Naim streaming fundamentally flawed?

When you dig down, most of the issues are down to not getting the basics right in the first place. Get a decent network in place, preferably hard wired. There are so many variables introduced when you add wireless or ethernet over the mains into the equation. Apart from finding a decent UPnP solution for my Mac, i didn't have any show stopping issues with Naim products and streaming and likewise with Linn but then i spent a bit of time making sure i had a good network in place to start with.

One thing i would add, is after recently adding a number of Sonos products around the house for multi room audio i must say this sets a benchmark for usability and ease of setup. This really is plug and play at its best. 

"A bad workman always blames the tools,"  springs to mind...........

poor work man? What should I have to do to make it work? It's hard wired directly to my laptop. All files in FLAC format. What is causing the constant 'please wait, input initialising' message that appears when I do anything. Don't get me started on the fact the app doesn't work when I hard wire to the laptop which makes the unit a very expensive shoebox. 

Im not the only one with issues as I stated before look at the forum! 

I very much doubt there is anything wrong with your UnitiQute.  Your problems are almost certainly down to your network, and possibly your uPnP server.

If you don't want to spend the time / money to get those bits working, then suggest you trade-in for something CD-based, or buy the biggest USB stick you can and put your music on that.

Where I have a bit of sympathy with you is that my guess is that your dealer did not tell you the network / uPnP stuff you need to need to have for reliability / stability when he sold you the product.

The Qute is a fine product in my view - I have two and no issues with them (in a wired network, dedicated uPnP server).

+1  -  & another +1 re Sonos

A lot of posts on just this subject, especially peeps like Phil Harris. 

AND & its not just Naim,  the folks in USA have the same - read the first post on this link - I copy/pasted it from Computer Audiophile, a USA www forum ........ https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...est-network-solution

To say it's a poor product, badly executed, is taking your unhappiness with it a bit far.

It's more likely to be a case of a good product poorly set up.

My system (a superuniti fed by a UnitiServe) pootles along day in, day out, playing music for hours on end, probably because it's set up properly with appropriate network inplementation. 

And 'even' my wife can use it, and does so on a regular basis.

I have to say I have some sympathy for the OP. I never went down the Naim Streamer route because of all the faff and hassle of hardwiring a network, NAS drives and the continuing software issues many people complain about. Going for a MacMini/RAID HD/DAC(Hugo), iTunes/Audirvana is as plug and play as you'd ever want it to be. It's cheaper, and, to me and many others, sounds better. 

The issue with the network aside, although the fact that i still have problems when the qute is connected directly to the laptop, doesn't explain the lack of connection to the app or the please wait message. Wirelessly I use assett as the upnp server. 

To start with the latter, it is for most easier to post something on a forum than to follow the basic steps for setting up a streaming environment. By which I mean that a lot of people do not even try to follow the steps and just demand forumusers to help him. Same for wiring pre,power,powersupply etc. Not saying that you are such a person, but it happens a lot. 

Anyway, let's see if I can help, as I'm one of the users where streaming just works without issues.

First, what do you mean with "hard wired to your laptop?" Haven't read the UQ manual, but as it is a streaming device, I can hardly imagine that this is the preferred setup method in the manual.

So we might have discovered the source of your issues already.

Second, unplug whatever hardwired connection you have, and connect both laptop and UQ with Ethernet cables to your router. 

Do then a basic install of an UPNP server. Asset or something. At least one you do not have now. See if your Qute discovers it without any help. If so, use that UPNP server for a while. If it's stable, you're ready to experiment in case you do not like the layout or something else. 

Really, the choice of UPNP server is not that important, you will only use the basic functions anyway. 

To extend the car analogy, you should know how to fill up with petrol and where to take it for servicing and to change the tyres.

More constructively...

Laptops aren't intended for continuous duty applications such as UPnP servers; mostly they'll cope, but not always.  The simplest answer is to get a NAS (QNAP, Synology, AssetNAS etc.) and a switch.  Connect the UQ, and NAS to the switch then connect the switch to your broadband router.  Then copy your music files from the laptop to the Music share on the NAS.

It's that simple.  When you've done that come back to the forum if you still have problems.

