ND5 XS and Naim App Issues

Hmm, weird stuff in the Juanito household.

1. This is generally due to network conflicts and/or congestion. As you say, you have other devices. I had the same issue and bought a cheap Netgear switch (£20) for the NAS and streamer (connected to router), and now it's rock solid. If you don't have a switch, I'd definitely try that.

2. Spotify doesn't have to be used from the same device as the Naim app. My son uses Spotify to my NAC 172 xs and he doesn't even have the Naim app. The easiest thing for your friends would be to log them on to your wi-fi. Works very well.

3. The firmware upgrade instructions have links to the USB drivers you need. No need to go searching.

4. Granted that over-the-air upgrades would be better. However, given we don't have that, you do need the USB cable (or RS232 for older kit). The laptop you use doesn't have to be wired to Ethernet though - it can be on wi-fi as long as it has Internet connection.

5. Is that right? Is SSID a requirement? That's news to me, but probably someone can comment.

6. Weird. Spooky. My kit doesn't do that and I haven't come across it. Maybe someone else has. What does it play? Is it the last song again, or the next on the album, or random? If it's 'I Put a Spell on You' then I'd be seriously freaked out. :-). 

Thanks for the reply.

1. The ND5 XS is connected by wifi to a Cisco WAP4410N, which in turn is connected directly to a Cisco RVS4000 Router. The music resides on a Thecus N4800 NAS running Twonky, which is also connected directly to the RVS4000.

2. OK, but will Spotify play from a device plugged into the front USB port (I cannot make this work)

3. Good (that must have been done recently).

5. Yes - I have to enable SSID broadcast, connect the ND5 XS and then disable it again.

6. It continues with the same song in the playlist or same Internet Radio station.

So for 1 and probably 6, the problem is likely the network set-up. You have a router and an access point and there will be a lot of noise across them. It's better to have a simple switch and attach both the NAS and streamer to that. The switch can connect to either a router or wap (depending) to provide internet access for Spotify, iRadio, etc. 

On 2, I suspect not. I might be wrong about that - I haven't tried - but I believe the direct USB connection treats the iPhone as a repository only, so it won't play Spotify through the USB. Others might know better.

1. Here I tend to disagree - I've streamed 10's of HD movies from the Thecus to the Router/WAP and then wirelessly to a TV in the same room as the ND5 XS without one single glitch or drop out. In addition, once the ND5 XS has stopped broadcasting Bonjour/UPNP services on the LAN, it will not respond to a network ping even though it will still play music from the Thecus or the Internet. For me this would indicate that the problem is with the ND5 XS and not the LAN.

2. Thanks - I guess that would explain why I couldn't get spotify to work via an iPhone connected to the USB port.

Hi juanito

Good you are enjoying your ND5.  I strongly recommend you get a wired connection between the ND5 and your network.  For whatever reason, and whether you think it should work or not, there is lots of experience on this forum that says this is the only way to get uPnP streaming controlled using the Naim app to work reliably.

There are some folk who have got the wireless stuff working, but if I were you I would start off with it wired and working, and then if you must you can tweak your network from there.

If for practical reasons you cannot run an ethernet cable from the ND5 to the router, then I suggest you do one of:

a) have the NAS and the ND5 connected to a small unmanages switch, and then connect that to your router via a WAP if necessary

b) connect the ND5 wired to an Airport Express and have that manage the wireless bit.

All the recommendations from Naim tech people that post here are to use a wired network.

Hmm - for practical reasons I cannot run a wired network cable to the ND5 XS and I cannot put the NAS in the same room as the ND5 XS.

The TV and ND5 XS are in the same room and exactly equidistant from the WAP - if I can stream HD videos to the TV, then I should be able to stream music to the ND5 XS at a much lower data rate without problems.

In any case, it's not the streaming itself that is the problem, it is the fact that the ND5 XS stops "advertising" itself on the network whereas the TV, using the same network protocols, does not.

