Naimuniti Apple losless streaming

If you use EyeConnect as UPnP server this will convert your ALAC files on the fly so that they can be played on your NaimUnity.

Eloise

Not with the ATV though....

Steve.

Don't need Apple TV to stream to NaimUniti....

Will "EyeConnect" stream any iTunes content to the Naim Uniti or UnitiQute? I listen to AAC, mp3 and WAV files for now. I feel kinda dumb here but...I am assuming EyeConnect is an application you download to your PC or Mac and this allows the computer to act as a control device for the Uniti? What if the actual music files reside elsewhere (not located on the mac/pc) but on an external drive such as a time capsule or NAS? Thanks.

vgnox, my understanding is that the Airport Express / Apple Tv is acting as the dac when connected to an old-fashioned preamp. That is the setup I am using now to "play" with digital content while I transition away from CD. I could be wrong here, but as David pointed out you don't need an Airport Express/ Apple TV to connect to the Naim.... so I guess the Uniti is acting as the dac. Oh gets more and more confusing LOL TKS.

quote:

Originally posted by David Dever:
Don't need Apple TV to stream to NaimUniti....

You do if, as stated by the original poster, you want to use iTunes.

All these people who seem content to scroll through potentially enormous lists on a cruddy (compared to iTunes on my 24" iMac, at least) 2" display stagger me.

Don't get me wrong, it's technically great that my Uniti can UPnP with my Mac, but from a usability perspective, it's an absolute car crash compared to using iTunes.

Naim really need to sort out direct integration with iTunes/Airport (and no, an iPhone app doesn't cut it). It's the one gaping hole in the Uniti's functionality, and only likely to become a bigger issue with the UnitiQute, as they attack larger, less specialist markets.

Simon

Thanks for all replies.

I understand, if you install EyeConnect as UPnP server I will be able to stream the music to the Unity. My problem is that I find UPnP on a Mac not a very stable solution, I prefer not to install it, it was made with a PC in mind.

@Binkey M., a NAS can usually make use of UPnP directly. With Time Capsule, the UPnP software should be installed on the PC/Mac. Also, if you connect AE/ATV analogue to a preamp it will use the AE/ATV's lower quality DAC. When you connect the AE/ATV to a DAC through toslink it will use the DAC of the DAC :-) This is what I did with the Uniti.

@Goldfish, that's exactly my point, I want iTunes because I like it and most of the music is in Apple Losless, a format the Uniti does not understand.

I still don't understand why Apple TV (digitally) as a source does not sound right, it uses the DAC on the Uniti. My only conclusion is that the optical DAC is not as good.

I think that one of the problems with Apple TV digital out is the Jitter. ATV has maybe the worst Jitter in the entire industry. Same is true for the digital optical audio out of the Macs. With the Macs it is easy, there are plenty of USB devices that can solve the problem. For the ATV an option could be Altman's JISCO Jitter Scrambling Decorrelator

I wonder ... has anyone compared (in terms of SQ) a NaimUnity to (for example) Nait 5i with a MacMini, M2Tech HiFace and (for example) a Cambridge Audio DACMagic (though a half-width 2 or 3 input NaimDAC would be nice for £500-700)?

Very similar features though (obviously) less integrated - no DAB I know - and at a guess similar cost.

Eloise

I have a similar situation here, running an Airport Express with optical cable on my Supernait. I have noticed great differences using different optical cables! The worst sounding was the white monster cable from my local apple shop...
I´m quite satisfied now with a cable from Klotz audio interface systems, a seller for professional studio products.
In comparsion to a borrowed Sonos ZP 90, connected with coax/spdif, the Sonos is still better. Must be a jitter problem with the Apple products too.
What a pity, iTunes/remote/Airport is very convenient and faultless to control.

quote:

Originally posted by ramona.c:

What a pity, iTunes/remote/Airport is very convenient and faultless to control.

How do i keep the hard drive visible to the Mac at all times. On my buddy's set-up, just about every day at some point he says the drive is not shown on the desktop anymore and the songs wont play.

I go over and sure enough you need to unplug and replug in the drive to have it show up.

He said it happens randomly, whenever he doesn;t play for a few hours and EVERY time he reboots.

Any thoughts?

I wont even get into the fact that he has almost constant drop-outs with the express.

thanks!
Patrick

pcstockton,
can´t anything say to the mac-hd-problems because I´m here on PC with local iTunes library. Have two extern HDs for backup staying visible, if the connected. In the "PC-world", I would set fixed directories for the HDs, using them with iTunes.
My Airports are wired/ethernet configured. I would strongly recommend that in case of dropouts/wlan-problems!
Above that, my Airports are sound definitiv more accurate, connected by ethernet, even better on my netgear switch (no joke).
And, the play without the need of a wlan...

Check the energy-/power save settings on the mac, perhaps it will help.

quote:

Originally posted by pcstockton:

quote:

Originally posted by ramona.c:

What a pity, iTunes/remote/Airport is very convenient and faultless to control.

How do i keep the hard drive visible to the Mac at all times. On my buddy's set-up, just about every day at some point he says the drive is not shown on the desktop anymore and the songs wont play.

I go over and sure enough you need to unplug and replug in the drive to have it show up.

He said it happens randomly, whenever he doesn;t play for a few hours and EVERY time he reboots.

Any thoughts?

I wont even get into the fact that he has almost constant drop-outs with the express.

thanks!
Patrick

My guess would be Power Management settings, HDD turn off time or Computer Sleep time.

-
aleg

Thanks my people....

I will go over tonight and see if I can find anything in power settings to change.

I am going to guess it is really easy to find that in the general setting somewhere?

-thanks,
Patrick

I used to store my iTunes music on external drives; tried both USB and the TimeCapsule drive (sort of a quasi NAS?) but had lots of problems with iTunes being able to see, and stay mapped to them. Eventually I gave up and bought the Mini that now runs iTunes and stores the files. The external drives are now for backup only. Works much better.

quote:

Originally posted by pcstockton:

I am going to guess it is really easy to find that in the general setting somewhere?

-thanks,
Patrick

Yep. You should find it straight away under System Preferences. It is called "energy saver" and is the icon that looks like a lightbulb.