Uniti in stock

I went to my local Naim dealer with the original intent to purchase the Unitiqute. There I saw he had an Uniti in stock and I instead went with that.

I took it home and all of the non "new technology" parts work as Naim should, the music from the cd I played kept me listening all night.

The next day I decided to hook it up to my existing, full working uPnp network that has been serving up over 15TB of video and audio throughout the house to 5 different uPnp clients. It doesn't play ALAC files over uPnp. No problems, I thought, I will just transcode it to FLAC. It doesn't like that. Let's try to transcode to WAV, it plays it back at half speed. Try to transcode to L16, doesn't work.

At this point I was frustrated because transcoding from my uPnp server works fine with every other uPnp client.

So I gave up and hooked up the iPod with the ALAC files to the front USB port. That's when I find out it doesn't work because my firmware is two version older than the current and I had just purchased it 3 days ago

Call the dealer and he had no clue these things needed to be updated. He had to call his distributor, even after that he didn't know about the latest updates, he didn't know how these things work, etc.

I looked the Linn solution, and their manual provided end to end instructions on how to setup a uPnp server on your computer, to hooking up their uPnp client, to troubleshooting issues. Seems that Naim expects me to buy their uPnp server or something

I am still trying to get the transcode to work because I want to use Naim, but it's not looking bright

Yes, so-called "Universal Plug'n'Play" seems quite the misnomer.

Hi,

Had this post moved because it's not really relevant to the NDX thread and would likely get lost in the "noise" there.

First thing is you need to arrange with your dealer getting the Uniti updated so that you can connect your iPod via USB if that is what you wish to do - the dealer will be able to arrange that.

Regarding the UPnP issues that you are having, the Uniti does not support the playback of ALAC files via UPnP but should support the playback of the transcoded FLAC and WAV correctly, that it isn't doing (no FLAC playback and incorrect speed WAV playback) suggests that there is a fundamental problem between the UPnP server that you are running and the Uniti - can you let me know what UPnP server you are using and then we can perhaps try to narrow down the problem and help you a little better?

Thanks,

Phil

I am using Mediatomb on linux

I will get a test box (computer) together tonight and try Twonky media (the one used by Linn) and see if that works better.

I use mediatomb because it's free and it's the linux standard upnp server

-joe

Thanks Joe - Twonky should be fine.

Let me know how you get on...

Phil

Phil,

Will there be a list of recommended UPnP servers that will work with all he Naim streamers? It seems a bit hit and miss at the moment unless you use a Naim server.

Cheers

Jack

Parts of my music are stored on my computer. I am running mediatomb and do not encounter any problem between it and my Uniti (fw version 2.1.6.10189, fw date 03.12.2009). Twonky 2.2 which is installed on my music server works flawlessly too. In both cases, AIFF and ALAC files are not recognised, as is well known.
adca

I use Mediatomb with my Uniti. All music is stored in Flac.

If the files are already in flac / wav / mp3 etc that is supported natively by uniti, it works wonderfully

I rip my music into alac and the uniti doesn't recognize the transcoded file, even though it plays fines on the computer

I had this problem with some AIFF files.Since it it occurred with both server software programs, I could imagine that the software used for ripping may have some influence. I have more or less solved the problem by placing the music server close to the Uniti and connecting it as a source (toslink) (for formats not recognized by the Uniti) as well as an UPnP Server (for the rest and for all that does not require gapless)...
adca

I strongly suspect that the Uniti is question is quite an early one and when upsampling to WAV the UPnP server is upsampling to 88.2 or 96kHz which the old units wouldn't handle correctly and would play slowly.

I think that if the unit is updated by the dealer then it'll all work as it should (and with MediaTomb).

Phil

Phil,

that makes sense, I have talked to the dealer and he is checking on the update for me

Phil, if you're right, should dealers be selling 'old stock' like this, at least without a fairly substantial discount and an explanation? jktam appears to have bought this Uniti within the last week or so.

If 'old stock' is indeed being sold in this way, isn't it incumbent on the dealer to bring it right up to spec before selling it? Surely, jktam was entitled to expect that the Uniti's spec was just as good as the 'Qute that he went to buy!

I think that Naim need to be careful here, otherwise they risk pissing off loyal customers. I'm pretty cheesed off that the Uniti that I bought for my son a couple of months ago, long after the 'Qute had been announced, is already out of date, and needs an upgrade before it's even run in. If products weren't ready for market, Naim didn't release them until they'd got them right.

Or have the old Naim ways of not treating customers as guinea pigs in the development process gone by the wayside?

Graham

quote:

Naim didn't release them until they'd got them right.

Graham, I understand your view but I think its harsh,we make the updates available without, this you would have to change the product to get the feature. As technology and features appear with time we wish were possible to make them available. Digital ipod was not available to us when we first launched Uniti almost two years ago,look at the way things are changing, adding internet services and so on, apps to run for control etc.

