query regarding Naim, streaming and the app.

Your question is like asking how long is a piece of string really.

I have a big old ugly Dell server at home with 2 SAS drives running the OS and 4 Sata running the storage with 2 x quad core processors and 32 gigs of ram.

Therefore the UPNP server on it, is very quick. 

I also have an old dell PC running OpenMediaVault and this is substantially slower.

My understanding of the 'naim' app is that its for all intents and purposes a 'control point' piece of software. This means it is beholden to the UPNP server to tell it whats what. If your UPNP server is dog slow because of the hardware it is running on then this could mean it slow to show. If your hardware is half way decent it will be lightning.

This all being said, I have never observed the app or previous nStream app take five minutes to show music. My only point here being, make damn sure its not your nas thats the issue.

Mike, the Naim iOS app loads VERY quickly.  It does not retain all of the info I'm pretty sure -- but it populates very quickly, at least with respect to albums, artists, genres, etc.  It does not by default load the name of every track of every album; that's not needed most of the time.  If you do want to search individual track names, it can take a bit longer.  I just did an experiment, and on my home network it took about one minute to load all tracks (including album art) from ~900 albums.  So it's pretty darned fast!

(This is likely server-dependent.  My server is a Naim UnitiServe; your mileage may vary depending on your nas.)

Yes, I can search by album, artist, track, and genre.

I have a Qute2, but have never heard the 92/90 combo so really cannot comment on that.

Cheers!

I don't think the app 'knows' what's on the NAS, but the main point is that it only takes a few seconds to find what you are looking for - it's virtually instant. You can search by album artist, genre, performer, and even individual track, so long as the SERVER can provide the information. Note that's it's the server, not the streamer, that determines what you can see. It's worth bearing in mind that the My Book is a bit rubbish, and if you want to use streaming seriously you need a proper NAS, such as a Synology or QNap, and it's best to avoid Twonky server software.

As to whether the Qute is as good as your 92/90 I don't really know. It's certainly a very musical little box, and I would suggest borrowing one from your dealer to find out. I suspect you'd enjoy it very much, just don't expect serious volume in a large room - it's only little after all.

Pah! That cheeky Bart beat me to it. At least we agree.......

Thanks for the replies guys. 

I have experimented with various apps, and everything I have tried can pull up the names of the albums etc a LOT faster than the Cabasse AWox software does. The only snag is that with any other app I have to use Bluetooth to get the audio into the box rather than wifi, and the Bluetooth doesn't sound quite as good.

As long as the Naim app has a search facility whereby I could (for instance) pull up Pink Floyd's Dark side of the Moon in less time than it would take me to go into my garage, rummage around and find the cd and bring it back into the house, I would be happy!! ;-)

i also like the fact that the latest ones have Spotify connect, which I would use a lot.

I'm assuming that being newer technology, the Qute, having the same kind of power as the nap90, is likely to sound at least as good. Maybe I'm being a little naive here, but I would like to think it would.

again, thanks for the info. I'm hoping to get into my local dealer in the next couple of weeks, I just hope that he is more helpful in person than he has been by email thus far.

cheers, Mike

And I agree with your point that a proper nas provides a great benefit. 

To the OP:  The UnitiServe in this application is perhaps the king-of-all-nas, but it comes at a price.  A good Synology or QNAP will serve well; other options abound.

I use a fairly basic Synology NAS, a Unitiqute and the IOS app, and it all works pretty well. Certainly not slow, although once in a while it hangs a bit. Searching and everything is fine - it's definitely my preferred way of controlling the Qute. 

The Qute is delightful, though I haven't done a comparison with your kit, and only your ears can tell you the answer to that.

There is certainly some UPNP caching happening in the Naim iOS app, so that later browsing sessions are noticeably quicker than the first (or after resetting things by clearing the cache, which is possible from within the app itself). The only delays I notice are for album art rather than text info; the covers take a fraction of a second to appear at first, but arrive about as quickly as you can scroll through while reading. Like others, I have a regular home-office Synology NAS (213+), running a few different servers to play with (the native MediaServer, plus MinimServer and Plex), an iPod Touch and an iPad Air (both on iOS 8), and a wireless home network. The search feature is fine: browse to album view, type in a key word, hit go, and Dark Side of the Moon can be playing faster than you can get your shoes, never mind actually heading to the garage or opening the storage box... 

