UnitiServe problem

Posted by: Timmo1341 on 20 October 2018

Five years old, no problems save for a dud CMOS battery on motherboard 2 years ago. It’s the 2TB HDD version, and has ripped approx. 3,000 cds since new. Last night I went to insert a disc into the slot- the machine ‘grabbed’ it as usual, but failed to take it in completely. After about 30 seconds of unusual bursts of ticking the disc was ejected as normal. I tried a couple of other discs with the same result. I powered down and restarted, but symptoms remained the same. I tried the paper clip in the eject hole, just in case - no difference. I then tried to ‘assist’ the disc on its way using a piece of 5mm thick card and a fairly swift and powerful push - success, the drive swallowed the disc and successfully completed the rip. The next disc, without assistance, was rejected as per earlier, but accepted with assistance.

So, my thoughts are the cd disc drive has developed a fault, and should probably be replaced. As someone who used to build computers for fun (and to save cash years ago) I’m guessing this will simply be a question of cover off, unscrew and disconnect drive (power and M/B connector), and reverse using new drive? I’m thinking this way I don’t lose my source of music, and get the job done fairly cheaply. Has anyone had the same issue? Does anyone know, off the top of their head, what model of disc drive was used by Naim, and from where I’m likely to be able to source one?

I’d rather not replace with a Core, and I would rather keep the Serve than switch to a NAS, just to preempt the usual comments that seem to accompany Serve posts!

Aologies Richard if this should have gone onto the Streaming forum.

Posted on: 21 October 2018 by Adam Zielinski

Word of caution: if files are in UnitiServe ripped WAVs no other server will read them properly i.e. metadata will be missing.

If you plan to use, say MinimServe, it’d be best to convert the files from WAV to FLAC. That conversion MUST be done on the UnitiServe so that the metadata is attached correctly to FLAC files.

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by Timmo1341

Having discovered that CD transports are specifically excluded from Naim’s 5 year parts guarantee, and that a replacement drive done by a Naim is looking likely to be northwards of £200, I’m willing to try all possible avenues! As I said originally, once the drive can be persuaded to accept the disc with a little judicious pushing (piece of card), ripping takes place, followed by ejection as per normal. 

I’m wondering if the problem might simply be a dirty, slippery roller bar not ‘grabbing’ the disc effectively? Has anyone managed to successfully clean said part? I’m thinking about trying a cardboard cutout replica of a disc, with little ‘wings’ to prevent any possibility of it being swallowed, spraying it with isopropanol, then inserting to see if the roller bar will spin against it, thus dissolving and removing any grime/grease from fingertips etc. that may be responsible for original fault. Can anyone see any dangers / issues in this course of action?  

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by David Hendon

If it were me I would take the case off, identify the CD drive and buy a new one, and fit it myself, assuming that I had decided not to pay Naim to do the same thing.

best

David

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by Timmo1341
Adam Zielinski posted:

Word of caution: if files are in UnitiServe ripped WAVs no other server will read them properly i.e. metadata will be missing.

If you plan to use, say MinimServe, it’d be best to convert the files from WAV to FLAC. That conversion MUST be done on the UnitiServe so that the metadata is attached correctly to FLAC files.

Thanks Adam. Is the conversion a straightforward process? I’m guessing 3,000 albums from WAV to FLAC will take a little while? Will I still be able to use the US as streamer whilst this is going on? Most importantly, will the ‘on the fly’ conversion back to WAV have any impact on playback quality? Am I in fact worrying unnecessarily? I’ve never done any comparison between WAV and FLAC - is there actually any discernible difference to normal hearing? 

Cheers

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by Timmo1341
David Hendon posted:

If it were me I would take the case off, identify the CD drive and buy a new one, and fit it myself, assuming that I had decided not to pay Naim to do the same thing.

best

David

Quite happy to do this, except for reading earlier about Naim playing around with firmware. I’m happy to part with £50 for a drive and spend an hour of my time removing and fitting, but only if it’s going to work! I just object to shelling out about 25% of what the US is worth for a part which is just as likely to fail again in due course. Perhaps the original suggestion of simply using the US as a server only, and doing my ripping via a drive attached to my Mac with DB PowerAmp may be the best way to go. Perhaps I ought to buy a Core? Decisions, decisions - first world problems, eh?

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by dave marshall

For what it's worth, I sent my HDX back to Naim for a full service, which included a new drive, and much else besides.

I had to do this following the replacement of the original 400 Tb drives, the work being carried out by a third party repairer, which resulted in my losing access to the inbuilt UPnP server.

It seems that he used disc clone to copy across the firmware, and it wasn't exactly a success.

So, I'd be a bit wary of swapping the drives myself, as, in the case of the HDX, this software is one the main drives, rather than stored separately elsewhere, though I'm maybe assuming too much to say the it's the same on your UnitiServe.

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by ChrisSU
Timmo1341 posted:
Adam Zielinski posted:

Word of caution: if files are in UnitiServe ripped WAVs no other server will read them properly i.e. metadata will be missing.

If you plan to use, say MinimServe, it’d be best to convert the files from WAV to FLAC. That conversion MUST be done on the UnitiServe so that the metadata is attached correctly to FLAC files.