I'm not sure why you're having such problems.  I have the UnitiQute 2 and my music on a Synology DS213+ NAS and it works almost flawlessly.  On the rare occasion, (once or twice in a year) I couldn't get music out a restart of the UQ2 sorted it.

Mine is a wired connection which is always better and more stable than wireless and my router has been solid since I got it (A Sky Hub).  I just added a gigabit switch this morning, for other reasons (sky hub is 100mb lan) plugged all my devices in, switched it on and all is working fine.

I'd agree with Huge's post above.  If you want an always on, stable system then a NAS is the way to go.  That's what it's designed for.

I did have a NAS, it died. But this does kind go back to my frustrations. I shouldn't have to faff around to listen to my music.

anyway I can see I'm speaking to the wrong crowd. clearly its my fault. 

Disagree here. A laptop is just a portable PC, and a PC makes an excellent platform for a UPNP server. I'm using a FitPC2, 7x24h. And using a lot less power than a NAS..

Well, it's only your fault if you do not listen to advice. Do you want to make it work, orr do you just want to share your frustrations and receive some sympathy?

So, what do you mean with "hard wired" and are you in fact using both wireless and this "hard wiring?"

This!! Ahhh the good old firm ware update. That certainly didn't send me into a mild rage.....

Apologies but the red mist has descended once more and I've reached breaking point! Sorry for moaning. 

when I say hard wired I mean connected directly via cat 5 cable. 

And there we have it. Where in the manual does it tell you to connect it like this?

Unplug, connect both UQ and laptop to a router or switch. Your problems will be solved.

+ 1 for the sympathy vote.

I've got a thread running, "n-Stream volume control", where I successfully, (with assistance), enabled system automation.

I then attempted to apply the latest software update for my NDS, which is not going well. 

It's all very well to suggest that we need to have more robust networks at home, but the fact remains that folks with other systems such as Sonos do not appear to experience similar issues.

Thinking back to updating my HDX, this required me to download the upgrade, burn it to a disc, and insert it into the HDX to achieve the desired outcome.

Indeed, my smart TV and PVR are quite able to update their software directly over the internet, with no intervention required from me.

Lack of networking savvy may well play a large part in the problems that I, and lots of other users are experiencing, but I do feel that the whole process ought not to depend on my having an in depth knowledge. 

Regards,

Dave.

Just a case of RTFM..

Come to think of it, I think it's not even possible to get any music through a directly connected Ethernet cable. I'm hardly a computer expert, so if anyone can clarify?

No,  Naim streaming is not fundamentally flawed as many will testify. The problem is clearly with your dealer who isn't giving the service and support that his profit margins demand that he should. Streaming can be perfectly straightforward and reliable but complete novices should make sure they get the dealer to set it up.

To say Naim streaming is flawed is like saying vinyl replay is flawed because of issues like VTA , bias adjustment, arm mass, and tracking weight - if you seek out the best sound quality you will be encountering equipment that is designed for performance above all else and typically needs dealer support - hence the high cost (I'd much sooner set up a network than service my LP12!).

It'll often work as most Ethernet ports auto-negotiate the RX/TX pairs...

Often, but not always!

My but we (generalisation) have all become condescending gits. 

This is is a post by someone who has spent his hard earned cash on a Naim box and has reached a level of frustration that computers have a unique knack of supplying. 

By by all means point him the correct direction to resolve his problems, but don't be condescending because you don't have these issues or snide in your attempts to solve them. 

A liitle bit of respect would not go amiss. 

SJB

Ok, didn't know that.

But again, this is not how it should be connected, and clearly not how streamers are designed to, so let's forget about it. 

Laptops are often thermally limited (and the CPU then slows down), also being general purpose devices they also often have a LOT of odd processes running and many applications installed.

Your FitPC is (I assume) a dedicated device without a shed load of extraneous stuff installed, and thus can be quire a different environment from a general purpose laptop, even if both are fundamentally just PCs.  The FitPC is a good solution, a laptop can be a questionable solution.

So you buy a new type of device. First thing that you (should) do is to read the manual, right?

Seems it can save years of frustration.