The Qute is more or less universally well regarded as a nice combo. I have an original version and enjoy it very much. I don't know your other gear so can't help with a comparison, but that's best left to you anyhow. For an all-in-one solution that streams from your NAS, has seamless integration of FM and iRadio stations (also with pretty good searching from pre-populated lists), plays from USB sticks and via the digital out of your otherwise unused old iPod classic (controlled and browsed via the app on your newer IDevice), and now (on upgraded v1 and all of the v2 units) offers native Spotify Connect for those who want it...well I for one find it to be pretty amazing. So much so that I also chose its bigger brother, the SuperUniti, for my (fairly large) living room and moved the Qute up to my (normal size) bedroom. 

Best set wishes with your new purchase, whatever you decide. 

Regards alan

(edits for spelling and autocorrect foolishness)

Thanks again for the replies, especially yours Alan - all very helpful and informative. I guess i need to be also thinking about a new NAS then if my WD one is notoriously bad :-(

I am actually quite shocked at how little "useful" information seems to be available on the 'net about all this streaming lark. It seems to be much more complicated to get it working well than i would have expected.....

Have just received my Christmas bonus from work, so am planning to get a demo ASAP and will either go with a brand new Qute2 or a used/ex-dem Lite.

Its actually very simple, made complicated when 2k streamers are fed from 100 quid nases

In your position if you just want the nas for music, then I would heartedly recommend something like a small hp proliant, you can pick up N54Ls for £150 quid, stick a DVD drive and some harddrives in it and install Daphile music server. You then simply insert CDs and they rip to the server, which is then dished out to the network for your qute and in a variety of other formats. 

Its a great solution that you should be able to achieve for around £300. 

Hmmm, incredibly stupid question time folks.......

As I don't actually need the music stored on the NAS to be available to any other device in the house,  can I plug one straight into the network socket, or does it HAVE to go via the router?

would there be any advantage in just plugging a usb hard disk straight into the USB socket of  a qute/lite? Would the app access the files in the same way?

As you can possibly tell,  I'm getting myself hopelessly confused and stressed about the whole thing!! 

Thanks.

Mike,

a couple of points.........you could plug the NAS directly into the Qute network port but I wouldn't as you won't be able to take advantage of the Internet for spotify or looking album details via Rovi etc ( and how would you control the Qute, possibly the remote, not great)

you could plug a usb drive into the Qute and as far as I know you could browse the usb file but it wouldn't be presented in the same manner as if served from a upnp server.......you will just be browsing a list of files.

i started my Naim journey with the 90/92 and its a very good combination indeed. I did try a Qute a while ago for a second system but didn't purchase, might take another look now Spotify has been integrated. IMO the 90/92 will sound better than a Qute, but that's very much just based on my memory, you should be able to borrow one from your dealer and try it in your home.

good luck and merry christmas!

Thanks for that Jack - merry Christmas to you too, and to all on here. I hope that Santa has been good to you! ;-)

this is one of my concerns, if I spend, what is to me, rather a lot of money and end up not enjoying the sound as much as my current system, or if the streaming logistics don't work as I expect them to, I'm going to be very pee'd off!

Yes I would have an integrated system, yes I would have proper remote control of the volume etc, but if it still takes as age to get the album I want playing, or the sound leaves me uninspired, there will have been no point to the whole exercise.

not sure if this helps but ...

there is a difference between plugging in a usb memory stick and a usb drive...

the super unity for example can read files on a memory stick but cannot from an external drive (also using a USB connection)  there is a file manage difference native to each device...

Unless you want the CD-player I would personally definitely go for the Qute. If it's more power you want think about adding a NAP 100 to the Qute.

I own a Qute 2 & an Uniti 2. If I had bought them today it would have been a Qute 2 and a Qute 2 + NAP 100 instead.

+1, the qute 2 is fantastic value for money and super versatile,  I've had mine by itself, feeding a nap100 and now feeding a Hugo into an sn2, fantastic device

OK, quick update on what i have decided to do......

......it was somewhat decided for me to be honest...........my fiancees job is looking very dicey at the moment as the company she works for is on the point of going t*ts-up, so after a long chat we decided that it would be a bit silly to splash a load of cash on something that we don't really need :-(

So, i have opted for a used Nait 5, which gives me remote control and the ability to level the inputs out to one another. I have put my favourite albums on a USB memory stick which plugs into the back of the Cabasse streamer, and so i don't have the issue with the NAS that was doing my head in.

I am hoping that i should get the £400 back by selling my Nac92/Nap90 (or pretty much all of it anyway), so the project won't actually have cost me anything in the end.

Not quite the result i would have liked, but one that should keep me happy for a while.

Cheers all, and thanks again for the advice and info.

Mike.