How to add AirPlay to NDS?

The simple solution is to get an Airport Express and connect it to the NDS with an optical cable. Plenty of cheap used ones on ebay.

ChrisSU posted:

The simple solution is to get an Airport Express and connect it to the NDS with an optical cable. Plenty of cheap used ones on ebay.

Thanks. Is that the only solution? Are there any other solutions that work better? 

Not really - Airport range is the best bet.

RM posted:

ChrisSU posted:

The simple solution is to get an Airport Express and connect it to the NDS with an optical cable. Plenty of cheap used ones on ebay.

Thanks. Is that the only solution? Are there any other solutions that work better? 

When you mention 'curated playlists' does that mean you want to use it for Apple Music? An Airport Express is about as simple as it gets, and I can't think of any other solution as easy or as cheap. 

There are always other ways that can work, though. If your streamer is close enough to where you sit, you could connect an iOS device to the USB port on it and play through that. If you instal LMS on your Synology NAS, there is an Airplay plugin for that which would probably work if you can be bothered to set it up. Or if you have a Mac that you could connect with an optical cable, play it through that and control it with an iPad/iPhone. So that's another 3 options for starters.....there are probably others!   

You might find (as I did when connecting an Airport Express to my ND5XS) that you have to engage the unstable source option for the digital input you use on the Naim to avoid occasional dropouts. Judging by the sampling rate indicator on my Hugo, this upsamples to 96Khz. The manual warns of a slight degradation in sound quality when doing this, but given the convenience Airplay brings it seems like an acceptable compromise to me.

RM posted:

ChrisSU posted:

The simple solution is to get an Airport Express and connect it to the NDS with an optical cable. Plenty of cheap used ones on ebay.

Thanks. Is that the only solution? Are there any other solutions that work better? 

Yes there are better solutions, the Airport range of Apple product I have found quite noisy in terms of the SPDIF transport clock... and this seems to upset downstream electronics in terms of providing the best SQ. I have found the previous generation of AppleTV product noticeably better than my Airport Express , or even playing from a Sky Q box via Toslink either directly or via a Sky Q HDMI connected TV I have found better.... the last two options are nice as they can act as an AV/Airplay hub for your streamer SPDIF input.

Second a previous generation Apple TV which has the optical out. I used this with a UC2 and SQ was close to streaming from the Mac.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

RM posted:

ChrisSU posted:

The simple solution is to get an Airport Express and connect it to the NDS with an optical cable. Plenty of cheap used ones on ebay.

Thanks. Is that the only solution? Are there any other solutions that work better? 

Yes there are better solutions, the Airport range of Apple product I have found quite noisy in terms of the SPDIF transport clock... and this seems to upset downstream electronics in terms of providing the best SQ. I have found the previous generation of AppleTV product noticeably better than my Airport Express , or even playing from a Sky Q box via Toslink either directly or via a Sky Q HDMI connected TV I have found better.... the last two options are nice as they can act as an AV/Airplay hub for your streamer SPDIF input.

I agree that the Express is not the best for sound quality. If it's just for use with lossy Apple Music streams for casual listening, I was thinking that this might not be so important for the OP. When I've had one connected to my NDX, I turn it off when not in use to keep any ill effects at bay when listening to other sources.

If you can't stream content with AirPlay Check this things:

• Make sure that your devices are on and nearby
• Make sure that all of your devices are compatible with AirPlay and updated to the latest software version.
• Check your AirPlay settings

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

RM posted:

ChrisSU posted:

The simple solution is to get an Airport Express and connect it to the NDS with an optical cable. Plenty of cheap used ones on ebay.

Thanks. Is that the only solution? Are there any other solutions that work better? 

Yes there are better solutions, the Airport range of Apple product I have found quite noisy in terms of the SPDIF transport clock... and this seems to upset downstream electronics in terms of providing the best SQ. I have found the previous generation of AppleTV product noticeably better than my Airport Express , or even playing from a Sky Q box via Toslink either directly or via a Sky Q HDMI connected TV I have found better.... the last two options are nice as they can act as an AV/Airplay hub for your streamer SPDIF input.

Thanks Simon. The trouble is my nds is in a separate room and Skq Q in the lounge. But will investigate Apple TV solution further. 

Pleased report that I have added 3rd generation Apple TV via Optical connection into the NDS and am very pleased with the results. Thanks for the suggestions. 

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