Album artwork - any help appreciated...

Justin I'm not quite sure how you're playing music with a Mac Mini directly connected, plus the Naim App!  With a Mac connected like that, I'd expect you to be controlling music playback with the Mac itself; I'm not aware that the Naim App will work like this.

Are you running a UPnP server on the Mac?  Is your SU connected to your home network?

I'm sorry to ask more questions than provide answers, but Mac + toslink + Naim App aren't adding up to me.  Or maybe I'm dense from so much travel and time zone changes!

Thanks, Bart, no need to apologise regarding asking questions, I should have said. SU connected via Ethernet to router, I'm trying to use the Naim app as opposed to Apple Remote app, and using Playback upnp.

OK that helps a bit!  You really have two choices how to play music -- use Apple Remote and iTunes to play the music on the Mac and send it to the SU via toslink -OR- use Playback upnp to send the music via your home network, controlled by the Naim App.  If you are doing upnp; the toslink cable is not doing anything.

The Playback server controls how the Naim App sees artwork.  Some servers are better than others . . . I'm not sure how reliable Playback is. Or if there is a setting in Playback relevant to artwork.  But if your music is organized into folders (I am guessing you're having Playback look into your iTunes library folders to find the music??), and the files are properly tagged with artwork and/or there is an artwork file named folder.jpg in each folder, Playback SHOULD be sending it to the Naim App along with the names of the albums and files.

Justin, I'm intrigued! You've said many times that the SU is well and truly beaten by the Qute, so what's behind the change?

I'd be inclined to use the SU as a streamer rather than connecting the Mini directly. If you want to use the Mini, a Hugo (or other DAC) into a Supernait would seem to make more sense. Do you have a NAS on your network that you can try?

Hi Bart, much appreciated, thanks. How do I check(and then add if necessary) these files please?

Many thanks

Hi Justin - i could never get artwork in album view with Playback - no problems with artwork once selected. I think it's just the way various UPnP servers work. Doesn't help your situation but at lease you're not doing anything wrong. 

James

Asset - solid and no issues.

+1

Thanks guys for the feedback, will try asset and see how it performs. I have unplugged Mac Mini, and it is now streaming from iMac. HH, I always enjoyed the SuperUniti with headphones, and in that department it aced the Qute. I picked it up cheap, so it was a safe buy to try with the ARTs, which seem to bring the best out of the SU. For the money I have tied up in it, it was a worthwhile buy, wouldn't have paid new money though.

Qute is going to go in the bedroom as a headphone system.

It sound like you are browsing by folders and that is why you are not getting album art until you get to the last level. 

If you search the older threads, I have a similar post some 2-3 weeks back. The solution is to browse by artist/album...

Enjoy, I am searching by artis or album. I have disconnected the Mac Mini (that was connected by optical) and now using wireless streaming from the iMac, now not getting album artwork at any stage of progressing through the app!!! 

Thanks for the Asset tip off, now downloaded, and some album artwork now showing! Can I ask how to get the remaining, this is on my iTunes but for some reason is not being pulled across. Also how do I get the albums to show in alphabetical order for artist, rather than album name?

Thanks for your help.

Justin it seems that you're using your iTunes library as Assets library too. Nothing wrong with that per se, but realize that iTunes built that library to suit iTunes. Asset looks for things a little differently. 

How did you create the itunes library-did you use it to rip CDs?  

Hello Bart, iTunes library made up of ripped CDs and purchased music.

Is it me, the design of the Naim app, or can things be cleaned up to make sense? What a mess of albums this is. I have the same albums appearing 12 times, due to different artists within the same album, and 2 CD albums appear as two albums listed disc 1 & 2, rather than 1 album containing 2 CDs. The indexing is done by album name, rather than having all albums by the same artist grouped in order. Frankly what a mess, can this be tidied up to an acceptable standard, is a case of re tagging everything? Any experience on such matters anyone. Thanks

Justin,

It's not you and it's nothing to do with the Naim app. As mentioned iTunes is a pita as it insists on doing things its way and stuff anyone else. You need to go into Asset setup and reorganise the library to the folder structure that you want

E.g. Artist, Album, Track. 

Asset should then be able to do the hard work allocating file paths. Help is available in the manual. Once done restart Asset and hopefully all will be well. You may also like to go into iTunes and see if you can change some of its defaults, unless you use iTunes for other purposes.

I'm keeping fingers crossed here.

Andy

Thanks Andy, I will have a look tomorrow. I guess that as I tidied things up in iTunes, this would be replicated on any other software.

On another note, my wife was saying how bad the sound of the TV is compared to the HiFi, I subsequently connected the Sky into the SU, and I've lost my music tonight to Big Brother!! Anything but Big Brother. Sat listening with HD800/Hugo, so all is still well.

Much appreciated for all input.