NDS has arrived

Good news Bert ! ....... "Tof dat je eindelijk het resultaat hebt waar je zo naar zocht"

iver

So know I am some time further and can post a new update on the NDS story. I would say in general that the NDS sounds very good, with more and more smile on my face moments. Dynamics, tone, ease of access to music.....it all helps to really enjoy this and I am very happy that I made the move.

So far I also came to terms with the ripping. I did buy another external DVD reader to increase the speed of ripping. Can now do between 5-7 CD's an hour, which helps....while I still have an enormous amount to do.

So anything to complain....:

1. I started to now really realize how huge my collection is - and you can change with a finger tip. So you have to discipline yourself in listening to a full CD and not just switch between favorite tracks. I find it though a pity that there is not something like a statistics function in N-stream which shows you the most played and the anyhow played music. With this function I would be enabled to go better through the collection and not only end up with a more or less fixed set of albums.

2. I have now noticed that in the case of some older CD's or CD's which have been used a lot, the quality can't be always 100% - so I had one case in which I had to delete the files as there was an ongoing noise on the file, which is not to be heard on a CD player (I guess the error correction deals with this while the rip couldn't). In two other cases I had a small artifact in one number of the CD (just for a fraction of a second).... So not all can be apparently 100% correctly be transferred. While it's minor - I don't care that much.

3. While I already bought some files - I started to miss the tactile aspect of the music listening experience. Buying a CD receiving it, reviewing the booklet, taking the CD out of the cover to play it..... Being able to play it in the car.... Now it's just a file - you store it on the NAS and that's it.... I do get now the comments from people who love the black gold which even is more tactile....

So all in all, no I don't want to go back. I would hope N-stream evolve further to give you also insight in listening behavior and enabling you to listen through your collection. And it influences heavily listening behavior.......

Sounds like the NDS has cuddled up to you. It does that.

I agree about nStream. It has some useful functionality which I really appreciate but it's clunky in many respects, not least visualiation and navigation. I occasionally dip into nServe to do things on the HDX and am always struck by how much slicker it looks and feels.

Nstream, could definitely evolve…  as Naim seems to be investing in more and more streaming devices… screaming content management becomes ever more critical...

We pay BIG money for our systems and invest much in the non monetary aspects of them as well… most notably our time.

Nstream making some bigger evolutionary leaps in music management would be appreciated given the magnitude of investment made on the part of us...

Hmm. I for one hope Naim leave nStream largely as it is with respect to simplicity.

If I want to 'interact' more with media and create playlists based on complex criteria etc, then I control my Naim using JRiver MediaCenter on my Mac. But 90% of the time I prefer the simplicity of Nstream.

Simon

Not to further hijack the thread. I agree on simplicity. I actually use the handheld remote on my NDX quiet a bit. 

That said there could be a few added sort options in n-stream also have a unitiserve I also find myself comparing n-stream and n-serve say 'humm, that would be nice to have in n-stream'. 

My my 'quest' is trying to clean up metadata while remaining in the Naim ecosystem. The UnitiServe will sometimes decide a multi-disk set is not all the same set.  E.g. 1) 1000 Maniacs box disk 1 has the album title and 2-5 have the collection name, 2) The Ultimate Yes Collection  only the last disk is labeled so the first 2 are the previous collection 'version'.  Being able to pick an alternate choice in the match list from with in n-serve would be great. (Or even desktop client)

As an IT guy - I would say that with flat design it shouldn't be a big problem for Naim to and keep the simplicity which you need for proper use, with the so needed extended functionality. And with the amount of IT people quoted it should be easily do it. One of my teams could do it in two weeks :-)

Simons concerns regarding over complication are reasonable...

That said… Apple produces pretty complicated products which are both easy and intuitive to use.  Apple charges a premium.

Naim charges a premium.

Music in general (including Naim) is moving in the direction of digitization and streaming.

A more robust (yet simple) music management system is simply reasonable.

N Serve you can re-select album miss imported… but… i have not found a way to custom label or manually enter unique data if the system does not have it as a drop down choice already.  If someone knows how please let me know. 

Wonky Bit…  good call about the AMG look up, but what if the imported album simply is not one of the available options...

very obscure artist not in the amg look up system?

WonkyBit

so is there a way to completely custom enter all album data in a naim based ecosystem?

So I am now 3 months into my new NDS, 555PS DR and NAC552 DR....So I think it's a good moment to evaluate where I am....

I am actually ripping :-) something I have been done on a regular base since the beginning of my NDS arrival. Still + 1000 albums to go :-(..... but let's look at the experience from different angles:

A. The infrastructure:

* As mentioned the ripping is a hell of a job and not always a pleasure - especially when no tags exist for a box collection of 26 CD's - also a lot of hassle around getting it right. Ensuring the right tagging. Finding out why artwork doesn't show up etc. I was well advised by the forum members to start off with 30 CD's and to watch what works for me. A number of songs don't rip at all. And I fear I have still something ahead as I have my progressive collection ahead with quite some scratches I guess.....

But bottom line - if you have a method and like a little production work which you have efficiently setup (ripping in my living room) it's nerving but ok.

2. The overall infrastructure around is a bit vulnerable. It didn't yet affect my listening in music - but it's a bit annoying. Examples: the connection between my music and normal network, twice a connection issue with the NDS, problems with a album bought in high res (still not playing)...... But as you get along you become a kind of expert and most probably it also has to do a lot of being in the initial stage of a lot of activities.

