UnitiQute Fault or Foible?

Hi to all,

I’m new on here so apologies in advance if I am doing anything to contravene forum rules. Also please be gentle if I speak ill of any equipment in this thread. Any criticism I might make are purely subjective and in the context of my small (by British standards) home, my middle aged ears and personal preferences.

As my listening room also doubles as the living room and measures 4200mm (speakers along this wall) x 3500mm with a height of 2300mm, I feel certain that Mrs D would notice an increase in box count should such a change be made without prior discussions. I’m not entirely sure what the reaction to such an increase would be but it’s important that she remains happy.

I have had a Unitiqute 1 ( with upgraded streaming board) connected via NAC A5 to a pair of Neat Motive SX2’s for some years now and this has been a truly wonderful system. Not perfect by the standards of higher end Naim goodies but immensely enjoyable no matter what music (TIDAL and Radio Paradise) I throw at it but here’s the problem. Increasingly often, I find that the app won’t see the Unitiqute. This seems to happen mostly after a good listening session. The Unitiqute is running on firmware version 4.8, it’s connected to my network via Ethernet rather than wifi and the app on my iPad is always kept up to date.

Finally if you’ve managed to get this far, my question. Is this a fault on the Unitiqute or given that it’s an older device, is it just a foible or quirk?

Thank you in advance of any replies. I might not respond immediately but I’m sure I’ll have more questions for you.

All the best

Davo

When the qute next disappears from the app, I would try to access the qute via a computer. Go into settings on the qute to get the ip address. In a browser on your computer, visit that ip address.
You should see this:


That confirms your qute is still active on the network, and points to other issues also network related but on the iPad/app side.
If you try this on your ipad and can see the same in a browser, then it’s pointing at the issue being with the app.

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What robert_h says is definitely worth checking next time it happens (the HTTP server on the UQ is http only, so http:// followed by the IP address from the UQ, just to be sure)

I also run a UQ, a UQ1 with updated streaming board, on latest firmware, connected via wired network, feeding Neat Iotas, it runs our TV sound as well. I haven’t noticed any loss of connectivity, it is used daily. That’s probably not very helpful, other than to suggest that there’s nothing inherent in what you’re doing to suggest problems are inevitable

I’ll add, depending on how you use the UQ, it is possible to do so without interacting with the app much. I use BubbleUPnP quite a lot, that allows selection of music and volume control. Plus there’s the remote for volume add input selection etc. Not suggesting you get going with BubbleUPnP, but it might be an option if the current investigations don’t go anywhere

Ah yes that makes sense, thank you. Funnily enough, I don’t remember having the same issue with the iPhone but don’t tend to use it. The iPad is far more enjoyable just because of its size.

The screen on the Unitiqute faded to zero a few years back and I’ve never worried about sending it back to Naim for a new one but I have made a note of the ip address via the app so will do just as you’ve suggested.

I have recently purchased a Uniti Atom and I had that running for a couple of months with the Neat speakers. To my surprise the sound is vastly different to the unitiqute and they don’t seem to play so nicely together. Lots of bass boom and a kind of thin/forced/hard nature to the mid frequencies. I guess the Atom is both more forward and more powerful that the Qute.

Anyway, the unitiqute is back in service for the while until I figure out my next moves. I did have a pair of Proac Tablette 10 Signatures on dem for a few days connected to the Atom and I was hugely impressed with the sound I was hearing. It was to my ears a huge step up in quality but ultimately too limited on bass for my liking. I shouldn’t be too surprised by this though, coming from the XS2’s. Their Response D3’s look, on paper at least like they might work well if there is a Proac house sound but with added bass over the Tablette’s.

I must admit I’ve never had any dealings with BubbleUPNP and can’t pretend to know very much about it. For me, simplicity is where it’s at. Anything too much more complicated than prodding at buttons and screens starts to spoil the enjoyment for me. Having said that I’ll do a bit of reading, see if I can’t learn something. Thank you.

When the app and Qute stop talking to each other, invariably music will be streaming via TIDAL without interruption. It seems that it’s the app/iPad and Qute not communicating with each other rather than the Qute disconnecting from the network. When running the Atom (so far) there have been no such issues. It’s a quandary but I shall investigate further when I get home. Thank you again.

