Unitiqute and Airport Express connection

I do not understand everything, but i should say; use ste streaming options by the air. With the wifi. The DAC coverts it also on a great job. So no cables etc... nessessary

Sascha,

You are not using your Qute as a streamer if you have the Airport Express in the party!

When you use the Qute as a streamer, you should forget about the Airport Express and the Remote app and Airplay

The Qute is a very capable streamer, hence you should use it as a streamer

You should look for the N-Stream app

Regards,

Edouard

Hi Sacha,

your statements are correct !

Like the others say, the question is why to use the AE as streamer while you have a very good One.

be aware of the following. The AE can stream max 16bit/44khz, so no HiRes. When you feed it with HiRes, it will downsample the files to 16/44.

Iver

How about a airport extreme? How much can it stream? Also 16bit/44khz or more?

Will hi-res only possible with a wired connection between a NAS or server/PC?

@Iver van de Zand: Thanks! But if the AE downsamples everything to 16/44khz, then my statements aren't correct, right? Because then the AE won't stream bit perfect music to the Unitiqute but downsample it before.

For information:

1. I can't use the Unitiqute as a streamer itself because Apple products don't support UPnP or DLNA, only Airplay and that's the way I listen to music. 

2. All my music is from iTunes Store which is perfect quality formatted in 256 kbit/sec AAC (iTunes Plus) with 44,100 kHz... 

Question: Will the AE then downsample something? I guess not. So in THIS case it WILL INDEED stream a bit perfect signal to the Unitiqute, right?

I know it's kinda dumb because I could use any power amplifier with a digital input. Naim implementing Airplay would be like christmas and easter on one day for me. But I doubt this will ever happen after so much time having passed since Naim first made a statement about implementing Airplay in February 2011 (!)...

Sascha

I far from an expert but my Qute is connected to my MacBook using the UPnP program EyeConnect which I downloaded to my Mac Book. I stream music and connect to internet radio from my Qute through my Mac Book using EyeConnect. I went into the advanced menu on itunes and selected "allow sharing" or something like that and then the setup menu on my Qute and voila it works!!

My MacBook internet connection is by wi-fi to an Apple Express Extreme which is in turn connected by cat5 cable(?) to the router of my broadband cable provider.  

Make sense?

@Clay Bingham: Yeah, it makes a lot of sense as I also tried EyeConnect with a PS3 which is also a UPnP client. In this case I was only able to access iTunes from the PS3. So I think I would have to scroll through my iTunes library with the remote from the Unitiqute which would be displayed on the Qute, right? So i couldn't control my library from iTunes itself, right? That would be i BIG blow in usability.

Correct! I access the Itunes from the Qute by pressing PC on the remote. The screen displays UPnP. When you hit the OK/list button a music menu comes up just like on iRadio, you select and you are off and running.

Sacha,

your statement as described above is correct when using AAC. Just in side note. The AE also comes with quite some jitter, that is not exactly helping with the sound quality. On the other hand, itis a very easy and good way to deliver music into the unitiqute

Just as food for thought for you: you have a brilliant piece of equipment with the UnitiQute. Why do you use the rather inferior format of AAC. If you rip your cd's the a lossless format like Alac, Aiff or Wav, and you'd install a upnp server on the Mac, you will get a way better sound quality of your music  avoiding the Ae and usethequte directly as streamer. If you search this forum a bit, you'll find plenty of excellent advize for that set up.

By the way, what speakers do you use Sacha ?

cheers.

Iver

@Ivar van de Zand: At the moment no name speakers. But I intend to buy a Unitiqute/Audio Physic Sitara 25 combo. I listened to it at my hifi-dealer at it was awesome! Honestly the AAC Itunes Store music sounds better to me than ripped CDs in Apple Lossless. In fact they have to be that good. Otherwhise Apple wouldn't be world market leader in digital music sales. Therefore I have NO cds anymore but only my iCloud library. Perfect usability.

BTW: Can you recommend a Mac server? For iOS there is Airmusic. And for Mac?

Elija, I have to think that something is wrong, somewhere, if lossy files sound better than lossless files you rip.  Perhaps something wrong with the ripping process . . .   If not, maybe your ear is just  used to hearing "less???"