Regarding Spotify, a friend and I were both playing tracks from Spotify on our iPhones into my Superuniti. The Naim app is on my phone, but not his, and it worked flawlessly. If either of us played a track, either from Spotify, or in my case, sometimes UPnP, the Spotify app just cuts in when asked and starts playing, no need to switch inputs. It's a shame the sound quality is mediocre, because the integration really is good.

It's hard to know what the problem is. Your dealer may be able to help, depending on their degree of networking expertise (some are better on this than others in my experience).

The problem may well be with the ND5. It may be that it just won't buffer enough compared with the TV, or some difference in the way it uses the protocols. I've had a similar experience actually - my TV will stream HD movies directly via wi-fi, but my old UQ used 'go invisible' even though they were in the same room. I put in a network extender and then a cheapo switch, and now it all works perfectly. I can't explain why, but it does seem that adopting the 'forum-recommended' network approach solves most of these issues.

One option might be to connect the NAS wired, as @nudgerwilliams suggests, just temporarily and see if that solves the problem. Then you'll be better placed to diagnose and address the issue for the long term.

Have you tried turning the firewall off to see if that improves things? 

And do do you have the latest firmware installed on your two Cisco devices?

I'm sure sure I see how turning off the router firewall will change anything since the ND5 XS, NAS and iPhone are inside the firewall?

I upgraded the router firmware to the latest version, but the result is the same.

Since I have a mac mini, 2ea iPhones, an iPad, the NAS, Philipps Hue and the WAP on the LAN, which all broadcast UPnP and/or Bonjour services without problems, logic would tend to indicate that the problem is with the ND5 XS.

As mentioned earlier, while the ND5 XS can still play UPnP and iRadio when it stops broadcasting UPnP/Bonjour services, it will not respond to a network ping, which also tends to indicate that the fault is with the ND5 XS.

Is there a way to get my playlists off the Naim App onto the NAS so I can still use them when the ND5 XS/Naim App stop responding?

I bought a ND5 XS a few weeks ago and had the same issue. I powered the ND5 XS off, powered it on after 20 minutes or so and ever since it has been playing without a hitch.

If 6. happens with iRadio it's a known bug and the fix is in development.

6. Happens with both iRadio and UPnp, depending on which was used last before stopping play.

Hi -

Someone already mentioned that guests logged into your main wifi network can use their devices and tell them to stream spotify to your Naim for playing. This is accessed via the little "speaker" icon near the play / pause features.

iDevices connected to the front USB port are read and treated (sort of) like itunes libraries in that you can see your music, with tagging for album and artist and so on, as well as your playlists. To use other iPod functionality - including Spotify - you must first start the iPod playing something locally using nStream or the remote ... any song will do. After it is up and running, you can interact directly with the iPod screen and choose something else, including the Spotify app where you can select a song or a playlist, get it going (streaming locally to this device) and it will be sent out through the USB for conversion and playback through your Naim. A cool feature, if you have two iDevices on the same wifi network (eg your guest network) is that you can use the Spotify app on one (the one in your hand) to browse and control playback on the other (the one connected to the USB input). For folks without the native Spotify capability on their Naim units (I have an original UnitiQute, sans hi-res board and hence without Spotify capability), this is a nice, if slightly cumbersom, workaround. In a future firmware update, addressing the USB interaction with iDevices could make this quite a bit more user friendly. 

Regards, alan 

That's officially weird!

My ND5XS turns itself on around 23:45 every night.  And as someone else mentioned in another thread:  it happens only if it was switched off by using the remote.  Weird.

(after the latest firmware update)

As much as I don't mind being woken up by Muse and The Killers, I now mute my ND5 XS before I go to bed!

The machines are taking over.

Turn off and unplug! Like we used to with old fashioned black and white televisions!

ATB from George

It may have been me...

still happening, 23.45 the NDX 'turns itself on' ....

at least when we come down in the am, we have music...

bizarre...

Bon (snowy) weekend