I only suggest BubbleUPnP if other troubleshooting fails to identify what’s up.

I think there was mention of issues with the app dropping connection to devices on another thread, will see if I can find a few references…

Here’s the thread and post it was mentioned in

Does it sound similar to your symptoms @Davo ?

Thank you, yes that looks very much like the same issue.

The interesting thing is that the Qute can be playing music streamed from TIDAL perfectly and it’s only when I go to the app, perhaps to change the music, that the error occurs - or at least that I become aware of it. The music continues uninterrupted.

Also of interest is that this issue has been present on and off for a few years and thinking about it, before a house/network move three years ago. In that case I suppose the only things to have remained a constant are the Qute itself and the iPad. The firmware on the Qute has been updated three times if my memory serves, iOS many times and app also many times.

Hi All,

Just an update.

I have been using my phone (iPhone 12 mini) to control the unitiQute for the last week and so far, without a hitch. I had only ever used an iPad (mini 5) and I’m starting to wonder if the issue has been with this rather than the naim.

The iPad was actually getting pretty long in the tooth anyway so I have traded in in for an iPad mini 6. It’s early days but it does seem to be working ok.

If anyone is interest, I will give a further update in a a week or two.

Davo

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Hi All,

Just an update as promised.

Well I’m at around the two week mark with the new iPad in service and as yet things are working as they should. There have been a couple of times where upon opening the app, there’s a delay of a second or two before the screen is populated with controls. Perhaps I’m expecting it to fail so that delay seems greater than it actually is but so far, it hasn’t let me down. We shall see how it goes in the longer term🤞

Thanks again for your advice and suggestions.

All the best

Davo

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Well it seems I’ve spoken too soon. Within a day of my last message on this thread, the fault has returned and presented in exactly the same way as originally described.

I have performed a number of power cycles on both the iPad and unitiQute but the fault remains.

Is the qute still visible on the network?
Ref this suggestion UnitiQute Fault or Foible? - #2 by robert_h

Yes it is, in as much as the music continues to play (streaming from TIDAL). The issue seems more to be between the app and qute rather than qute and network if that makes sense.

To add, it’s not just limited to TIDAL streams. The fault has appeared while streaming Radio Paradise, again without interruption to the music.

If you connect your streamer by ethernet, you can do the same with your iOS control point - iPad/iPhone, using a suitable rj45 adaptor + patch cable, which may improve the control point performance. Wifi isn’t then used, if you are using patch cable(s) direct to router. May narrow where the issue is arising; inexpensive option.

Next time it disappears from the app, can you check the ip address in the browser please? It’s best to confirm it is still a valid client on your network. If you try that on a computer and an iPad it will be interesting to see if the iPad can’t find it in a browser.

Apologies for the late reply. I’ve been away.

Thank you for your suggestion sound-hound. I have fibre to property and my router is set up in an under stairs cupboard, connected to a box of tricks there. There’s a good, solid wifi signal around the house but the router is also connected to various Ethernet sockets. The Unitiqute is connected to one of those. It would be a bit tricky as a permanent solution but I shall definitely be experimenting.

Thank you also robert_h. I think you suggested this earlier in this thread and I’ve yet to take your advice. I will certainly do that next time it fails and report my findings here.

For what it’s worth, I think the Unitiqute really is an incredibly special bit of kit despite the frustrations. I’m always bowled over by the sound I get from my little system no matter the music I ask it to play.

All the best

Davo

What exactly is this ‘box of tricks’ and Ethernet socket? Perhaps there is something in there that is affecting network discovery.

Excuse that I’m not at home at the moment so can’t give much detail but I assume the box of tricks is some kind of converter from fibre which in turn feeds the router by Ethernet. Someone smarter than me will have a much greater understanding of this stuff. There’s another Ethernet cable from output of the router which connects to a wall socket and this feeds sockets around the house. It’s a new build property and the box of tricks and network sockets were already fitted when we purchased the property.
To add a little context, the fault (if that’s what it is) existed in our previous house on a different network, service provider and router. Up until recently the only 2 devices that have remained were the unitiQute itself and the iPad. I’m using a new iPad now. It’s a head scratcher for sure.

All the best

Davo