Atom continually dropping multiroom

Frustrating isn’t it?

The last public statement on this was made by the Naim M.D. September 6th last year:

I am aware that questions are being asked on when multiroom will be enabled from the Uniti to the Mu-so range and our other networked players. It is a priority for us and we are working as quickly as we can to ensure it is stable and the sound quality is where it should be.

I will update you as soon as I have more news.

See the Uniti Progress Update in the first part of this Forum. My understanding is that since last August, at least,  they have been testing candidate updates for the the Mu-so range and other products to enable Multiroom reliably with the Atom as master.

Roger

Hi Roger and thanks.  In the help section of the Atom pages it shows that you should be able to do this already from the Atom as the master.  That suggests it is existing functionality.  It even shows a Qb in the list of multiroom devices in the photo guide in that page.  Yes it is very frustrating. 

Firmware release 2.6 for the new Uniti range is primarily intended to sort out multi room interoperability between the Muso and Naim legacy boxes.

Thank you Greg.  I am currently on ‘latest firmware’ 2.3 so I presume 2.4 and 2.5, if they are already available, are not for the Atom but for others in the Uniti range.  The help files are obviously futureproof if not more aspirational than factual.

We have previously been told that it is a firmware update for the older systems that is needed and is being tested in various iterations.

Roger

Multiroom for any combination of streaming platforms is practically ready. Undergoing factory testing, as I understand from the Beta thread.

I’m not entirely sure how Naim identify their firmware releases, but I know some tech companies leapfrog those that remain in beta and never receive a public release. My Star is also running v2.3...

Adam Zielinski posted:

Multiroom for any combination of streaming platforms is practically ready. Undergoing factory testing, as I understand from the Beta thread.

Adam

I'm intrigued by your response. This topic is of considerable interest to me.

Unfortunately I don't see a 'Beta thread' - maybe reserved area for Beta-testers. Nevertheless, I would be most grateful if you could confirm the date and location of the 'thread' to which you refer.

Only the Beta team have access to the Beta part of the Forum. We are very restricted in what we can say but yes, a new firmware to deal with multiroom is currently being tested by Naim. Once they are happy with it we will get to test it. 

Just a reminder then of what we were all told on August 11th last year by Ryan Latham under the Uniti Progress report:

Multiroom firmware has needed further improvements to increase stability. Although functioning well, releasing a feature that could have been better is not something we will do. Extensive beta and test programmes are in progress and we will inform you as soon as an update with Mu-so multiroom functionality is available. Please rest assured, this is a top priority.

But the latest firmware has still not been released for Beta testing?

Are you able to tell us whether this is firmware for the Atom etc and/or for the Mu-so and other streamers?

Thanks

Roger

There is new firmware being tested for everything - the Unitis, mu-sos and the black boxes. I can say no more though. 

blag posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

Multiroom for any combination of streaming platforms is practically ready. Undergoing factory testing, as I understand from the Beta thread.

Adam

I'm intrigued by your response. This topic is of considerable interest to me.

Unfortunately I don't see a 'Beta thread' - maybe reserved area for Beta-testers. Nevertheless, I would be most grateful if you could confirm the date and location of the 'thread' to which you refer.

Beta thread is accessible only to Beta-programme forum members I’m afraid. As others wrote - I cannot disclose more informaiton at this point in time.

Appreciating those on the beta programme may be under a gagging order to some extent, there seems to have been several half successful multiroom tweaks since launch across the platforms and app from what I can see.  Maybe, given we are near 6 months later, perhaps Naim need to set some expectations, even if it’s with caveats, as to when they hope to have a resolution, as it’s currently a very unacceptable situation.  I have near £5k on Naim products (I know, others will have paid massively more) on the promise of multiroom and it ain’t there.  

Tony69 - just to clarify: multiroom works well with the legacy streamers (e.g. ND platform and previous generation Uniti series) It also works well within the new Uniti range, as far as I know.

It’s the interaction between the platforms that has proven much more challenging. Primary reason being: reliance on third-party suppliers for certain solutions.

Whilst all of the above should not really bother a Naim customer,  there is a very valid and sound reason for the delay.

As I wrote - it is being tested by Naim first. Beta team should be getting it shortly for our tests. 

tony69 posted:

Hi.  I have an Atom, 2x Qb and a Mu-So and the Atom is completely unreliable in multiroom a) when any other speaker is that master the Atom keeps dropping the sound then picking it up again - completely randomly.  b) as per the Naim website, I make the Atom the master, no other speakers show in the multiroom window.   Wireless or wired network, makes no difference...  Any ideas?  It’s really annoying....

I can't help wondering if this is a network discovery issue, rather than a multiroom firmware issue. I have an Atom and an NDX, and they work in multiroom mode with either of them as server: the only real problem I have is that volume control doesn't really work properly, and needs to be adjusted independently. We've seen plenty of examples in the past of streamer network performance being fickle, and with 4 of them on the same network, I wouldn't be surprised if that was your issue.

