Naim- Is AirPlay coming or not?

Well - as the original starter of this thread, and a long time Naim user - I for one would appreciate some sort of comment from HQ.  A lack of one will make me assume that Airplay is not coming (even though it was promised two years ago) and simply encourage me to build my second system around a Linn source component.  That will then make two of my systems having non Naim streaming sources.

Why so difficult for HQ to provide an answer?

Gregg

Hi glevethan,

Just a quick query...do you really think Naim should reply specifically to your personal request, or anyones else, for a statement on their position on AirPlay?????

There are many professional and legal reasons for not giving a statement on whether they are 'going' to introduce a licenced technology...not very wise I imagine.

Jason

Hi Jason

If I am not mistaken Naim announced more than two years ago that AirPlay functionality would be coming to the UnitiQute with a software update.  I am not asking them to reply to "my personal request".  I am simply asking if they plan on incorporating a feature which they already announced would be coming.  

Many purchased the UnitiQute with the understanding that Airplay would be coming - as per Naim's statement.  Others, including myself, are contemplating a UnitiQute purchase and the knowledge of whether not Naim intend to enable the previously promised AirPlay functionality will factor into this purchase decision.

Gregg

Gregg,

Read a bit deeper into Jason's comments. You aren't going to get Naim answering such a question about an Apple product. Try asking Apple if they intend coming up to the required mark for Naim to use Airplay in their products. 

Andy

Hah ha! You are far less likely to get any kind of answer from Apple, "King of the Tight Lips"

Andy

I think you are missing my point.

1)Naim stated that Airplay will be coming to the UnitiQute.

2)It has not arrived.

3)Are they still intending on doing what they said?

Quite simple. 

Gregg,

No really not simple. If I recall it was not an official announcement it was a comment from an interview. Other comments made later, by others, suggested that things had gone awry.  The awry bit is what you need to focus on. I am suggesting to you that it was not going to be plain sailing and that a very large litigous company may not want the awry bit discussed by other companies.

Andy

PS I have no assets whatsoever and actually don't own any hifi. I am writing this in the internet cafe having found a fiver at the shelter, which bought me a hot tea, a cornish pasty and 1 hour on the internet. I love all types of fruity sounding objects with a passion. Can see a ship at the dockside, might just see if I can creep aboard...

Then I would appreciate a simple:

1) No

2) Yes

3) Maybe

At least something 

I have no ulterior motive and am not personally affected by the lack of Airplay ie I am not a grumpy UnitiQute owner who feels deprived.

I am, instead, someone who is contemplating the purchase of a UnitiQute.  I like the ease with which I am able to Airplay Pandora or Mog to my Klimax DS.  I want the same ease in the second system I will be building.  Nothing more nothing less.

Hi Jason -

Sorry, I should made the connectivity more clear -- this new generation of Bluetooth music receivers have digital optical output.  They really are a plug-n-play replacement for an AE.

Never had much interest in previous generations of Bluetooth music receivers because they only offered RCA analog output.  As a result of using a budget dac and output stage, they never sounded very good. On par with an iPod's analog output I suppose.

But now that they have digital optical output, and now that they support apt-x lossless compression for transmitting the data wirelessly, sound quality and reliability is quite good!  More than good enough for running Spotify on an iPad, and transmitting 320kbps streams.

Hook

Nah.... dont agree.  JRemote kicks its ass.  Sorry but things have moved beyond Remote app and iTunes. 

anyway...... back to the question at hand.  Dont hold your breath.  It is too expensive for Naim to implement Airplay in all of their devices, only to be a Johnny-Come-Lately with no future.

Like Airplay will be around as long as your $10K Naim device.

-p

Sooooooooo, what's the problem.  Klimax sounds perfect for you.  Why complain?

I think the Apple remote app is pretty poor compared to JRemote/JRiver, unless you happen to conform to  apples fixed and narrow view of things. JRiver/JRemote lets you configure your own views and browsing structure much more freely, with whatever tags and levels of nesting you want; Classical x Composer x Work for example. JRemote gets a lot more useful artwork on the screen too, shows metadata ..

Agreed - there are more complex control points and Remote hasn't been updated for a while.

However, your point about the configuration options of JRiver and the closed nature of Apples' approach is an interesting one; a difference that forges the rivalry between IOS and Android. One is designed deliberately to be limited to ensure that it just works and the other extensively configurable by the user but ultiimately compromised in terms of usability.

Agreed for the tinkerers amongst us - Apple products must be frustrating. But the paraphrase the great but sadly ailing Iain Banks - there are more exciting things to do in life than endlessly adjust ones control point.

Tog

I find it weird that every time Naim is being critizised (eg. for lacking [nStream] features or broken promises), the original poster receives n+1 borderline hostile replies, half-assed workarounds or plain ridicule. Really, how does OT like that help anyone?

Point is, Naim shouldn't promise features they're unable to deliver.

That's just lying to early adopters and potential customers.

I would use the word 'deceiving' as opposed to 'lying'; but other than that - harsh but fair....

Dammed if you do........Damned if you don't

Remote doesn't "just work" for me at all. I can't navigate my music I easily or intuitively with it. I can't easily find things I know I have, or browse in a pleasing way. Using it would be like having all my CDs locked in a cupboard in one, useless, order. I didn't and don't need to endlessly adjust JRemote, I just set things up to suit me, much like I used to like to choose where to put my CDs, after all, I bought them. There are certainly more exciting things to do in life than get driven nuts by apples way of forcing you navigate your own music collection.

Jason - reported yesterday as having terminal cancer and only a few months to live.

Love the Culture novels - by all accounts he's a great guy as well - there is a lot to do and so little time.

Tog

Hi,

reading in Linn Forum about there happiness regarding air play and the use of spotify e.g. is really something that p**s me off then thinking about how to do so with NAIM!