Streaming Diversity - Is it time for a Mac Mini?

I think John Bailey is right - though Roon is not on my current want list (though it does sound interesting). Thinking further about the Aries mini solution, on the one hand, yes it does give me good access to Qobuz, so solves that immediate issue, and, yes, it is stunningly good value for money; but on the other hand, it won't necessarily give access to future streaming options (which a Mac Mini surely will), and with my luck I'll buy one, and the next week Naim will announce Qobuz integration. I expect I'd still find uses for the Mac, less sure about the Aries. having said which, at the price, yes it's tempting.

Goon525 posted:

I think John Bailey is right - though Roon is not on my current want list (though it does sound interesting). Thinking further about the Aries mini solution, on the one hand, yes it does give me good access to Qobuz, so solves that immediate issue, and, yes, it is stunningly good value for money; but on the other hand, it won't necessarily give access to future streaming options (which a Mac Mini surely will), and with my luck I'll buy one, and the next week Naim will announce Qobuz integration. I expect I'd still find uses for the Mac, less sure about the Aries. having said which, at the price, yes it's tempting.

I think that, if you are reasonably fit in system administration, it is always a good idea to have a microserver which runs headless and is dedicated for serving, managing and organizing musical contents. The Mac mini should also be very user friendly and flexible. I still believe that it was a mistake of Naim to implement the rendering of internet streaming services in the firmware of streamers. It makes it very difficult and expensive to adapt to new services, formats and standards. A dedicated music server, on the other hand, is very flexible and has plenty of computing power and memory. If you decide to try another internet streaming service, you should be able to do so with little effort. I was pleasently surprised to discover how simple it is, implementing a full OpenHome streaming solution on a fit-PC3 or Raspberry Pi. Just install MinimServer and upmpdcli and you are up an running. I do not think that it would be so easy to do the same on a BDP-2, UnitiServe or Aries although, in principle, it should work. Thus yes, go for the Mac mini and forget the Aries. Do not forget that, with a well configured, dedicated music server, you will be able to do more than just serving Qobuz contents to your SU. Install Bubble UPnP Server on the mini and you will be able to stream your NAS collection to that old radio in the garage through a 40 EUR Chromecast Audio bit. Or you could access, backup and manage your NAS data by remotely accessing the mini via ssh. With a decent internet connection, you should be able to enjoy your music collection from abroad ...  Enjoy the journey! Best, nbpf

Thanks, nbpf, very helpful contribution.

Bryston just announced a streamer based on Raspberry Pi...cool:-)

You might want to try the Lumin App on the iPad linking in with Bubble upnp on your PC / Mac.  Lumin has built in Qobuz (andTidal) connectivity and this allows direct streaming via Upnp to Naim streamers.  I've been using it quite successfully to circumvent Tidal drop outs (when using the Naim app) on my SU & Muso. Easy to set up.  I believe you can install Bubbleupnp on  a NAS but I haven't tried it.

I did start a thread on this last month in the streaming forum - 

"Tidal (reliable), Qobuz and UPNP streaming all in one control App via Lumin & BubbleUPNP"

T38.45 posted:

Bryston just announced a streamer based on Raspberry Pi...cool:-)

 

Very interesting T38.45! This is the kind of products I have been arguing Naim should have developed (instead of getting stuck in the partnership with Digital Fidelity): microservers with a decent PSU, high quality USB and S/PDIF interfaces and certification for an open OS. They could have easily integrated Tidal, roon, etc. at a fraction of the cost of implementing these features in the streamers' firmware and under severe memory and computing power constraints. I very much hope that Naim will follow the Bryston example. I would prefer to buy a Pi in a black box! Best, nbpf

Borders Nick posted:

You might want to try the Lumin App on the iPad linking in with Bubble upnp on your PC / Mac.  Lumin has built in Qobuz (andTidal) connectivity and this allows direct streaming via Upnp to Naim streamers.  I've been using it quite successfully to circumvent Tidal drop outs (when using the Naim app) on my SU & Muso. Easy to set up.  I believe you can install Bubbleupnp on  a NAS but I haven't tried it.

I did start a thread on this last month in the streaming forum - 

"Tidal (reliable), Qobuz and UPNP streaming all in one control App via Lumin & BubbleUPNP"

@Borders Nick: I have suggested the same approach in a previous post but I could not say for sure whether Bubble UPnP Server would succeed in turning a Naim streamer into an OpenHome renderer (I have no Naim streamer to test the approach). Nice to hear that it works, thanks!

@Goon525: as I have detailed in a previous post in this thread, you should be able to test this approach at zero costs and in about half an hour if you have an Android device around. It sounds complicated but is actually very straightforward.

@all: I have had a cursory look at the Bryston announcement and while very interesting, I am not completely sure about  the quality of the S/PDIF output. This is crucial for directly feeding a DAC. Also, a microserver dedicated to music replay should provide a high quality USB output, I believe, and rely on a decent PSU. Good opportunities for Naim to improve, perhaps. By the way, if you are interested in microservers, fit-PC has a very low power option in a very nice, solid milled, black aluminium case.

Borders Nick posted:

...

I did start a thread on this last month in the streaming forum

Nick, could you please post a link to that thread, you have a lot of active posts and I have not managed to find it out. Thanks, nbpf

nbpf posted:

Borders Nick posted:

...

I did start a thread on this last month in the streaming forum

Nick, could you please post a link to that thread, you have a lot of active posts and I have not managed to find it out. Thanks, nbpf

This should get you there 

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...lumin-and-bubbleupnp

Bubbleupnp detects Naim streamers and allows you to set them as open home renderers.  The Lumin app on the iPad then acts as a control point.  I am not very tech-savvy but this worked straight away - zero cost.

Thanks for the link Borders Nick!

hannoy63 posted:

Auralic Aries mini - 400 quid, Qobuz, Tidal and Roon intergration, stream from your NAS or install your own hard drive, internet radio, Bluetooth, Airplay. Built in dac or vatious outputs with dedicated iphone and ipad app. An absolute steal.

The Auralic Aries Mini is a fantastic piece of kit. I got rid of my Mac Mini to get one and could not be happier. The reason I got rid of my UQ2 was the very slow pace at which Naim adopts new technologies. The Aries Mini feeds a Nait 2 (CB  ;-) of course). So now I am not tied in to Naim for my streaming at all. Auralic are very quick to adopt new technologies and services and firmware updates are 'over air' and automatic which is utterly painless. The control app (Lightning DS) is constantly evolving (the iPhone version is superb - the iPad version will imitate this in the near future). I have a 1Tb HDD fitted which takes care of all my music (will fit a SSD when the price drops).

Google for the DAR review.

I cannot recommend The Aries Mini enough. As I posted months ago, this is a game changer!