Best Way to Stream

You are not very clear (to me at least) on what your system looks like & why do you have anything Linn if you have NDS.    Can you describe the new ethernet wired network - NDS to ???  Is it to router or switch & do you have a NAS (or what) to store downloads & what DLNA/UPnP media server.  Does it look like any of the LinnDoc schematic diagrams ?? (paste a copy if yes)   

The simplest you need is NDS - Router - NAS  & an iPad or Android wireless control point.   Depending on router quality it could be better with a switch to link NDS & NAS & a branch to the router.  Delete all the Linn stuff, its not needed & not designed to work with Naim & probably adding confusion,  all you need is the Naim app & a sensible UPnP (Asset, Minimserver) on the NAS

To paraphrase, "All you need is the Naim App and  a sensible UPnP server (Asset or Minimserver running on a QNAP or Synology nas."  So true, so true,

In your shoes, I might try Mac or Apple AirPort via Toslink into NDS -- NDS is a cracking DAC.  Then use Apple Remote app to control iTunes on the Mac.

I suggest this because you say you like iTunes, which is very good.  

There are other options, but none more straght-forward, given your stated requirements.

Enjoy.

Nick

NickSeattle posted:

In your shoes, I might try Mac or Apple AirPort via Toslink into NDS -- NDS is a cracking DAC.  Then use Apple Remote app to control iTunes on the Mac.

I suggest this because you say you like iTunes, which is very good.  

There are other options, but none more straght-forward, given your stated requirements.

Enjoy.

Nick

I've tried this into a Superuniti, and compared to a decent UPnP input, it was quite poor. Certainly not a worthy source for an NDS. I would suggest ditching iTunes and using some decent server software, either on a Mac or a NAS. 

ChrisSU,

I totally agree.  But OP seems to prioritize ease of use with iTunes.

I admit, I do it both ways, depending on who the users are on my system.

Nick

E.g., for playing podcasts, nothing I have found beats iTunes and the Remote app.  Not hi-fi, but that is not important in this case.

It all depends on what you are after, and OP has not made this clear.

If all he wants is iTunes,  why have an NDS ???    SBT or similar would do the job ........  to say nothing of cost savings.

I think this is simple. If you want a zero technical hands on approach the Unitiserve is a great solution... it's about as technical as the NDS itself.

if you are a little more hands on and can configure a little consumer NAS, then Asset and MinimServer are great pieces of software that can run on certain NAS types.

If you are more hands on, running Asset or MinimServer on a little £30 RaspberryPi provides a really good quality and good sounding media server solution. Asset is the easiest to set up.

Importantly the Naim App works well with Asset and MinimServer.

If you ate getting dropouts on a wired connection when locally streaming, this is almost certainly the issue of the media server / server hardware unable to keep up with the data flow.

With iTunes, if you tell iTunes to use original directories, then you can let the UPnP media server scan these same directories. However if you let iTunes consolidate everything into its own internal directory structure that will be specific to iTunes and best let iTunes handle it in its own Apple way. I use an AppleTV to stream iTunes via toslink into my NDX, but really rarely use iTunes on my main system other than for films, but lossy files sound ok this way, and of course you can Apple web streaming this way.

Simon

Simon

Proghead says s/he has had NDS for a few years, and likes to use it differently than I (and you?) would. 

Personally, I use the Naim app and Minim on a Synology NAS; but that seems not what Proghead wants to do.

All fun.

Nick

While Simon is right in that the a Unitiserve is very easy to use to rip and play CDs, it is very challenging to set up a backup to a NAS, and additionally one cannot automate the backup of the downloads folder - at least, not from the UnitiServe end. The fact that one needs a NAS for backup leads to the scenario where the Serve is largely redundant, as it's very easy to put server software on the NAS itself. 

In my view, if a lot of money has been spent on an NDS, it's only sensible to try to get the best from it and in a way that's easy to use. That seems to be to use a upnp server. 

NickSeattle posted:

ChrisSU,

I totally agree.  But OP seems to prioritize ease of use with iTunes.

I admit, I do it both ways, depending on who the users are on my system.

Nick

Yes, I too keep an Airport Express/Toslink connection to my streamer, purely as a convenience feature for Airplay when sound quality is not a priority. 

I get the impression the OP wants to stream from wherever the songs are presently stored, and not necessarily buy a NAS and transfer everything there. So, to the OP, what is your music currently stored on, and what else if anything is there between it and the NDS making up your network?

Perhaps I should have added, what format are your songs (mp3? Alac? Flac? Wav?), and other than iTunes what other related software is on the machine - e.g do you know if it has uPnP server software (e.g. Plex, Serviio, Logitech Media Server...)?

I think the real issue here is why didn't your dealer support you in getting things set up properly? I would go back to him and see if you can get a better solution - in my experience most dealers are happy to help even if your purchase was a few years ago. 

