Possibilities of upgrading Naim's servers through FW

Hi Jan-Erik

The firmware of the servers can be upgraded.  Naim last put out an update about a year ago.  You can easily find the update on the downloads area of the Naim website.  The procedure is different to the other products upgraded recently.  You download a file and burn a CD with the downloaded image. Then load the CD into the server.  You need to read the instructions because it tells you what else to do, mainly involving turning the server off and on again at the right point.

The release notes say what the upgrade does.  It's not SQ-related.  Basically bugs and a change to what the server does if one of the database services isn't available.

hope this is helpful.

Best

David

Oh and on hardware, Naim will upgrade a 1TB Unitiserve to 2TB.  You have to pay for this, unless they are replacing the drive under the warranty. Sorry I don't know about the other servers.

Sorry, my question wasn't clear. What I meant to ask was whether the firmware can be tweaked further by Naim to improve sound quality (and not functionality), as has been done for the DACs ... but thanks for taking the time to reply.

Jan

Ah sorry I see! The Unitiserve doesn't have a DAC so I suppose not.  But the HDX does have a DAC.  Whether it has the processing capacity to enable the same sort of recoding is something that probably only Naim could tell us.  That wouldn't affect its streaming sound quality though, so far as I can see.

best

David

The servers run a lot of software, as the screen-shot below shows (UnitiServe). I have no idea which bit has the most impact on sound quality (maybe Naim Sound Driver) but I wonder if tweaking here and there could improve things? Could disabling bits of software when not used (i.e., Naim TV Player) provide gains, in the same way that Audirvana SQ on a Mac improves when Spotlight and other programmes are shut down?

Jan-Erik, I might be mistaken but I was under the impression that the Naim servers run a dedicated Windows XP customized by DigiFi. This does not mean that the system cannot be optimized, e.g., by stopping services which are not needed. On the contrary, I think that a good, dedicated OS should be highly customizable. And support remote login and flexible and effective data transfer. I would have expected devices like the US -- perhaps in a version without ripping services -- to play a prominent tole for Naim in supporting the integration of internet streaming services, see, for instance, Melco. But, perhaps because of their depencency on third part proprietary solution, Naim has so far failed to fully exploit the potential of their servers. Or perhaps they have tried to push all their customers towards Ethernet-based streaming and have recognized the potential of dedicated server solutions too late. Who knows? But the bottom line is that Naim seems to have given up the US or relegated it to the role of a ripping station. They have even denied the US a PSU and kept on telling customer that it is a UPnP server! Why should they care about its sound quality? I still very much hope that Naim will sometime come out with a new range of servers based on a modular, open, understandable approach: I would very much like to see a Naim server without ripping capabilities but with excellent power supply, first class S/PDIF output and a decent OS. At least one that allows me to stop/start UPnP services, login remotely via ssh and transfer large amounts of data via rsync. Best, nbpf

The servers was introduced long before the streamers. However if you look at the jobs offered at Naim over the last years, they are not looking for people that  should work with optimizing Windows software, and this can also be  seen in what is tested. ON the other hand  the streaming app and the firmware probably was the most important things to work on, and with the dac improvements many customers have gotten something out of this. The question that remains to be answered is if no new development is going to happen on the server software. If this is the case it should be clearly stated, I would not like to buy a computer product that is not going to receive updates. This is my reason not to buy a Simple Roomplayer,  even though  my dealer had a few offered at a very good price.

Claus

Claus-Thoegersen posted:

The servers was introduced long before the streamers. However if you look at the jobs offered at Naim over the last years, they are not looking for people that  should work with optimizing Windows software, and this can also be  seen in what is tested. ON the other hand  the streaming app and the firmware probably was the most important things to work on, and with the dac improvements many customers have gotten something out of this. The question that remains to be answered is if no new development is going to happen on the server software. If this is the case it should be clearly stated, I would not like to buy a computer product that is not going to receive updates. This is my reason not to buy a Simple Roomplayer,  even though  my dealer had a few offered at a very good price.

