What's the Best Way to Set up a Large USB Stick on NDAC

Broadly I think you have misunderstood where I think naim went with the USB socket. IMO they should not have offered this functionality at all because its only half useful.

As the DAC has no 'computer' access as it were, i.e. via network then I cannot see how a small programme could be written.

Further more the price of 2 32gig sticks puts you firmly in NAS territory with a cheap squeezebox the problem of not actually knowing what music you have would be moot.

I don't think I've misunderstood what the USB socket is or what Naim provided it for. It's pretty good to have connectivity for the iPod. We can be happy with what we have or we can try to improve it - or ask Naim to do so.

On my AV Amp there is also an ipod USB socket. However it has the ability to play random tracks. If Pioneer can manage it in firmware I see no reason why Naim can't in theory do the same. IMO that one extra ability would make a great deal of difference - it would to me for sure. I've moved to a mac because I seldom play CDs all the way through. I just like to put a playlist on and let it run in random mode - the more tracks the better.

I know very little about PCs but I would be stunned if you could not write a program that allow you to plug a USB stick in to your PC or Mac and have the file name altered by the addition of a number in front of the current file name - eg: 001songname.wav could become 002songname, changing its position on the stick. If the number was randomised and the first three characters were changed each time you would have a random play list. I don't think it would be too much trouble to insert my USB in my Mac, execute random generation and remove to play.

Not sure if you can execute a command directly on a memory stick.

Regards,
Huw

Of course you can do this but you'd have to write a batch file in a scripting language to do it.

What you'd effectively do is write a file name randomiser using numeric chracters. It's pretty simple if you are a scripter.

Could it be run on the USB stick and set to go off when certain conditions are met - say 500 files played?

That would be a lot more complicated as it would have to then read 'api calls' from the naim software.

An easy way to do it is each time you plug it into the computer you double click the script and randomise or 'shuffle' the files, then plug it back in the dac

I suppose its good for a guess, because not only will you not know the tracks on the dac you won;t know what the tracks are on the computer.

Or, you could instead of stumping up for very expensive memory sticks purchase a cheap nas and hit random play.

quote:

IMO they should not have offered this functionality at all because its only half useful.

Which half, gazzeri? Half Very Useful or Half Not Very Useful?

It's a "moot" point...

I can't answer the OP's questions re: special programs for handling specific aspects of a USB stick's music collection but as a very general facility, I find the Naim Dac's performance and ease of handling of a USB stick's files outstanding.

Great quality and great user-friendliness. Glass half full for me.

When I want more serious listening pleasure, I listen to AIFF files from Mac Mini through Amarra Full, into Weiss INT202 into Naim DAC into, into, etc.

Beats the hell out of my previous CDX2 source experience.

Regards, Ian

As I have 2x32Gb USB sticks already they work for me. But even if you have an 8Gb with 150 songs it's nice to have a random play.

I guess if you can do it by song you could do it by folder too. Since the songs are already on my hard drive it does not really matter if the ones on my USB stick have track names changed and I would guess you can add 3 digits rather than change the whole file name.

Gary, you seem to have a negative approach. Just because you don't want to do it please don't assume no one else wants to.

Regards,
Huw

Oh for gods sake I do not have a negative approach at all.

I have a realistic approach. I am willing to bet money that naim did not sit around in a meeting and say, you know what, we should develop a DAC with USB capability but lets make sure that that the user has a 32gig stick with 450 tracks on and you cannot know what them tracks are you are selecting or playing.

I think the USB functionality was a coincidence of the ipod functionality and for any other use should be considered a bonus not a serious user experience. i.e. your friend has arrived with some tracks on a stick he wants you to hear.

I think for anyone here to put a post up extolling the virtues of 450 tracks but with no way of knowing what them tracks are or how they will be selected is a little, well odd.

A 32 gig stick is about £100 right now, a nas can be purchased for 200 quid then all you need is a SB, second hand for 40 quid or what ever and you are done.

it works for the OP simply because he seems to be the only person who is happy to constantly listen to 450 random tracks. Although he did post asking if this could be more usefull, which I think was entirely my point.

I have given what I believe to be a far better alternative for anyone else who might one day go out and purchase 2 32gig sticks. Get a NAS and a SB for the same money. Pick tracks properly or have random play. Jobs a goodn'

Positivity all round.

Yes, you do have a negative approach. You were never asked for an opinion and I have no interest in your thoughts about what Naim are trying to do or the approach I or anyone else should take to enjoying their music. If you have nothing constructive to say please don't bother posting.

Regards,
Huw

quote:

Originally posted by HuwJ:
You were never asked for an opinion and I have no interest in your thoughts

Sincerely,
The FIVE questions in your first post

HuwJ,

When you convert to WAV simply leave off the track numbers and it will play them in alphabetical order. Not pure random but its something.

Also, you could randomly change the track numbers yourself without paying attention to what you are doing. It will give you a shuffle of sorts.

The stick will arrange the tracks in some kind of order. The DAC will play in that order. It will be up to you to make it play out of order.

Cheers,
Patrick

Won't it be down to the meta data within the file to determine playback, or do the dac simply look for numbers in a file name? (Which could get seriously confusing)

It would appear, from those who have the good grace to try and answer the questions I actually asked, that it is possible to randomise the files on a USB stick automatically. I don't have the time or inclination to do it manually.

I'll do a few searches on Google to see if there is anything available. If anyone knows of a program that can randomise I'd be interested to hear about it.

Gary, when most people copy their files to a USB stick they keep the original. Anything that happens to the files on the stick can be reset by just copying the originals back to the USB later.

All the programs I have to play music have the ability to randomise tracks, so I imagine I'm not the only person who likes to listen to randomised music. As what I want to listen to is 500 favorite tracks in random order and I can't actually see the name of the track being played I don't worry about what it is called.

The quality of USB playback is far better than my Macbook so I frequently use them.

Regards
Huw

There seem to be lots of file re-namers available. A quick search brought up:

RenameMaestro - The Easy Way to Rename Files

Managing to rename mp3 files or rename photos couldn't be easier with RenameMaestro; its just a few clicks to organise both the files and the folders in your collection.

There also seems to be a fair amount of Freeware.

These could very well sort out my requirements and be of use to anyone else who likes random music.

Regards,
Huw