NDX plays ALAC but only from the USB port, not via UPnP !

Very strange indeed. NDX should play alac - mine does ?! What NAS do you use ?

Do you have the latest firmware Installed on the ndx?

Just an idea, but you could install some server software on your PC or Mac and stream alac from there. If it works you would know the problem is related to your linkstation and not the NDX. Not to discourage you but I not a fan of Buffalo (owned one but switched to Synology). Please let us know how things advance.

To be honest I was planning on getting another NAS - both because my current one is a single drive model, and also because I wanted to also take the opportunity to get one where I can run Asset eg. a QNAP NAS. Then I can use my Buffalo Linkstation as an external back-up drive. So - if I definitely should be able to stream ALAC to the NDX - then I'm not too bothered about fixing the issue as I'll probably be using a different NAS in the future.

Also this is a home demo NDX so if I actually buy one I'll be getting a new one - so negating the issue if it's a problem with the actual NDX itself.

But yes I may try to stream ALAC from my laptop and see how that goes ...

In addition to the section of the manual that I have cut and pasted in my original post I have also noticed this part in chapter 6 UPnP Audio Interface :-

6.2 Audio File Compatibility

The audio files stored on the UPnP™ servers attached to the network may be in MP3, AAC, FLAC, WMA, WAV or Ogg Vorbis formats. Files must be free of any digital rights management playback restrictions such as the Apple iTunes FairPlay system.

So - certainly from reading the manual - it does not seem that the NDX can play ALAC over UPnP, so is there anyone who can positively state that it can ? P. Bonte - you say you can play UPnP but is this definitely streamed over UPnP ?

Re my post above - I meant to say :-

P. Bonte - you say you can play ALAC but is this definitely streamed over UPnP ?

I can positively state that a superuniti can play ALAC over UPnP, so I would be surprised that a NDX being a superiour product, can't

The original NDX hardware didn't support ALAC over uPnP? It now supports ALAC up to 96/24 over uPnP.

OK well a bit weird then - maybe I have an older NDX unit on home demo then. Strange though that the NDX manual - which I accessed via the Naim website - does not indicate ALAC support over UPnP, just via an iPod.

Anyway, I'm not too fussed as I am ripping to FLAC now for demo purposes, and I'll be getting a new unit if I buy one. Also I plan to get a new QNAP NAS so I can run Asset. And I was only wanting to stream ALAC in the first place so I could maintain one library that would also be compatible with my iPod. It's not too bad if I have to have a FLAC library and another for my iPod - dBpoweramp does batch conversion, and it's easy enough to convert or rip twice ...

Anyway my dealer is going to quiz the guy from Naim about it so I'll report back what he says ... 

I definitely confirm, I am listening to ALAC streaming right now, via the disk station server .

Normally I use minimserver and transcode to wav24.

??? ... I checked the serial number on the back of the NDX and it starts 88xxxx.

The serial numbers listed on the Naim website start at 000016 for 1982 products, and 363707 onwards for 2014 products.

So 88xxxx doesn't realistically fit in that range (and it is definitely 88xxxx not 33xxxx).

I must be going bonkers ....

does it says 'made in china'?

then i would ask for a refund!

I think the problem is re ALAC file support for the linkstation. Looking at the user manual and supported file types for the DLNA media server, there is no mention of .alac files

I'm using both minimserver and ReadyDLNA servers on my NAS and can confirm the NDX streams fine with alac files over UPnP

Well this is from the Linkstation manual :-

The LinkStation’s DLNA media server supports the following types of files.

http://manual.buffalo.jp/buf-doc/35020118-01_EN.pdf

I am assuming here that ALAC files have .m4a file extension, not .alac

From the Wikipedia entry for Apple Lossless :-

Apple Lossless data is stored within an MP4 container with the filename extension .m4a

Yes sorry I've just found that too 

Not sure if m4a is ALAC, AAC or ALE  though it's not clear. 

Just set up my Unitiqute 2 and initially it would not find my ALAC files from my itunes library.  Then I switched from using Serviio to Asset upnp.  It now streams ALAC files. I wasn't sure when I read the manual that it supported ALAC, but clearly it works. 

88xxxx serial numbers are for Naim's prototypes or pre-production. So this unit is one of the very first. If it has not been updated, sure it can't play ALAC or 192 BTW.

A new unit will play ALAC no problem.

Ah ! An explanation for both the inability to play ALAC and the strange serial number ! Thanks for clarifying for me.

Hi Will,

Manu is correct - the serial number starting with 88 does show that it is an R&D unit. Can I ask where you obtained this unit from?

Thanks

Phil

I asked my dealer if I could home demo the NDX (and the NDS), and he didn't own a demo unit but he managed to get units direct from Naim for me to listen to. So - as far as I am aware - he borrowed stock from Naim rather than bought them himself.

The NDS had a regular serial number I might add, it was just the NDX that was 88xxxx. My dealer told me that Naim needed them back themselves for a specific event, so he just pulled out the stops to help me. +1 to my dealer - and to Naim for lending him the gear.

I might also add that I understand that my dealer has since bought his own stock to use for home demo purposes.

Still - I can just assume and hope that the R&D NDX was up to retail customer spec and not half-baked .... as discussed it wouldn't play ALAC.

If you go to the "Tools" menu on the NDX and then down to "Factory Settings" and "System Status" can you tell me what is reported for "Version" and "BC SW"?

At the end of the day the NDX on current software is able to play ALAC (at up to 24bit/96kHz) natively via either USB or UPnP ...

Cheers

Phil

I don't have the units any more - they went back to Naim. I do recall checking and confirmed that the firmware was the latest though - 3.22 ?? I expect that was the 'Version', not sure what 'BC SW' value was though.

As others have said it may indeed have been my NAS - though the support documentation for that also indicated support for ALAC.

I accept that a regular NDX retail unit bought today will stream ALAC. Strangely though - as reported in this thread - the current user manual on the Naim website for the NDX seems to only specify ALAC support via USB. So is it a case that the manaul needs to be updated ?