Not at all Graham ... the UnitiQute has some new/updated functionality that the Uniti didn't have (but has been rolled into it in the latest version). Earlier Unitis can be updated if the customer wishes to.

There's no "Guinea Pig" testing involved ... why does your sons Uniti *NEED* an upgrade? It should only need it if it is to handle *NEW* functionality (such as the iPhone / iPod Touch app) but should do everything that it was supposed to do when it was purchased.

We don't know what arrangement the dealer sold jtkam the Uniti under - dealers do rotate demo stock so this may have been sold as a demo unit or it may have been a unit that is new but has been in stock for some time - we don't know and so I cannot postulate on that.

The unit was sold as "new in box"

I only knew about the updates visiting this forum and trying to get digital ipod to work, etc..

I do agree that more effort needs to be made to make sure that:

1. the dealers are more aware of updates, since we all agree this is constantly changing tech

2. all existing stocks sold should be up to spec.

3. can the updates be made available for end user?


---

Phil, I think it was a bit harsh to ask if he "NEEDS" the update.. if a current owner of the Uniti sees an update with a new feature, he should be able to get it..

remember, this is not food/water/shelter, we don't "need" any of these things..

-joe

It's a computer and to me that's the problem - if you buy a MacBook it is out of date before you get it home, but no worry because you click Software update (or it runs automatically) and ten minutes later you are at the latest and greatest version - moreover, it updates as and when these become available.

To me, Naim needs to see if it can do the same for its devices - perhaps download to a USB stick, plug in to Uniti or whatever and wait 'till the lights top flashing - something like that, an easy way for the user to upgrade without having to go back to a dealer each time.

One of my reasons for staying with the MacDAC is that it is easy to update the Mac and do things like edit album titles, track titles and drop downloads in among ripped stuff. The SQ through the nDAC/555PS is perfectly acceptable to me even if the HDX or UnitiServe would be better. It also eliminates the need for UPnP as my feed to the DAC is S/PDIF. I also like the fact I can download a file in APE format and run XLD to get in to a format that iTunes can render for then DAC to play. Downloads seem to come in odd formats that I've never heard of before, but I've always been able to find a tool to turn them into WAV.

I think it would be great if Naim could offer downloadable updates on its website so a user of Uniti could do his or her own upgrade.

I still think Naim's real strength is in amplification and CD players and the wonderful Ovator speakers, but the distributed audio is taking shape. I still like that clever Chord APT-X BlueTooth interface if anybody is listening as the quality is remarkable given that I tried it with a phone as the source.

quote:

Originally posted by Phil Harris:

There's no "Guinea Pig" testing involved ... why does your sons Uniti *NEED* an upgrade? It should only need it if it is to handle *NEW* functionality (such as the iPhone / iPod Touch app) but should do everything that it was supposed to do when it was purchased.

Precisely to get the iPhone app, which has been 'trailed' as being on the verge of being released for the best part of a year. Then, when it is released, we're told that all existing models will need to be "upgraded", including those bought just a few months previously.

Whether you agree or not, I feel that I was certainly a 'guinea pig'. Should someone at Naim not have communicated to me, via my dealer, when I placed my order, that I should wait a couple of months, as the Uniti was just about to undergo a significant upgrade?

Sorry, chaps, but I think that you're letting the side down here with an impenetrable wall preventing you telling loyal customers (over 20 years in my case) what's going on.

Graham

quote:

Originally posted by Paul Stephenson:

quote:

Naim didn't release them until they'd got them right.

Graham, I understand your view but I think its harsh,we make the updates available without, this you would have to change the product to get the feature. As technology and features appear with time we wish were possible to make them available. Digital ipod was not available to us when we first launched Uniti almost two years ago,look at the way things are changing, adding internet services and so on, apps to run for control etc.

Paul, my point is that Naim must have known, when my dealer placed the order a few months ago, that the Uniti was about to be significantly upgraded. See my reply to Phil, just posted above, as to what I think would have been the fair way to respond to that order. Or maybe my dealer should have been prompted to advise me to wait a few weeks?

You rightly point out that things are changing rapidly, but surely that means that Naim needs to communicate more with its customer base, not less?

But thanks for taking the time to answer, and to post your views.

Graham

PS: I still think that the other poster here ("joe") has been handed a particularly shitty end of the stick: Naim should have procedures in place to ensure that, when a customer buys an 'as new' product, he gets exactly that. Otherwise, I fear, people will stop buying your products.

Re. Auto-upgrading, my kitchen radio does this.
It is a humble Monitor Audio Airstream 10, featuring UPNP streaming, DAB/Internet radio etc.
No USB updates, no dealer return, no RS232. It just polls a website every now and then and auto-updates whenever it finds new software.

I would love to see Naim implement something similar.

