We want TIDAL!

Completely agree - very well said. 

On the subject of gapless/gappy, I do listen to classical music on Tidal.  And I am digging out and listening to far more than classical I used to before I got Tidal.  Yes - the gaps slightly irritate and I am sure Qobuz does it better - but the ability to stream CD quality music far outweighs the downside and I am sure Tidal will sort that out in time.

For me, it's not a matter of warfare over our preferred streaming provider - we I just want to have the choice, and it would be nice to have some kind of roadmap of where Naim think they might go with this.

Tidal have already announced they will launch a streaming service based on MQA this year. 7digital who white label download and streaming services for companies lile HMV, BBC, Samsung, Blackberry, Panasonic, and Onkyo have also committed to MQA.

OK - more promising than I'd realised. There's so much up in the air with streaming at the moment that's it's hard to see how things will pan out over the next year. (Which of course gives the likes of Naim quite a problem.)

Squeezebox integrated Tidal by using something called ickStream. I am no expert, but it seems to be an intermediary that allows streaming from multiple sources. Maybe Naim could adopt this kind of approach which would allow the major work to be done once and then just a minor integration to each service.

The OP speaks for himself; he shouldn't assume we all support him

FWIW (ie about as much as the OP's view) I just cannot see where this fetish with CD quality streaming has arisen from.  Why is  a piece of music streamed better than the same piece streamed from a ripped CD or download?  It's not.

And if the answer is "choice" then why pay £120 a year or more for someone else's selections.  Buy your own CD's/ downloads; it'll probably cost no more and you can play what you want when you want

And Spotify at £10 per month?  Just a cappucino a month less than the BBC for which you get an almost infinite number of stations, the highest quality TV in the world, the world's best website and its most reliable news service

Just makes no sense to me; just this year's fad and hifi dotcom bubble.

"...someone else's selections." ...All 35m of them.

Should keep me going for a while.

G

Indeed, streaming is hardly new, I was streaming in the early 2000s.. But the choice was somewhat limited and for obvious reasons back then was very compressed. I love lossless streaming to explore music and listen to artists who only provide lossy downloads and/or no CDs. There are streaming sites such as SoundCloud which are run by musicians not big labels.. Lots of creative stuff there.

I find lossless streaming has hugely enhanced my enjoyment of recorded music.. Sometimes progres really can make a huge difference.

i still buy CDs, and through streaming I have eliminated duff purchases.

I love and appreciate well recorded, creative and well performed/inspired music.. But don't want to be limited to the medium its delivered on.. That is just a means to an end.

Simon

Ditto Simon, I had a Pinnacle Show Centre a long long time ago that streamed music and video. Was a great device at the time. 

JSH,

why do people go out for dinner, when they could cook at home? 

Because it's convenient? Because it's fun? Because it's adventure? Because they have so much more meals to chose? Because they don't like go shopping ingredients? Because they don't like to store ingredients at home?

HD internet streaming is the path to go. With movies and with music. Demat entertainment is already  here and it's going to stay... Let's make the best out of it.

Nothing wrong with CD or vinyl, though. Each to his own.

In fact, it makes sense to quite a lot of people. I'm also pretty sure that the OP didn't for one minute assume everyone would agree. He probably did assume that people wouldn't take the 'we' word too literally

My main streaming is via Meridian Sooloos, so I am one of the fortunate ones who should get an early listen both to Tidal and MQA. That might really irritate you, so I'd better say no more about it

Naim are rarely first cab off the rank when it comes to new integrating or adopting new technology and I think this approach pays dividends in the long run.

2015 looks like it will be a watershed year for streaming services - Apple will release their new 'Beats' streaming service, which could give global critical mass to the concept. It will also  increase the already mounting pressure on ad-funded streaming options (the major record labels are now quite vocal that the model is unsustainable). As a result I think the streaming landscape and number of players in it could look quite different in 2016.  Who will it affect and how is open to debate but there is every possibilty that services like Tidal, Qobuzz etc may not survive.

I should also point out that neither Tidal or Qobuzz are anywhere near global services.  So, at this stage at least, they are geographically limited niche offerings whose integration into naim products would only be of interest to those who have access to the services in the first place.

Maybe waiting until the dust settles is not such a bad idea.

Quite, I think theme will be room for those services like Qobuz and possibly Tidal that provide a regional or musical slant.. Qobuz is all about hybrid hires download and streaming... and appear to provide a service aimed at Europe..

There will clearly will be the big globals, but I suspect their service will be more generic and less tailored...

However what we might see is merger and acquisition where there will be regional and global brands with a single owner...

Simon

Not into the Naim DAC, it isn't. Add a 555PS to the mix and you have a very good sounding source, even at 320 kbps. And a lossless CD quality rip played by the Sonos into a nDAC/555PS sounds really quite superb.

Modify it and this brings it up yet another notch or two. I certainly find it hard now to distinguish between my modified Dr. Gert Volk Sonos ZP90 and CDX2.2, when using them as a bit stream provider into the nDAC/555PS combo (both are connected via a Naim DC1).

This may be hard to accept when you've paid a lot of money for an NDX or NDS but as the French say, c'est la vie!

All IMHO of course.

I agree a reclocked Sonos can become a top flight transport... Very impressive into the right DAC and using TOSlink. Hook recently has posted using a W4S reclocker with his Sonos with lossless streaming into NDS has no significant sonic difference to local native Redbook streaming with UPnP on his NDS.

I am not quite there yet with my Sonos, but I am not yet using a W4S reclocker.

with TOSLink, my standard Sonos just doesn't image well enough and sounds a little lacking in detail and texture... When I add an old DIP reclocker the detail, texture and imaging takes a step forward but not quite equivalent. Perhaps like Hook, when I add a W4S reclocker for about £350 it will become effectively equivalent.

Simon

The Gert Volk modification of the Sonos ZP90's (Connect) coax out cost me €350. Coax and optical together would have been €50 more. I believe prices for a W4S mod lie somewhere in that ballpark too. Their reclocker, as suggested by Simon and Hook, seems a very good option as well.

I am not suggesting people should replace their stand alone NDX with a modified Sonos Connect. However, for those with a DAC centric digital replay system a modified Sonos Connect can offer superb sound quality in return for a comparatively moderate investment.

I was looking at Mr Hook's setup [in USD]:

SonosConnect  350.00

w4s Reclocker  400.00

Upgraded PS   400.00

Naim DC-1       550.00

Optical Cable   100.00

Fancy Ethernet? 50.00

don't forget Sales tax / VAT...

Just seems like a lot of money just to stream Tidal.  Money is all relative so to each his own conclusion.  I've moved my Sonos into the office to listen via my V-1 while billing clients.  [I figure the substandard sound will keep me more focused on my work ]

Ummm...I paid:

Sonos Connect £279

W4S Reclocker £350

DC1 £285

Chord Prodac £75

Ethernet Switch £20

G

Hi, I'm new here.

I asked Naim about Tidal support a couple of weeks ago and was told that they had no plans to support it.

At the moment I'm trying Qobuz as well as it allows downloads as well as streaming.  It has some HD downloads and has the advantage over HDTRACKS in as much as you can actually download individual tracks rather than whole albums.

I found Qobuz and DBPowerAmp ripper after reading posts here so thanks.

PJ

What you should have been told is that we cannot discuss anything that we may or may not be working on at this time ...

Cheers

Phil

Which of course means that they are working on it: they just can't say so.

Quite...