Total Newbie Seeking Help

The only way you will achieve what you want is to purchase a NAS, this does not have to be expensive.

There are a few concepts to understand with a UPNP set up, which in essences with what the qute uses:

A Server. This is where the music is indexed and usually stored. The server is the main point at which the music is played from.

A Control Point. This is how you choose and play the music, i.e. N Stream

A Renderer. This is where the music comes out of, i.e. the qute.

I am not sure how your set up is right now, have you installed a UPNP server on your mac? If not then I assume you are directly connecting your mac to the qute. In which case just to confuse matters you are not streaming at all.

Recommendations:

Purchase a NAS (Network attached storage). Simply put this is a harddrive that is available on your home network. You plug it into the homehub.

This device stores the music and therefore is the server, taking the mac out of the equation. When you get home you fire up your ipad, choose the music and it plays out the qute. The qute is attached via the network too so doesn't need a computer physically attached provided you have a NAS.

A simple methodolgy is as follows:

Rip your music with the mac. Copy ripped files to the nas.

The NAS has a built in server that checks the new files and makes them available via UPNP.

Nstream picks up on this and displays them.

You hit play and it comes out the qute.

Thank you Garyi for that you have explained a lot. I had downloaded something I think was called eye connect to enable me to stream but that involved using the macbook too. I have heard of a nas drive but wasn't sure what exactly it did. Do you have any recommendations as to what make etc I should be looking at and as for ripping cd's can you suggest file types? Apple Lossless etc etc.

Thanks again for your help.

Hi neildavid,

I think its criminal that your dealer didn't guide you through the set up. Naim should know about cases like yours - unless you got it 2nd hand, which it doesn't seem you did. The 'qute is an "entry level" product, but still high end and expensive by any objective standard and you should get great support from your dealer.  You left the dealer not knowing how to use the product's main functionality (streaming!)

It's a whole 'nother world of information, but there are some good set up and software walk throughs at www.computeraudiophile.com, as well as in posts here, but the Computer Audiophile board has some very detailed "how to articles" if you need more help.  But, my quick recomendations are:

- Purchase a Synology NAS ($300?), which should have the UPNP Server software built in when you buy it and has a nice web interface to set things up.

- Rip your music to FLAC file format, directly to the network drive. Use the dbpoweramp ripping software if you have a PC, though seems you have a Mac, so I would recommend software called MAX. You can set the save directory to the NAS.  Be sure to do any edits - artist names, etc - when you are ripping. Its a real time investment, but worth it in the long run. don't use iTunes to do your ripping.

- Buy some hi resolution downloads.  Save them right to your NAS. Lot quicker than ripping to get instant enjoyment from your new streaming set up!

With that set up, you should be able to do exactly what you want. Get home, pull out your ipod, go to nstream and start listening. Again, I think its horrible that your dealer didn't help you achieve this.

or play music on a usb stick straight into the qute

It's a bit of a faff to get set up, but once done it's just great. I can look at all my 2,000 albums on the iPad and just press play, as you say.

Get a good NAS, such as a synology. Make sure you get one with at least two drives and set it up to backup one onto the other.

If you are feeling flush, the UnitiServe is great, as you don't need to use the PC at all - it rips and stores all by itself. You'd still need a backup NAS though.

Thanks for that Hungryhalibut all taken onboard.