Hi, Sascha,

I agree with the others.  Do connect the AE to your Qute, via a good optical cable.  But it should be your "B" source, after making your iTunes library available via e.g. PlayBack directly to the Qute, without help from the AE.  

AirPlay is great, and very convenient, but not the best quality possible with Naim, for now.  That said, I thought the AE sounded very good direct into my NAC 112, and gave the nDAC a run for its money.  Into the 552 it is a different story.  So, trust your ears with your setup.

ATB,

Nick

OK guys, thanks for the answers. I guess that I have no choice but use the n-stream app for playing music then only from my iPod touch and in the near future iPhone 5. 

But then I have another question concerning the n-stream app. Maybe you can answer this also: 

Imagine I only have an iPhone 5 and nothing else with 15GB of music on it. Would I be able to stream music from my iPhone 5 to the Unitiqute via n-stream? Or does the music have to be stored on an external drive e.g. NAS, MacBook Air, etc...from which the n-stream app would then catch the music?

Cheers,

Sascha

Hi Sacha,

The answer is the latter: nStream itself will never store music, it is just a shell that enables you to control music stored on a upnp enabled NAS or pc/mac

If you want to stream music that is physically stored on your iPhone/iPad, you need to go the AE route as you already have in place.

Cheers,

Iver

Thanks Iver! You could also earn your rolls by being a Naim Forum Tutor

Concerning your answer: Sound quality conviction aside, the restrictions in usability using the n-stream app (I would always have to run MacBook Air AND iPod touch/iPhone 5 at the same time) are for me personally unacceptable so that I will definitely go for the Airplay way although I will probably get some thumbs down for not being a real high-ender convenience and comfort comes first!

Sascha,

I think the AirPort Express into the Qute might sound as good or better than any alternatives with built-in AirPlay, and be just as easy to use; I don't know for sure.  What else are you considering?  

I keep an AE in my system to use the way you suggest, but I do not use it very often; I prefer the sound quality from my Mac Mini into the Naim DAC.  The Mac is my complete music repository, all lossless, and is very easy to use via the Remote app.  I do not have a Naim streamer yet.  

Most of us Naim owners are maniacs about getting all the sound quality possible, if only to justify the cost.  It can be a fun hobby to pursue, but it is not for everybody.  Nothing wrong with your priorities, IMO.

Let us know your findings.  

Best of luck,

Nick

Hi Sacha,

Thanks for your message. In terms of knwoledge, I "play the middle league" :-) There are others that whipe the floor with us in terms of knowledge :-)

anyhow, I agree with you that comfort and "ease of use" are key. In the end it is always about enjoying the music.

I'd keep an eye on the Naim website. Who knows, they will make the streamers Airplay enabled, and your issue is solved. I know it is a request many others here, have

Cheers

Iver

Nick Seattle: I searched the web for almost 2 hours now. My points for my audio system are:

1. all-in-one-compact design like the Unitiqute. I really like that.

2. a clean front without more buttons than absolutely necessary.

3. Airplay or optical in for connecting an AE

Considering that only 3 (!) systems offer something like that.

1. Naim Unitiqute

2. Revox Joy 120

3. Belcanto C5i

What do you think about the two latter ones? Can one say something about Revox generally? Are they like Bose only looking for design with rather bad/mainstream sound quality?

Cheers

Sascha

The Bel Canto is less expensive than the Qute, and has no streamer on board.  Our local Bel Canto dealer folded a year or two ago, which is not Bel Canto's fault.  I went to the final sale to demo some BC products.  They looked great and sounded fine through the tiny Usher speakers they had.  No chance for a proper A/B test.  Personally, I'd rather have the Qute; but I find their streamers compelling; you do not.

I have not seen any new Revox products in Seattle since reel-to-reel was King, so I cannot comment.

I find the quality of this forum adds to the ownership experience.  It speaks of the remarkable passion the brand creates in owners.  Many who deplore the lack of AirPlay (and updates over the wire) are still happier to stay and complain than to go elsewhere, presumably because the gear is THAT good.

Nick