Naim ND5 XS software upgrade in 1 step ?

What is the firmware revision that is installed

- look in your app,  settings > about.  

The Naim information says   -   If your product is running a software version prior to 3.00 or has an n-Link connection please contact Naim Support.

I can not check the firmware revision at this moment.

If it is higher than 3.00, can i do the upgrade to 4.3 in 1 step?

The back of an ND5 XS shows RS232 on top of the mini-USB input for the firmware upgrade iso USB update on other devices. Is this a mistake?

Older models have RS232,  later ones are mini-USB.

Go to the Naim Update .pdf & get the correct USB driver for whatever cable you need with your unit.

- if you have a modern PC or Mac,  it'll probably do that for you.

I've done many of these updates as I'm with the beta test team, so I'm well used to the update process,  but I started with 3.22 so can't speak from actual experience of making a jump through 3.22 in one hit.  But as I understand it from the Naim www info,  once you are at 3.00, you can update to 4.3 in one hit. There is no discussion on not being able to.

I suspect with a 2.5 year old unit you will be on 3.17 or thereabouts

The info & the download links are in here .........

https://www.naimaudio.com/updates

According to the Naim website, version 3.9 was introduced in January 2012 to " ... bring the software of the NDX, NaimUniti and UnitiQute into line with the ND5 XS ...".

So i think the version will be at least 3.9.

3.9 ........firmware rev numbers have 2 decimal points 

 3.17,  3.19,   3.22 etc

My NDX (same f/w as ND5) was built in 2014 & had 3.22

Not according to this website info from Naim: https://www.naimaudio.com/news...m-streaming-products

And also not according the latest 4.3 version.

OK I see it .......... but its called software, not firmware  (??) 

& yes the latest f/w is 4.3 so fair point.  

But my April 2014 NDX had 3.22 ,  that was originally released in Nov 2013 & was current for some time after.

Whatever,  I still reckon that when you check you will find 3.17 or thereabouts

firmware = software in this context

Don't think so .....  In my previous work life we differentiated them as 

Software changes features/processes of installed firmware

Firmware is embedded into the hardware

With these Naim updates

3.9 software has a 12kb file size

4.3 (& 3.22) firmware has a 36kb file size

I think the Naim updates are software/firmware combined updates but i am not sure.

I really think for all practical purposes software and firmware are referring to the same thing in Naim products.  There is no distinction so far as the user is concerned, but speaking as an engineer, I would recognise all of this as firmware strictly.

Regarding firmware version 4.3 and this not having two numbers after the decimal point, depending how you access it (for example by visiting the streamer's IP address with a browser or accessing the firmware version via the spanner button on the remote), it shows up as 4.3 or 4.03.  So I think Naim are a little inconsistent about how they present the firmware version.

But none of this is important really! 4.3 is a great update and well worth the trouble of installing it.

best

David

It seems to me that there is inconsistency in differentiating software & firmware at least,  otherwise the numbering sequence is absolutely inconsistent .......... 

I found this Naim Product Advisory dated March 2012.........  

Software update Version 3.13 is now available for Naim's streaming products: NDX, ND5 XS, SuperUniti, NaimUniti and UnitiQute.

The download includes all the updates offered in Version 3.9 (including the alarm clock feature - Uniti products only) 

This suggests to me 3.9 was a software change to the embedded firmware

as 3.13 (firmware) incorporates the 3.9 (software) changes

Erwin,  I'm still betting you have 3.17 or thereabouts

Mike

i'm torn between continuing the discussion here and letting us both get on with our lives!

i really think that the words "software update" and "firmware update" are used interchangeably.  Obviously what one downloads from Naim's website is software, which you run on your PC and the software then downloads new firmware to the Naim unit from your PC ( but arguably that is still software until it is safely stored in its final resting place in your Naim unit at which point it is indisputably firmware).

i don't think we are talking about these software updates just changing settings in the Naim unit's firmware.  But equally I don't suppose that every last piece of firmware is updated with every update.  In the case of the ND5-XS and the 4,3 update there are three distinct actions where it firstly uploads ARM code, secondly when it uploads the DAC firmware and thirdly when it updates the streamer firmware.  In each case there is a significant period of time (different in each case, from tens of seconds to minutes) while the uploading to the Naim unit takes place.  This doesn't feel like some settings being changed. And anyway new features like the handling of BBC HLS streams for example, or Spotify in the previous update, won't already be in there to be changed. There may very well be, indeed probably are, other sections of firmware which aren't addressed by this 4.3 update.

The reason for recent updates incorporating earlier ones is probably that it is better practice generally to replace a chunk of firmware with all the accumulated updates (at least those that you are keeping) than to require users to go through a hierarchy of updates in the right order and when it's such a small piece of code, there is no reason to do otherwise than follow that good practice.

Anyway I'm not going to get further involved in this discussion, fun though it is. Probably not at least...well maybe not definitely. 

Best

David

No discussion is a good idea,  the sun is shining & I have 40m of hedge to attack - a 2 day job.  

In my previous work life we had a very strict protocol on software, firmware & hardware, including the numerical designation.  I just find this a bit alien.

..........  rgds