Thanks Adam. Is the conversion a straightforward process? I’m guessing 3,000 albums from WAV to FLAC will take a little while? Will I still be able to use the US as streamer whilst this is going on? Most importantly, will the ‘on the fly’ conversion back to WAV have any impact on playback quality? Am I in fact worrying unnecessarily? I’ve never done any comparison between WAV and FLAC - is there actually any discernible difference to normal hearing? 

Cheers

Conversion to FLAC is simple, but may take some time. You can do the whole library in one go, one album at a time, or do it in batches, e.g. one genre at a time if you want to stagger it. As Adam says, if you want to preserve the metadata you must do this on the US, not the NAS. 

If you find that you prefer the sound quality of WAV, you can set the US to convert FLAC to WAV on playback. This gives you the advantage of FLAC storage, with smaller file sizes, but your streamer sees WAVs. 

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by ChrisSU
dave marshall posted:

For what it's worth, I sent my HDX back to Naim for a full service, which included a new drive, and much else besides.

I had to do this following the replacement of the original 400 Tb drives, the work being carried out by a third party repairer, which resulted in my losing access to the inbuilt UPnP server.

It seems that he used disc clone to copy across the firmware, and it wasn't exactly a success.

So, I'd be a bit wary of swapping the drives myself, as, in the case of the HDX, this software is one the main drives, rather than stored separately elsewhere, though I'm maybe assuming too much to say the it's the same on your UnitiServe.

I would be surprised if the US was different in this respect. Mind you, the OP is thinking of replacing a faulty CD reader, not the hard drive. Still, I’m not sure a DIY job would be successful. 

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by David Hendon
dave marshall posted:

For what it's worth, I sent my HDX back to Naim for a full service, which included a new drive, and much else besides.

I had to do this following the replacement of the original 400 Tb drives, the work being carried out by a third party repairer, which resulted in my losing access to the inbuilt UPnP server.

It seems that he used disc clone to copy across the firmware, and it wasn't exactly a success.

So, I'd be a bit wary of swapping the drives myself, as, in the case of the HDX, this software is one the main drives, rather than stored separately elsewhere, though I'm maybe assuming too much to say the it's the same on your UnitiServe.

Dave the drive in question is the CD drive for ripping not the HD drive that stores the operating system and the rips.

best

David

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by garyi

I am struggling to guess what firmware fiddling could reasonably be done to an off the shelf CD-ROM drive and for what purpose? 

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by ChrisSU
garyi posted:

I am struggling to guess what firmware fiddling could reasonably be done to an off the shelf CD-ROM drive and for what purpose? 

I believe it is pretty standard practice to do this. For example, https://forums.naimaudio.com/t...87#41551094507649387

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by dave marshall
David Hendon posted:
dave marshall posted:

For what it's worth, I sent my HDX back to Naim for a full service, which included a new drive, and much else besides.

I had to do this following the replacement of the original 400 Tb drives, the work being carried out by a third party repairer, which resulted in my losing access to the inbuilt UPnP server.

It seems that he used disc clone to copy across the firmware, and it wasn't exactly a success.

So, I'd be a bit wary of swapping the drives myself, as, in the case of the HDX, this software is one the main drives, rather than stored separately elsewhere, though I'm maybe assuming too much to say the it's the same on your UnitiServe.

Dave the drive in question is the CD drive for ripping not the HD drive that stores the operating system and the rips.

best

David

Oops, sorry, multi-tasking here at the mo' .............. not paying enough nuntention!

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by Adam Zielinski
Timmo1341 posted:
Adam Zielinski posted:

Word of caution: if files are in UnitiServe ripped WAVs no other server will read them properly i.e. metadata will be missing.

If you plan to use, say MinimServe, it’d be best to convert the files from WAV to FLAC. That conversion MUST be done on the UnitiServe so that the metadata is attached correctly to FLAC files.

Thanks Adam. Is the conversion a straightforward process? I’m guessing 3,000 albums from WAV to FLAC will take a little while? Will I still be able to use the US as streamer whilst this is going on? Most importantly, will the ‘on the fly’ conversion back to WAV have any impact on playback quality? Am I in fact worrying unnecessarily? I’ve never done any comparison between WAV and FLAC - is there actually any discernible difference to normal hearing? 

Cheers

Conversion is a straightforward process. The conversion is started in a rather idiosyncratic way. If you change a default rip format from WAV to FLAC, this will also start converting existing rips to FLAC. Best to do it, using the Web interface

3000 albums to convert? Several days of non-stop processing is my guess.

Will you be able to use your US during the conversion? I honestly don’t know. Knowing the quirks of the US, I would not do it.

FLAC to WAV transcoding works well on the UnitiServe so no worries here.

As to a differences between FLAC and WAV - some hear it, some don’t. It’s best desribed using an analogy - some like Pepsi some prefer Coke. To me they both taste the same

 

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by ChrisSU

Adam, in N-Serve for Mac you can convert all or part of your library to FLAC separately from saving all future rips to FLAC. This means you can do batches of albums and test for the effects on sound quality and metadata. 

Posted on: 26 October 2018 by Adam Zielinski
ChrisSU posted:

Adam, in N-Serve for Mac you can convert all or part of your library to FLAC separately from saving all future rips to FLAC. This means you can do batches of albums and test for the effects on sound quality and metadata. 

Oh - didn’t know that. Much appreciated.