Firmware updates

Are there any significant feature updates in the next FW release?

Many of us are hoping so.

We all have hopes and wants. I am wondering what we know?

What I can say is that my replacement NDS came with a firmware release v3.23, whereas the original one (it was faulty) came with 3.22. I can't see any new functionality, but it certainely brought at least one bug fix (the curious inclination to stop playing at random occasions).

I've had that on my NDX occasionally, but didn't realise others experienced it too.

The biggest problem that I would like to see fixed (as opposed to new features being introduced) would be for the NDX to stop locking up and becoming unresponsive. The only solution I have found is to switch it off for 30 secs and back on. Annoying. I would say trivial, but at these prices you expect better.

I don't think that's in the least bit trivial. Bloody annoying and not good enough. The NDS has been fuss free in day to day operation although it has needed two new displays and a control board. 

Do you think a new firmware could improve the sound?

It could change the sound. The operative word being "could". The very first FW the NDS was released with, which only made it out on the first batch at launch before being revised, had what sounded like a rightness to me that the two subsequent FW revisions lost. I can't remember how many my NDS has been through (four probably) but the latest iteration seems - to my ears - to be singing sweetly again. First time I upgraded the FW I wandered off between waits so didn't notice that the DSP is rewritten after the FW gets flashed. The next time, I noticed the DSP rewrite. Of course, it could all be in my imagination Most things are.

You're lucky to have such imagination, Harry.  

I purchased some Reference Recordings DVD-R discs with 176.4 resolution, only to discover that the Unitiserve does not support this resolution.  Therefore, it defaults to 44.1.  I spoke to both Naim and Reference about this and confirmed that's what is happening.  I'm hoping for a firmware update that will allow me to hear the Reference discs at the higher resolution.  Both Naim and Reference were great about providing help and diagnosing the issue.  Meanwhile, I've downloaded music from HD Tracks in 192 khz resolution, which is supported by the Unitiserve, and they sound great through my Auralic Vega DAC.

I believe that this is a hardware limitation of the PCI audio card in the UnitiServe and the HDX, though it becomes a non-issue when streaming over the network to a UPnP/DLNA player with 176.4 kHz playback (Uniti / NDx). A simple firmware update would not likely fix this.

The other factor is the fact that the clock frequency required to support both 176.4 and 192 kHz (on a single crystal) with a healthy oversampling factor (say, 16x) exceeds 50 MHz (56.448 MHz), which (not by chance) also exceeds the maximum per-channel input / output rate (again, 50 MHz) of many audio DSPs; a 28.224 MHz clock frequency can adequately handle the 48 kHz sample-rate multiples but one less of the 44.1 kHz multiples. Unless two high-precision clocks are used, it's typically the 44.1 kHz sample rates which will suffer (not so much a big deal moving forward).

The Naim DAC can play these natively via USB thumbdrive, as can the Uniti / NDx products as above.

That said - it is far less common a sample rate (Reference Recordings notwithstanding) for music downloads than 192 kHz, inasmuch as most studio workflows no longer revolve around Compact Disc delivery (and sample rate multiples of 44.1 kHz), which was the case at the time the Pacific Microsonics Model One encoder was originally designed. (The Model Two added both 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz processing.)

If you are using the SPDIF coaxial digital output of the UnitiServe, you will have exactly the same problem - it has entirely to do with use of the Serve as a digital source.

I am still hopeful that Airplay and Spotify will be added along with new release.. Just being hopeful.

I would also like to see support for Wimp Hi-Fi and I think a lot of people would like to see support for Qobuz.