Naim- Is AirPlay coming or not?

In the meantime you can connect a $100 Airport Express to the digital input of the Qute and use Airplay that way. It's how I provide my wife the ability to play her iTunes tracks from her iPhone/iPad to our ND5 XS.

It would be nice just to have native support for Airplay on Naim streaming products.

I know however it really seems half arsed!

If an Airport Express is used then isn't the built in DAC used instead of the Qute's DAC?

I am still interested in hearing something from Naim.....as this was promised so long ago yet never delivered.  A definitive answer from HQ would still be appreciated.

The audio out from an Airport Express is a hybrid (analog or digital). I use an optical cable so that the DAC in my ND5XS is used.

Thanks

I assume Guido Fawke's famous WireWorld Opti cable?

I still am on the fence as native Airplay would be preferable

I just use a cheapo optical cable I got from Monoprice for a few dollars. I can't see investing more than that for playing MP3s from a iOS device. My high res FLAC/AIFF audio is streamed over ethernet.

I doubt it.  My guess is that they will start to include async USB inputs on future DAC/Streamers as they have with the DAC V1.  If Airplay was anywhere on the horizon they would have certainly put it on this new unit.

I would use source/pre/amp/speaker of your choice then find another way to get the music there.

For example, I am looking into some powered speakers for a work space.  Then I will simply run analog out of an AE into the speakers and control from JRemote (which can push to Airplay clients) on my iPhone (streaming from JRiver at home).

Airplay is already past it prime.  UPNP is SO much more robust, can handle hires audio, full 1080 HD video, data, images etc....  Depending on the server, it can send multiple streams of different material to difference players.

Airplay is cute to push content to an Apple TV or something, e.g. "look at this youtube video i am watching on my iPad everyone" (like that happens a lot). 

I guarantee that if you had Airplay on your Naim sources you would complain more about the dropouts, lack of hires, inability to do more than one thing at a time, etc....

-Patrick

Except that UPnP is rubbish on Mac OS X. I finally gave up on trying to get it working reliably and am getting a QNAP NAS instead. I would welcome the use of Airplay if it supported FLAC and high res 24-bit audio (which it doesn't).

Patrick

No argument from me with regards to UpnP.  I have been running my Linn Klimax for over one year and it has provided absolutely flawless performance over UpnP.

The kitchen system I wish to build will run over UpnP.  For the best sound quality I will play my ripped FLAC files.  Airplay is a convenience as my family members enjoy using Pandora and MOG to stream to the stereo system via Airplay.  The entire Linn range supports Airplay.  As such I can use UpnP or stream Pandora or Mog to their players completely hassle free.  Airplay allows my wife (completely non technical) to listen to these services through the stereo system without any problem what so ever.

Dropouts - I currently have a 20 year old whole house system (I am embarrassed to say Bose from 1994) however with an Airport Express connected to it we have experienced no problems what so ever with Pandora, MOG etc.  It simply WORKS - as do Apple computers.

Async USB - I hope not.  Not many wives I know want to see a computer connected to the stereo system (the stereo boxes are bad enough).  A simple low profile ethernet cable via UpnP already causes grief.

RaceTripper

Do not give up on running UpnP on a Mac system.  My house has been exclusively Mac since the late 80's.  Forget Twonky for Mac - too much pain.  There is a fellow member on the Linn forum who has written MinimServer - a great UpnP program which is native to Mac, Windows, and various flavors of NAS devices.  I have been using it since inception (one year ago) and it works FLAWLESSLY on a Mac.  Absolute perfection.

Best

Gregg

Thanks. I am using Minim 0.63 at the moment. It works better than anything I've tried on OS X, but it isn't perfect. I'll be happy to offload it all from my Mac Mini anyway. The QNAP is on its way, and it'll just use the disks I'm using now for audio files.

Airplay be nice future as Naim did say it be available in future. UPnP has worked well for me with NAS unit.

Airplay has one huge advantage over UPnP, it is proprietory; rather than delivering a mishmash of protocols that suppliers can ignore or implement at will, Apple have locked down Airplay and removed  any need for the user to tinker with its settings. If a device is Airplay enabled you know exactly what it will be able to stream and that it will work when you want to use it. If you are streaming redbook files ito play in the background it works very well but as others here have pointed out it won't play hires files. Apple, probably correctly, have identified the biggest segment of the market and ignored the very small percentage of users who want 24/96.

UPnP/DLNA can of course stream higher bitrate files but as users of this forum know you had better secure a good implementation if you are going to enjoy the process.

Airplay is very, very good at what it does and the Apple TV is a fantastic little device. Airplay out via its optical into a good Dac is great as is Netflix through a decent TV. The Apple remote app works brilliantly and is still IMHO the control point to beat in terms of ergonomics and ability. For those who haven't used it to browse an itunes library - it is a masterclass in getting an interface right and implemented playlists way before others started to struggle with the concept. It is quick,responsive and was the work of a one man team with time on his hands.

If it weren't for the audiophile limitations of Airplay - this forum would be a very quiet place and Apple would be the dominant force in the streaming market. Design and implementation are so good you just wish they would finish the job and make Airplay a real audiophile tool.

However, if implemented well UPnP/ DLNA can prove to be better as Plex has proved with video (ironically on Apple products) and others like Naim or Linn on audio.

Incidentally, Linn don't exactly use Airplay - they have a software solution called Songcast.

Airplay will cost Naim to implement and I would suggest that any delays are the result of making it sound as good as the alternatives.

Tog

Get in the queue behind those of us waiting for NStream for Android devices 

Seriously - Naim's rate of progress on software development is glacial...

Pev - they are not a software company so development was always going to be slow.

Since they would have determined their main demographic were more likely to use IOS devices they were right to focus development in that area first. 

Tog

I use upnp for proper listening, streaming flac files from a nas, its nice not to have a computer switched on, but for casual listening and just picking put random songs airplay can't be beaten.

Airplay is also useful for visitors to play music on their iphones. It would be a nice addition, but as mentioned the airport express is fine with an optical connection. I use the airport express as a wireless bridge anyway since the wireless reception pn my qute doesn't seem that great.

Hi Tog,

I don't think this is correct, Linn DS support both Airplay directly and also their own Songcast which are open source extensions to upnp.

Rich

Thought it was via Songcast only - I stand corrected!

Tog

IME, so long as you are not too far away from the audio setup, Bluetooth works better than AE.  I am experiencing a 1-2 second dropout about once a week versus the half-dozen per night I had the AE.

Also, Bluetooth pairing is just as easy to do as an Airplay re-direct. I've had visitors send songs from their smart phones, and they are amazed to hear their music on something other than earbuds. :-)

FYI, in the US, Rocketfish makes an excellent liitle Bluetooth music reciever ($69).  I noticed that QED makes something similar called U-Play for the UK. The key thing to look for is APT-X lossless compression support.

Hook

There is a long delayed firmware upgrade for Naim streamers - expected around Christmas, now Easter has been and gone...

Maybe, just maybe, that will incorporate Airplay???

A Windows version of nStream would be much more important than this Apple gadget. My next tablet will definately be Windows driven. Done with Apple. And I am not alone in this.

I think an Android version first would be more likely.

What's the beef with apple?

I use iOS devices, but there are plenty of people who don't and don't want to. For them, Naim has left them out with remote access to streaming devices. Although I use iOS, I sympathize with those who don't want to.