Can I just be clear on what firmware level I should be running on my Uniti Atom please ? I currently have no capability for the Atom to be the Master ( I also have an NDX and two muso’s). This is a new Atom delivered last week 

Hi, it’s 2.3 (8574) is the current firmware according to my atom.  Good luck with your Atom.  I love mine, just this nagging multiroom issue that’s in the process of being resolved

Terrysmi posted:

Can I just be clear on what firmware level I should be running on my Uniti Atom please ? I currently have no capability for the Atom to be the Master ( I also have an NDX and two muso’s). This is a new Atom delivered last week 

I have just checked on my own Atom. Under Settings (cogwheel) Check for updates it reports running 2.3 (8574) and confirms that the firmware is up to date.

Remember that, as reported elsewhere on this thread, there are later versions under test by Naim and apparently still to be released for Beta testing. The resolution of the acknowledged Multiroom problem between different product ranges will also involve firmware updates to the Mu-so and the other streaming products.

Here’s hoping that the Beta tests start soon and go well. Thanks to those Beta testers who have posted on here, but frankly Naim should not have put them in this position. I was hoping for an updated Uniti Progress post yesterday - Wednesday being the usual day for any such update.

Roger

Hi Chrissu, I don’t think it’s discovery as both Mu-So and the two QBs are fine in multiroom until the Atom joins in when it starts to interrupt the stream to all.  The Atom is hard wired to network so it’s not a WiFi issue, nor is it a DHCP issue as it gets IP address and runs fine on its own until multiroom when it causes random interruptions across all 4.  Take the Atom out of the equation and all 3 Musi are fine.  The full size Muso is by far the furthest from a WiFi access point.  

Yes, I have the volume level issue too where, in multiroom mode, Atom responsiveness to app control of volume is very sketchy to say the least.

Also when trying to link Atom to multiroom where a Muso is master, I can get ‘device cannot be found, stop HD playback and try again’ over and over until it eventually locks onto the device.  There will have been no previous HD playback happening and selecting multiroom off the Atom remote - ie physically changing the source - does remove the conflict 

Hi Adam, yes, understood that there are third party dependencies on this.  Thanks for the insight and I await the release of a successful multiroom update.  As per my post above, it does seem to be inter platform ie Uniti to Mu-So that is my issue.

i may not be on the Beta programme but I have suggested to Naim that I am happy to test their future cordless mobile speaker if ever they released one having a) about 8 to compare to, and b) a mixed environment to offer....  now that is one thing I won’t hold my breath for ;0)

noname posted:

Just a reminder then of what we were all told on August 11th last year by Ryan Latham under the Uniti Progress report:

Multiroom firmware has needed further improvements to increase stability. Although functioning well, releasing a feature that could have been better is not something we will do. Extensive beta and test programmes are in progress and we will inform you as soon as an update with Mu-so multiroom functionality is available. Please rest assured, this is a top priority.

But the latest firmware has still not been released for Beta testing?

Are you able to tell us whether this is firmware for the Atom etc and/or for the Mu-so and other streamers?

Thanks

Roger

 

 

So, this was a TOP priority six months ago?

tony69 posted:

Appreciating those on the beta programme may be under a gagging order to some extent, there seems to have been several half successful multiroom tweaks since launch across the platforms and app from what I can see.  Maybe, given we are near 6 months later, perhaps Naim need to set some expectations, even if it’s with caveats, as to when they hope to have a resolution, as it’s currently a very unacceptable situation.  I have near £5k on Naim products (I know, others will have paid massively more) on the promise of multiroom and it ain’t there.  

+1

It is my understanding that using mu-so or the older streamers as master should work until firmware updates are released to both the old and the new platform. This just shows that Naim could have made everything a lot easier by not supporting both the old and the new platform, but that would not be the Naim way of doing things. 

Claus

That was my understanding as well Claus and is also what Naim advised me directly 6 months ago.  In theory you have been able to multiroom from Mu-So to Atom since launch and, after a more recent app/firmware upgrade, for some sources you can seemingly now multi-room from  Atom to Mu-So but both directions have the breaking up problem once Atom is brought into the equation..  

I checked my Atom, it's on firmware 2.3.8574, and is showing as being 'up-to-date'.

The Atom shows a multi-room icon against the 'currently playing' but none of the other naim streamers on the network are showing. That is to say the NAC 272 and the UnitQute2 (all hardwired) are not showing as multiroom devices at the Atom. The NAC 272 and the UQ 'see' each other and will 'multiroom' with each other, but they don't 'see'the Atom. If either of these devices (i.e. either NAC272 or UQ) is active on the network at the same time as the Atom, the multiroom icon doesn't show on either the NAC272 or the UQ.

However, if I set the Atom as a 'server', they all see the atom, but not as a multi-room device.

I understand that the platforms are different, but I am hoping that the protocols are not so different that naim have made a promise that they cannot fulfill!

So, is there any one out there who can what will 'multiroom' with what? (I wish to avoid using terms like 'legacy', because AFAIK, the NAC is still being produced by naim.)