3. It's a bit of being a young child waiting for his new presents to come in, or a collectors environment. High res material is more and more coming available. And I tend to jump on it and find every now and then huge joy with what I get and sometimes also huge disappointments. A badly recorded or a mediocre album is still not getting better on high res. But a well recorded album with good music on high res is a real delight. I am not sure if then the 192KHZ makes such a huge difference to the 96KHZ....., but I tend to only buy high res if it's available at least. The shops have still a good way to go and of course are using the initial phase to rip us off.

As mentioned in another post - I would hope there would be some information available on excellent high res and mediocre high res in order to avoid the latter.

B. The experience:

1. Having the world at the tip of your hands is a real experience. It makes the music experience so much more interesting. It ensures that you also start hearing more of the stuff which you normally wouldn't hear. So I can absolutely recommend everybody to switch as soon as you can to streaming.

2. The experience comes with discipline - as it enables you to also swap and swap. This is a pity and let's you potentially only explore the evergreens ...... so I would recommend all to listen out your albums to avoid that you only get to the well known pieces. Just compare it with the habit of putting on a record on unboxing it, looking at the cover....

3. Through the info buttons you get access to some linear notes you normally don't read. While it doesn't always correctly pick up the album however.

4. I miss also some aspects of the experience as compared to other platforms. How often did I listen to something, how much do I like it, can I see what the forum is listening to etc.... This would be a great extension of the experience if Naim would build on this.

5. It will enable me in the future to also start streaming to my fitness room and other rooms - this is also great (same collection without a hassle).

C. The sound experience:

1. So much better then the things I had before. The music sounds right, tonality, smoothness, control in the heights.... It even posses the question to me what can still improve if I would exchange my NAP200 by a NAP300 or even NAP500. I would call it - real music....

2. Dynamics are so much more present. I didn't even realize before that I was missing this.

3. Critical instruments like piano's sounds so right and present - I have never heard this before in any other system (besides a 200K MBL system).

4. I haven't heard so much rock as I have new cats in the house - so I can't comment too much on how much my systems rocks right now, but what I have heard so far on low volume was immensely impressive.

 5. So do I miss something. Perhaps it's a certain dirtiness or fatness which I am missing a bit. But perhaps that comes in when I go for the NAP300/NAP500.

Bottom line - I don't want to go back to my old system and I am just enjoying the sound every day.

Hello Bert,

I congratulate on your choice,as I have the same and have ripped 6000 cds to the QNAP.

If there is one piece of advice that I wish I had been given it is `to be careful and specific when adding the tag / metadata and ensure that you do it correctly`. This will make your huge cd collection easy to find and catalog.

Hope this is of some help to you?

thanks

Some of the album art and tagging challenges fit that description perfectly 

Bert,

Great to hear about your streaming & ripping experiences. They are similar to mine

Rippng:

Some 10% of my CD's do not rip, even some brand new ones. I thought the root cause of the problem was in my CD/DVD-RW in my PC. But after buying and installing a new reader, the same CD's still do not rip. While those CD's are playing perfectly fine in any CD player!

Does anybody have similar experiences? Is there a solution? Are there good CD/DWD readers available which rip 'any' CD?

Tagging:

Tagging pop/rock/jazz albums is quite easy: the structure Author/Album/Song is how most software (including JRiver and Naim) are tagging music, and in 95% of the albums the automatic download information from internet is correct.

With classical music this is less obvious, especially with compilation boxes. I now use the following structure consistently:

   under Author I enter the composer's name,

   under Album (Album Title) I enter 'name of piece - orchestra/performer - year of recording'

   under Title I enter the individual piece

For composers with numbered music (like Bach's BWV) I start the 'name of piece' with the BWV number, so music is easily structured. At least this works for me. Important is to apply this in a consistent manner so music and performances are listed in the right order.

For compilation albums with multiple composers you have the choice to either keep that album together (by using the same Album Title, so JRiver puts the rips in the same folder) or to enter different Album Titles for different composers, so JRiver makes separate folders for each composer.

Finding the correct artwork can take quite some time, especially for more obscure classical recordings.

Network:

My Naim player (NAC-N172XS), PC, NAS and internet are all connected to a router. Works almost perfect, although sometimes I need to switch off&on the player.

Hi-Res:

When comparing Mahler's 3rd by Chailly & Concertgebouworkest on CD quality versus Hi-Res 96/24 quality, I have the impression that Hi-Res is slightly more smooth and natural.

The Eagles' Hotel California is a delight on Hi-Rs, but does it really sound much better than CD quality? Not so sure..... 

Drowning in music:

Yes indeed, to have the music world under your fingertips is an amazing experience. But it can also be overwhelming. I keep on borrowing CD"s from friends, listen to Spotify, buy from Amazon...  Suddenly you find yourself spending more time to collecting, searching and ripping music than to really listen....  It can take some time to return from a music 'hamster' to a music lover

NAP200:

It depends on the size of your speakes and your listening room whether you need a bigger power amp. Ask for a demo at home and you will quickly find out.

Sound experience:

Oh yes, with Naim and B&W 802 the music sounds as never before! The lower register is so clear, so open. Flutes and sopranos sound so very natural, fantastic!

P.S. Question to you folks: I bought a brand new CD from Neil Young - On the Beach, but I can't rip this favourite album... Can I buy a FLAC file from anybody?

Drowning in music:

Yes indeed, to have the music world under your fingertips is an amazing experience. But it can also be overwhelming. I keep on borrowing CD"s from friends, listen to Spotify, buy from Amazon...  Suddenly you find yourself spending more time to collecting, searching and ripping music than to really listen....  It can take some time to return from a music 'hamster' to a music lover 

Sounds very familiar