John

quote:

Originally posted by graham55:
Precisely to get the iPhone app, which has been 'trailed' as being on the verge of being released for the best part of a year. Then, when it is released, we're told that all existing models will need to be "upgraded", including those bought just a few months previously.

Whether you agree or not, I feel that I was certainly a 'guinea pig'. Should someone at Naim not have communicated to me, via my dealer, when I placed my order, that I should wait a couple of months, as the Uniti was just about to undergo a significant upgrade?

Sorry, chaps, but I think that you're letting the side down here with an impenetrable wall preventing you telling loyal customers (over 20 years in my case) what's going on.

Graham

I'm pretty sure that all you should need is a simple firmware update to enable the iPhone app to control your Uniti - surely that isn't unreasonable to enable functionality that was still in development at the time?

Phil

quote:

Originally posted by jtktam:
Phil, I think it was a bit harsh to ask if he "NEEDS" the update.. if a current owner of the Uniti sees an update with a new feature, he should be able to get it..

The thing is Joe that the update(s) *CAN* be had if an owner wishes to have them - or if someone is happy with what they have and don't want the new functionality then they can wait until something comes along that they do want - we have many Uniti users who have no wish to connect and playfrom their iPods and so have no interest in upgrading theirs to a digital iPod connection capability.

The other unit can be updated (it should just be a firmware update to enable the iPod app functionality) which can be done by the dealer just as yours can - it just needs sorting out with your dealers who can arrange for it to be done as quickly as possible.

Phil

quote:

Originally posted by John Bleasdale:
Re. Auto-upgrading, my kitchen radio does this.
It is a humble Monitor Audio Airstream 10, featuring UPNP streaming, DAB/Internet radio etc.
No USB updates, no dealer return, no RS232. It just polls a website every now and then and auto-updates whenever it finds new software.

I would love to see Naim implement something similar.

John

Hi John,

It is something that we do keep looking at doing but at this time do not do (obviously).

For the Uniti and UnitiQute it is not appropriate as (for example) some of the hardware has to be updated via a serial connection.

Phil

quote:

Originally posted by jtktam:
Phil, I think it was a bit harsh to ask if he "NEEDS" the update.. if a current owner of the Uniti sees an update with a new feature, he should be able to get it..

A customer shouldn't automatically expect an update when a product is developed to provide new features... If you bought a VW Golf - do VW tell you they are about to produce next years model with the same *physical* engine but the engine mapping is changed so that it does 5 MPG more and accelerates to 60 .2 second quicker? No, of course they don't. If you go back to the dealer one the product is launched, will they provide the new engine mapping? No, they won't.

Companies like Apple who are providing new firmware for their devices to add new functionality are giving consumers the attitude that EVERYONE should do the same. Maybe they should ... but the product does what YOUR DEALER sold it to be able to do. Providing Firmware with new features is a marketing policy. Microsoft didn't provide free to all the owners of Vista a copy of Windows 7 - maybe that an analogy that makes sense.

On the other hand, the dealer SHOULD have been aware that to use the iPod Touch interface an upgrade was needed - if not then some communication between Naim HQ and the Dealer is lacking - and informed a customer who knew about the app that a firmware (return to shop) update maybe required.. However did he SELL you the device as being controllable by an iPod Touch? I suspect not. So why should you expect to do new things the dealer didn't advertise - and remember (at least in UK) your contract is between you and the dealer not between you and Naim - without an update and possibly paying more?

For a firmware update to provide a bug fix (IMO) a dealer should be expected to do this FOC. If the firmware is to provide extra functionality, a small charge is reasonable - however it should be the same charge for ALL dealers within a country (IMO). The dealer should also be able to do it within a couple of hours (when pre-booked) - meaning a customer can bring the device in, go shopping or for a coffee and return to collect the unit. In addition the firmware should be available direct from Naim (where possible) though not necessarily random download.

Eloise

quote:

Originally posted by Eloise:
A customer shouldn't automatically expect an update when a product is developed to provide new features... If you bought a VW Golf - do VW tell you they are about to produce next years model with the same *physical* engine but the engine mapping is changed so that it does 5 MPG more and accelerates to 60 .2 second quicker? No, of course they don't. If you go back to the dealer one the product is launched, will they provide the new engine mapping? No, they won't.

your example is different than the situation I am in and what I was trying to explain. To correct your example to more align with my situation:

I want to buy a VW and I go on the forums to see the features and there are existing drivers telling me what features it has etc and they all rave about the ipod digital interface.

I go to my local VW dealer and purchased said model and drive it off the lot. Then I find out that it doesn't have the feature, that I need to bring my new car back to get it upgraded.

---

When Naim sells the exact model with a differing feature set, it confuses the market and messes up people's expectation.

If they release Uniti MKII and added the new fatures, and I can see that my "new in box" Unit is MKI, then I know what to expect. I am not asking for UnitiQue features in my Uniti.. I am asking for the SAME feature as a post Feb 2010 shipping Uniti!

-joe