Claus

My understanding is that the servers, at least the UnitiServe range, are completely based on the DigiFi platforms and that all software development, if any, takes place there. The OS is embedded Windows XP and I would expect at least security updates to be provided by DigiFi automatically. I might be mistaken, of course.

had a chat with my dealer....he told me that DSD is not possible on US or HDX, different platform (as already mentioned here in the forum)...

T38.45 posted:

had a chat with my dealer....he told me that DSD is not possible on US or HDX, different platform (as already mentioned here in the forum)...

I can only imagine that this could be true because of hardware limitations: what should prevent implementing DSD capabilities in a player running under Windows XP?

David Hendon posted:

Ah sorry I see! The Unitiserve doesn't have a DAC so I suppose not.  But the HDX does have a DAC.  Whether it has the processing capacity to enable the same sort of recoding is something that probably only Naim could tell us.  That wouldn't affect its streaming sound quality though, so far as I can see.

The recent FW UG to the DACs required code optimisation resulting in a SQ improvement, I only did this at the weekend so still evaluating myself

I too have an HDX and was hoping that DSD would be added, not had time to investigate but it sounds like it is a non-starter :-(

However, in the last few days I have been listening to DSD files via a USB stick, the sound is marvelous and is worth the the navigation limitations

Claus-Thoegersen posted:

... The question that remains to be answered is if no new development is going to happen on the server software. If this is the case it should be clearly stated, I would not like to buy a computer product that is not going to receive updates. This is my reason not to buy a Simple Roomplayer,  even though  my dealer had a few offered at a very good price.

Operating systems -- no matter whether Linux, OS X, Windows or others -- receive security updates almost on a daily basis. Application level software -- JRiver, Audirvana, MPD, foobar, asset and minim servers, etc. -- also are upgraded on a more or less regular basis.

The problem with the Naim servers is not that they are computers or that they are overpriced. The problem is that, being full fledged computers, Naim servers could potentially be very useful, support flexible storage and efficient data transfer protocols, provide internet streaming services like Tidal, Qobuz, BBC, etc. and much more.

Instead of exploiting and supporting such capabilities, Naim has preferred stripping down their servers to bare ripping stations and/or UPnP servers. I understand that for many users this is a perfectly acceptable strategy and I'm glad that there are many happy US users. But for me it means that a potentially useful and interesting device has been turned into a more or less useless brick.

nbpf posted:

My understanding is that the servers, at least the UnitiServe range, are completely based on the DigiFi platforms and that all software development, if any, takes place there. The OS is embedded Windows XP and I would expect at least security updates to be provided by DigiFi automatically. I might be mistaken, of course.

 

The Digital Fidelity web site does mention the development of DigiFiPro, but the site seems stale... The only hardware partner mentioned is Hush Technologies and their Hush AVX Music Server. However, the provided link to Hush Technologies leads to an arboriculture site...

Jan-Erik Nordoen posted:

nbpf posted:

My understanding is that the servers, at least the UnitiServe range, are completely based on the DigiFi platforms and that all software development, if any, takes place there. The OS is embedded Windows XP and I would expect at least security updates to be provided by DigiFi automatically. I might be mistaken, of course.

 

The Digital Fidelity web site does mention the development of DigiFiPro, but the site seems stale... The only hardware partner mentioned is Hush Technologies and their Hush AVX Music Server. However, the provided link to Hush Technologies leads to an arboriculture site...

I understand that it is not easy for a company like Naim to support a line of products like their servers. We see similar problems at other companies as well and even for products which are based on open source software. Think for example of Bryston or even Vortexbox.

My point is that offering an hardware with excellent (S/PDIF, among others) outputs and streamlined functionalities is basically a good strategy. But it is not enough.

In order to be successful with its server line, Naim needs to modularize its offer: many Naim users are open to accept a high price but do not necessarily want to pay for functionalities that they do not need and that can have a potentially negative impact on sound quality. In fact, I believe that some users would pay an extra tag for getting a server without those functionalities!

At the same time, Naim should certify its servers for open OSs and support users that want to run other OSs systems or want to integrate internet streaming services, with comprehensive product specifications and a suitable product documentation. 

I find it very frustrating to be able to buy a potentially good device while at the same time not being allowed to use it in a way that fits my needs and expectations.