Control options for NDX in combination with HDX (or UServe)

When I returned from my travels, my NDX had already arrived. After unpacking it was within minutes, that it was installed and connected to its CAT cable, and detected all files in my HDX, UnitiServe, and my computer and was ready to play. It is slowly burning-in and my first impression is that it has a very pleasing sound. More on this, with comparisons, I hope to write later.

Control of NDX from its small screen and remote is pretty straightforward: play full albums, single tracks or existing playlists; no playlist compilation on the go. I am still thankful to Naim that they provide this control option; i prefer devices with some local control at least.

If you want to look for further controls, here is what I have come up with: My first disappointment was to discover that it is not possible to control UPnP playback of HDX (or UServe) from their own UI. This was a disappointment for me because I had invested in a nice external touchscreen for these devices. The screen interface of HDX (or UServe), with all the album cover artworks etc, controls only the local outputs (dig out), not if you want to use the device as streaming server. As the NDX as client and HDX (and UServe) as server are made to complement each other, it would be clever for Naim to upgrade its server devices with an UPnP control software.

Don't remind me of n-stream. I am aware and I appreciate it. And, let's not open another i-phone discussion again please. Even if I had an i-phone, I would prefer to keep my mobile phone away from my music listening room. This is just a personal preference, not anything to be questioned here. I also tend to prefer non-mobile and non-remote controls.

If you have a running computer on the network, you have more options. I am running Windows with a Media Player 11, so I did not need any other server software to play files from my computer. I still downloaded others to try different customisation options: Asset Server, Twonky, Foobar2000. But what I really needed was to download some UPnP control software to be able to direct files from any of these servers to NDX:

Asset Control was the first one I tried. It was the simplest and easiest to use. Options are limited though, and I experienced occasional freezes and some unintentional replays. I could not be sure of its stability with NDX.

Foobar2000 (with UPnP extensions) was not intuitive to use at all. It seemed reserved for computer experts. Maybe it has good features; I was not patient enough to learn to run even the most basic functions. So I have no idea.

KinskyDestktop was absolutely a joy to use! Beautiful and clear UI; you can easily drag and drop from different sources and from different servers to make playlists and device queues. There is a strange logo at the corner. I don't remember where I remember it from.  Anyway, I am grateful to everybody who developed this software and it works perfectly with NDX.

Twonky Manager had a clearly arranged overview at first sight. But not so easy to use; it compiles playlists only from its own Twonky Server, and it was not easy to adjust Twonky Server to detect HDX.

These are just some first impressions of a computer-audio beginner and I would appreciate any comments or recommendations!