Qobuz or Spotify to ND5-XS - and how?!

Posted by: Graeme MacArthur on 09 November 2014

I'm beginning to lose sleep....

 

I know that Spotify will be implemented on the next firmware update. Spotify will only stream at a max of 320kbps which is not really satisfactory when you're putting it through a fairly high-end Naim system. I would have thought that Qobuz would have been a better choice with it's FLAC streaming, although I understand they are having some sort of financial problems which might sadly take them out of the picture. You know, really you should just be able to choose which service you want to subscribe to: you shouldn't be beholden to any manufacturer's deal - it's you who bought the damn thing in the first place! I had a similar problem with my Panasonic smart TV - I wanted to subscribe to Netflix but they only offered some other movie service (I can't even remember their name: suffice it to say that they quickly went belly-up). So I had to buy an Apple TV, which I only really use for Netflix and renting an occasional movie through iTunes.

 

So, here I am again. Naim are going to allow me to connect to Spotify, a service that I used to subscribe to on my Mac and phone but dumped because I didn't use it very much. What I really want to do is subscribe to Qobuz, but how to connect to my ND5-XS?. There seem to be two options: buy a Sonos Connect for about £275 or an Airport Express for about £75. The Sonos is the most workable option but it would only really be used for Qobuz and if they go out of business it will become something of a white elephant. The Airport Express would only work by allowing me to use Airplay to stream Qobuz from my iPhone/iPad through to my ND5-XS, but it would still have some limited functionality if Qobuz do go out of business.

 

What to do? Would the sound of Qobuz be degenerated if I sent it to my ND5-XS via Airplay? If so, would it be worse than Spotify at 320kbps but built into the firmware of my network player? I'm enjoying a free trial of Qobuz at the moment and I think it's fantastic but would come in a bit expensive at £19.99 a month. Still, it's good, so I could bite that bullet. But I'd be peeved if they went out of biz and left me with a Sonos Connect that I don't really want (eBay?). Or maybe I should just wait for the firmware upgrade and see how Spotify sounds.

 

As I said, I'm beginning to lose sleep.

Posted on: 02 December 2014 by Graeme MacArthur
Originally Posted by Aidan1:
Not having heard my Unitiqute though a sonos I couldn't say if there is or isn't a difference.
But is the sonos technically bringing anything to the table that the Apple TV isn't?
Serious question, I don't know.

The Sonos user interface is excellent. It allows you to include all the various services (in my case UPnP, Qobuz, Deezer and Spotify as well as internet radio) in the one app. And it's plugged straight into my ND5-XS DAC. It sounds considerably better than my Apple TV does when using Airplay. If I am using the Apple TV to play stuff from my computer using our wired network then it's fine. This is why I think that Airplay itself is the weak link, rather than the Apple TV. Technically, I couldn't say. I'm only going by how it sounds to me.

Posted on: 02 December 2014 by Aidan1
Fair enough.
Although I've jail broke my ATV so I can run my Qobuz directly through Xbmc.
Posted on: 02 December 2014 by Aidan1
I'd be interested in a sonos if that's the case.
Might pop into my local dealer Diug Brady & see what they say.
Thanks guys.