Preparing To Stream--Questions:
Posted by: Russ on 28 August 2012
To all those of you who have helped an old codger who remembers when mono records were replaced by new-fangled "stereo"--who have helped me understand digital and in selecting a system--on to the next phase--provided you have not all run out of patience! I have listened to your advice--and am acting on it.
OK, suppose I now have my Guru speakers ready to enclose in their cabinets--to emerge out front onto their stands when I am ready for a listening session. And suppose further that I have blown all my money on said speakers, stands, and a Superuniti (or, if I can't afford it right now, an interim Unitiqute).
In the process of selecting the SU, just as I once gave up my vinyl for those funny little CD s, I have now given up my dependency on them as well. Henceforth, I will be committed to digital sources, served, streamed, converted to analog, amplified, and routed into my speakers.
In the process, I have also listened to the majority who say I do not need the convenience of the Unitiserve--at the very least for now--and in giving that up (again, for now), I might--repeat MIGHT be able to just afford the Superuniti. So someday, I may want to put everything I have on the SU. In the meantime, I think I will have to start out with an old PC and peripherals and make the transition, first to a NAS, and then (perhaps) to the Unitiserve.
That long introduction leads up to what I am now hatching in my dull brain: I am the proud owner of an old Gateway laptop loaded with Vista, with a 256 Gig hard drive (128 or so currently availa
ble), with a Core2 Duo Intel Centino, a wireless connection to a screaming internet connection, and an optical disk drive that doesn't work any more. Here is my thinking:
1. I buy an external hard drive.
2. I buy an external optical CD drive.
3. I plug both into USB ports on the decrepit old Gateway.
4. I install dbpoweramp (or some such software) for ripping WAV or FLAC files.
5. I use the external CD drive and the ripping software to rip to the external hard drive.
Meanwhile, at some point, the Guru speakers and the Superuniti arrive at my front door. I place the speakers in their chosen location--and because SWMBO has decreed there will be no visible electronic boxes visible in the same room--the Superuniti will take up residence in a closet (on a sturdy shelf, since I cannot afford a high-dollar rack). I will not be able to control it through the wall using the remote, so I will load nstream onto my Iphone and make a wifi connection through the very walls. Magic!!
The first fare will be stations such as KING FM Classical in Seattle--great stations. The second will come when I schlep the external hard drive into the closet and plug it into the USB port on the Superuniti. I will play music from there--hopefully using nstream--perhaps somewhat clumsily--until I can buy, configure, and figure out how to set up a NAS.
I have my music ripped, so it can ultimately be transfered to the NAS (complete with musci serving software) or to the Unitiserve--or whereever.
Please let me know what you think of my plan (and be assured as I progress, I will return to whine for more help)--positive--or not so much. Your help is--as always--so much appreciated.
Best regards,
Russ
In the process, I have also listened to the majority who say I do not need the convenience of the Unitiserve--at the very least for now--and in giving that up (again, for now), I might--repeat MIGHT be able to just afford the Superuniti. So someday, I may want to put everything I have on the SU. In the meantime, I think I will have to start out with an old PC and peripherals and make the transition, first to a NAS, and then (perhaps) to the Unitiserve.
* * * * * * * * *
The first fare will be stations such as KING FM Classical in Seattle--great stations. The second will come when I schlep the external hard drive into the closet and plug it into the USB port on the Superuniti. I will play music from there--hopefully using nstream--perhaps somewhat clumsily--until I can buy, configure, and figure out how to set up a NAS.
Hi Russ,
In past posts you've been quite reluctant to go down the 'home grown' route, but certainly if money is limiting, you may have to.
Two things I've highlighted. (1) The SuperUniti has no internal storage. You can't "put" files on it; it always needs to be connected to a server or player, and (2) Naim do not recommend using an external hard drive as a source of music files. Depending on the external drive, it might not even work as the SU's usb port may not provide sufficient power to run it. You may need to substitute usb sticks instead, but these are relatively cheap. You can put a lot of music on a 64 gig usb stick.
Hey maybe setting all this up will be fun and a learning experience 
cbr600: Pev is correct. I have been lured away from my old, comfortable reliance on outmoded technology such as CD drives as source, just when I was getting used to them. Shows you how far behind the times I am--Glenn Miller died before I was born, but I've always preferred his music to that of Elvis.
Bart: Completely understood. I realize the SU and the UQ both have no storage (or access to source, for that matter, other than i radio). As to your doubts about the ability of the SU to handle larger USB "drives", I had thought of that--but not in terms of their need for more power (which of course is true, but the fact had escaped me until now) but rather in terms of whether (1) the SU could handle the greater capacity, and (2) whether the SU could "see" the file structure or whether you would have to plug the damned thing in and play its contents sequentially--like an old reel-to-reel tape. I even emailed that question about a week ago to Naim, and received the following reply (which I think indirectly answered my question about capacity--but not your point about power):
"The USB port is not designed for large USB hard drives, they take too long to initialise. The latest 2TB models of UnitiServe have a download folder where music can be stored and replayed."
Now that you have brought up the issue of power, I wonder if Naim was talking only about spinning disks taking too long to initialize--and not flash storage--in which case, one might get away with a much larger flash "drive".
In any case, I think the largest "stick" anyone has mentioned they had in use so far was 64 gig--which is pretty substantial.
Thanks,
Russ
In the process, I have also listened to the majority who say I do not need the convenience of the Unitiserve--at the very least for now--and in giving that up (again, for now), I might--repeat MIGHT be able to just afford the Superuniti. So someday, I may want to put everything I have on the SU. In the meantime, I think I will have to start out with an old PC and peripherals and make the transition, first to a NAS, and then (perhaps) to the Unitiserve.
* * * * * * * * *
The first fare will be stations such as KING FM Classical in Seattle--great stations. The second will come when I schlep the external hard drive into the closet and plug it into the USB port on the Superuniti. I will play music from there--hopefully using nstream--perhaps somewhat clumsily--until I can buy, configure, and figure out how to set up a NAS.
Hi Russ,
In past posts you've been quite reluctant to go down the 'home grown' route, but certainly if money is limiting, you may have to.
Two things I've highlighted. (1) The SuperUniti has no internal storage. You can't "put" files on it; it always needs to be connected to a server or player, and (2) Naim do not recommend using an external hard drive as a source of music files. Depending on the external drive, it might not even work as the SU's usb port may not provide sufficient power to run it. You may need to substitute usb sticks instead, but these are relatively cheap. You can put a lot of music on a 64 gig usb stick.
Hey maybe setting all this up will be fun and a learning experience
Guys,
I also have the SuperUniti with Proac D18. I can connect my Lacie 250gb (almost full of flac) and browse folder structure, play flac/wav directly from it. However, no album art, no way to queue or add playlist and some album cannot be seen. I also plug in kingston 8gb and Sandisk 16gb, all are fine.