Setting up Naim NDX - routers and wires questions!!

why not keep it connected always? Wouldn't that be less of a hassle?

I would keep it wired if you can.

I am exploring here. I have always seen that isolating hi gear from interferences always show up as some form of improvement in the sound. Hence I am trying to isolate the NDX from wifi routers and all other gear on my network.

So I am thinking of doing this :

Network 1:

Home network – PC, Laptop…all connected into my cheap wifi router.

Network 2 :

NDX – Switcher – Nas.

When I need the NAS on my network to copy files which may reside in my PC etc..I just temporarily connect the switcher in network 2 to the wifi router in network 1. Once I copy the file, I remove the connection and isolate the network 2 from everything else.

I am assuming that the n-stream app will be able to control ndx independent of the wifi router. Means the NDX does not have to be connected to the wifi router for n-stream to control it. I am assuming the ipad will directly connect to ndx via wifi.

Correct me if I am wrong. I am exploring to see if I see any improvement in sound so all you techies please bear with me.

I'd say that, yes, you are wrong. Ish. Get a little switch, say by Cisco, which are very good. Connect the router to the switch, and the streamer and NAS to the switch. Use good cables for this. I have an airport express connected to the switch, which I use for the iPad to control the system. This setup gives all the isolation you need and is solid and reliable. 

Unless the NDX is connected to the internet, it cannot get the rovi booklets, so stay connected all the time.

You also mention mains conditioners. The general advice in the context of Naim systems, is don't use them. A Powerline is all the mains lead you need.

That's how i had mine setup - but you need a connection between the two networks to allow the NDX to be controlled via the nStream app (via your wireless network). I wouldn't get too hung up about the networking side but use cable where possible to create a nice robust system. 

@ James,

This is where I am little confused. Doesn’t the ipad directly communicate with the NDX via its inbuilt wifi to the NDX’s inbuilt wifi ? Do we need a wifi router in the picture to make this happen ?

I am little new to networking so please forgive newbie questions !!

But if you are worried about wi-fi causing problems with the NDX then surely you want the wi-fi in the NDX to be switced off.

Interesting thought ! Thanks...

I am only trying to see, if I can keep minimal devices ( the bare minimum that is needed ) connected to make playback happening and control via ipad.

No Hertz -- the iDevice connects to the NDX via the home network.  You do need a wifi router.

The preferred setup is as Hungryhalibut and James and others have proposed; the only "isolation" you need in my estimation is a decent unmanaged switch connected to the rest of your network, your NDX and your NAS. 

Thanks guys. I have attached an image to show what you guys seem to recommend.

I would get a decent router and forgo the airport extreme, which is not great.

Asus RTN66U or AC68U, these dont have built in modems if you are on ADSL, so you want a cheap modem.

also how did you do that network map?

How is the Linksys SE2800 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch for a network switch?

@Gary, I flicked that pic from the internet and modified it a bit in photoshop

In terms of switches get on that has three times more than you think you will need

You're telling me -- my 8 port is now full

With what, out of interest?

Time Capsule, UnitiQute2, 2x nas, UnitiServe, broadband modem connection, Apple TV, PS2.  My Samsung TV and blu-ray player both are wi fi connections.  This is all in one room.

Perfect 

Ok, perhaps some conflicting advice, that you might need to pick through.

However my tips,

1) use a switch to connect your NAS, ND  player and ripper.

2) connect your switch to your internet router

3) use wired Ethernet connections between the above. Cat5e UTP cable is fine upto 1Gbps. You can experiment with different Ethernet leads connecting between switch and ND player if you want..some shielded variants may  reduce electrical RFI to very nearby audio components.

4) the wifi link for the Nstream controller is important. If you can,  use a seperate wifi identifier (SSID) for your Nstream. This should improve responsiveness on a busy home  wifi setup.

5) the wifi link, for OPTIMUM operation, needs to support something called multicast. Not all home broadband wifi routers appear to support this well. Symptoms are ND player or UPnP server seem to sometimes 'disappear' from the network as seen by Nstream. However an Apple AirPort Express does implement multicast well on its wifi part. So I would recommend plugging that into your switch and using that as your Nstream only wifi.

6)I am sure if you follow the above you will have a responsive and reliable home streaming setup.

Simon

Thanks Simon and others for the detailed replies. I will try these out and post back.

I am a little worried by the airport express though since it is little expensive...Are there other wifi routers out there which does a good job with multicast ?

 I think it is a great question. And could do with some help understanding in this area also.

I just don't understand why a switch is needed but i think this is simply down to my lack of knowledge.

We have a BT HUBhub router which has 4 ports on the rear. We only ever use a hard wire when downloading a massive file/ film etc. Under all other conditions we have upto 21 devices connected via wi fi with no problems. I should say there are 5 of us in the house inc 3 teenagers...

Next step is to add a Vortexbox/ Unitiserve or such like and connect this to a DAC using cable and control the system via an IPAD.

I suppose i have a couple of choices regards control, 1) hard wire to router and control via ipad or 2) buy a wifi link plug into Vortexbox or Unitiserve and control via ipad.

So, not sure what a switch would do?

Regards,

Nick

Here is something I copied from about.com  I put in bold the part I think is most pertinent:

Switches, unlike hubs, are capable of inspecting data as messages are received via a method called packet switching. A switch determines the source and destination device of each packet and forwards data only to the specific device intended to conserve network bandwidth and generally improve performance compared to hubs.

Bart, unfortunately this is where product marketing departments cause confusion. The BT Homehub router is NOT a hub in the networking sense - it is a broadband router with inbuilt switch... clear ?? possibly not..

But in short using the switch ports on a BT HomeHub should be fine. Data hubs are pretty rare now and it is those that you are referring to in the about.com reference, and are definitely not used in the BTHomeHub.

Elkman - a switch simply allows devices to share the same network efficiently by allowing them to send and receive at the same time (what is known as full duplex) and concurrently .. a router aka a gateway connects networks together, such as the public internet to your home network. Many home broadband routers contain 4 switch ports to  allow the router to attach several devices on the same home network.

Simon/ Bart,

This does help to clarify for me.

It would seem that my homehub is sufficient until i need to add more than 4 wired devices to my network.

Regards,

Nick

I have 30 things on my network right now, I have no idea what they all are. haha.

I have read about a hub vs a switch vs a router like 2 million times and I still don't know the difference.  What if someone wanted to stream music from their laptop to say an airport express then into a dac.  Would a home network with a router be ok?  Would a switch to a hub be better?  If so, how?

i guess I am thinking.  If a switch allows you to share a network.  How is this not the same as a cable bringing a signal into my home, which goes to a router, which beams a radio signal and also has 4 ports on the back I can hard wire to.  Isn't this all sharing a network?  Does not a switch in some way take a signal that starts with a cable coming into my house?