Make sure your NDS has the latest firmware. Get a server installed, and try the Naim app, which has improved a lot over the last couple of years. You might find you can then live without iTunes quite easily. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

While Simon is right in that the a Unitiserve is very easy to use to rip and play CDs, it is very challenging to set up a backup to a NAS, and additionally one cannot automate the backup of the downloads folder - at least, not from the UnitiServe end. The fact that one needs a NAS for backup leads to the scenario where the Serve is largely redundant, as it's very easy to put server software on the NAS itself.  

This is, precisely, the paradox of the "simplicity" of the UnitiServe solution.  The process of getting a backup working on a nas, if you do it yourself and don't just hire someone to do it, necessarily educates one to the point where "putt[ing] server software on the NAS itself" is indeed "very easy."  

I am happy to advocate for the simplicity of the UnitiServe as a server, but it quickly tumbles as new owners pull out their hair trying to set up a backup destination on a nas, as we read here frequently.  

Proghead, are you going to respond to the queries, or have you lost interest?  You won't get the best help without providing full info...

Thank you one and all and yes it's taken a while (I'm a busy guy) but here is what I have deduced thus far.

Many of you are far more up to speed with these matters which is why I asked for help but take this into consideration when you try and help. It sounds like you know your stuff but I'm new to this.

I have had my NDS now for a good few years and as CHISSU points out the dealer was not ideal in so much as I felt that I was the problem. Real Hi Fi geeks can make you feel uncomfortable if you are not part of the lifestyle. It was they that pointed me to Linn software - why would I know any different?  After the Naim NDS was installed and the wireless connection set up I was left to get on with it!

So as previously stated in my original post I found a 'server' that worked, and it works really well most of the time. But I'm naturally after all of the time.

Yes I use iTunes and I'm ok with that - it works for me so park it there.

So I have a Mac, with iTunes, I have Playback as the software installed on the Mac. It lets me type the path to find the music library I have on my external La Cie hard drive  and I play this through the Naim app. Again it works fine - but not all the time.

It has been suggested I look at a QNAP or something similar I have checked out YouTube for some guidance on what this requires, how easy is it and is it the answer, perhaps but I'm nervous as it looks technical and I'm trying to avoid that if I can.

I have tried out Asset UPnP, Miniserver and driver and not one of them performs in the way Playback does, if they work at all - and that could be down to me not really understanding what I'm doing.

Likely that the drop outs are because of the capability of sharing the info from Mac to the NDS.

Don't get me wrong people I am really grateful for you input and some good videos on the web would be welcome (seams like you get get everything from the internet).

Again I'm really surprised that Naim do not put more out to the public about how to set these things up or indeed do one step further and build software that can act as a server themselves. It's almost like Naim have built a brilliant product but you buy it without a mains lead to plug it in! 

Currently I'm leaning to the idea of NAS so is that something like an additional hard drive that I load my music onto and then connect it to the NAD through an ethernet cable, and how to I then continue to update it with new items, would that be wireless or unplug it from point A and take it to point B (upload) and back?

I tried to tell you I am the sharpest pencil in the box so be patient with me....

Well, you're getting there.  None of us were born knowing this stuff, and with a little patience in a few weeks you'll wonder what took you so long!

"Leaning to the idea of a nas" is a good start!  If you want to see what one is - one that would work for you - look at the QNAP TS-251.  They sell it on the big online retailer named after a big river. Or on the QNAP website which I shall not link here 'les suffer the wrath of the good folks who provide us with this helpful forum.  And look at the Synology DS-216J.  That also is a nas that would work for you.

You'll buy the nas, and 2 Western Digital 3TB "red" hard drives for it.  You could buy 2TB drives, but 3TB is bigger!  And the price isn't that much higher.  You want Western Digital RED drives. Nothing else.

You'll install the drives in the nas yourself. It's really easy.

You'll plug the nas into the ac power, and you'll use an ethernet cable to connect it to your home internet router.  Is there a port left unused on the back of it? Either way, better yet, you'll buy a Netgear 8-port gigabit switch, "unmanaged," from that same online retailer.  You'll use an ethernet cable to connect the switch to an open port on the back of your home internet router, and another cable to connect the nas to the switch.

You'll follow the simple directions that came with the nas and find that when you turn on the nas for the first time it will boot up and in a minute or 2 you can use a home computer to browse to it. 

How does this sound so far?  In the next chapters, you'll learn how to install third-party server software onto that nas (or for starters just use the server software that it came pre-loaded with), copy your music to the nas, and use the Naim App to play music with your NDS (which you also will connect to that Netgear switch with an ethernet cable)!

You won't use iTunes - I'm sorry.  It is not the right software for these purposes.  

(NB: There is a second entirely different way you can do this, and even still use iTunes.  That is to buy a Mac Mini and connect it directly to your NDS with either an optical digital cable or with a usb-to-SPDIF converter.  But you'll not be able to use the Naim App at all this way; you'll need to control iTunes on the Mac Mini itself, maybe with the Remote app from Apple on your iPhone.  You'll put all your music on the Mac Mini, and use it to play the music to the NDS. )

Progman, given.the absence of the full detail I asked for, I'll leave it to others to answer your problems and propose solutions. i'm sure you'll get there and be pleased with it.