kHz in the native Naim app (or via Connect when it was enabled). Arguably they implied from day one that high-res steaming was inherently possible with the gen. 2 streamer specs: “FLAC and AIFF - up to 24bit/384kHz”.

So it’s understandable that people were confused and disappointed when Tidal went high-res-FLAC and it wasn’t supported. And then to make things worse Naim dragged their heels and communicated poorly around implementing this support.

This is especially frustrating as it emerged that 3rd party apps (mconnect) can already deliver high-res streaming on the existing hardware firmware using Tidal - even on gen. 1 devices!

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For info this is the most recent update I have seen from Naim re Tidal MAX

Tidal Max - UPDATE:

The implementation of Tidal Max into current Naim products is still on our roadmap for 2024.

This was originally planned for release around the start of the year, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we have made the decision to delay the launch until such time that it can be given our full support.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused - as soon as we have a clear date of release for Tidal Max, we will send a formal communication to our retailers and customers.

This new service from Tidal will become available on our New Platform Streamers, these are listed below:

NSS 333

NSC 222

ND 555

NDX 2

ND5 XS2

Uniti Nova

Uniti Star

Uniti Atom

Uniti Atom Headphone Edition

Mu-so and Mu-so QB 2nd Generation

Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the older streaming platform, this new service from Tidal will not be available on the older streamers.

The streamers that will not be updated because they are unable to run the new service from Tidal, are as follows:

NDS

NDX

ND5 XS

NAC-N 272

NAC-N 172 XS

SuperUniti

NaimUniti 1

NaimUniti 2

UnitiLite

UnitiQute 1

UnitiQute 2

Mu-so and Mu-so QB 1st Generation

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Thanks for that.
Where and when was this communicated?

This first time I’ve seen it stated so clearly. Still no timeline other 2024 but at least we see there were plans for an early release and got delayed.

It was in a post above from someone who’d had it in an email from Naim.

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I’m not fussed with the development status to be honest, just didn’t want future readers to think that the first gen streamers don’t support Tidal, when they clearly do.

I wouldn’t underestimate the work the Naim put into doing that. Tidal is fully integrated into that 1st gen platform and must’ve taken quite the investment post launch.

The original uniti does not support tidal or Spotify without the upgraded board.

Does any know when Tidal will have Hi Res (FLAC) files through the Naim app?

(I know there have been previous threads on this but I think they’re all locked?)

The thread is here.