I’m catching up

I have a Qb too and agree it is a clever bit of kit. 

Even cleverer(?) and more versatile when you feed it files from a streamer and/or Tidal streams. Come on Lindsay, you have made the first step. 

The sooner you stop shoving shiny plastic discs into that 1950s spin drier of yours and get an ND555, the better 

ChrisSU posted:

The sooner you stop shoving shiny plastic discs into that 1950s spin drier of yours and get an ND555, the better 

As soon as they manufacture a streamer equal to the sound quality of a CDX2, I will!

Welcome Lindsay to the world of us enlightened streaming fanatics ????

It’s a great bit of kit, especially when we want decent music on a weekend away.

Best regards, FT

Enjoy, it’s ideal for what it does. 

What I have found is, its perfect for finding new music, checking out recommendations ect ect

Foot tapper posted:

Welcome Lindsay to the world of us enlightened streaming fanatics ????

It’s a great bit of kit, especially when we want decent music on a weekend away.

Best regards, FT

Yes Lindsay as FT says, the Qb is great for taking on holiday. I took it and my Core to Cornwall a year ago (you can find a photo in the System photos stream). And the same when I went to France except that as there was no broadband in the place where we stayed, I took a router along as well, so that I could control both via the Naim app on my iPhone.

If you haven't already discovered, the Qb sounds best with the Loudness set to off and the proximity to wall set to close, but don't put it anywhere close to a wall. Otherwise the bass lift makes it sound a bit like a pair of Beats headphones!

best

David

The QB is a great solution for the kitchen, but watch out Lindsay, this streaming audio business can be addictive... before long you'll be comparing ethernet cables and wondering if a new Cisco switch will extract the last ounce of musicality!

Thanks guys. Think I’m going to get a NAS!!

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Thanks guys. Think I’m going to get a NAS!!

Ahh…but which NAS, hard drive type?, what make and capacity of hard disks will you use?, what back-up protocol will you use, RAID?, what ethernet cables will be optimal?, where will you site your NAS?, what file format will you use for files stored on your NAS?

Only kidding. If a numpty like me can install a NAS, anyone can. Many on here and your dealer are also on hand to help if you are serious!

nigelb posted:

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Thanks guys. Think I’m going to get a NAS!!

Ahh…but which NAS, hard drive type?, what make and capacity of hard disks will you use?, what back-up protocol will you use, RAID?, what ethernet cables will be optimal?, where will you site your NAS?, what file format will you use for files stored on your NAS?

Only kidding. If a numpty like me can install a NAS, anyone can. Many on here and your dealer are also on hand to help if you are serious!

Thank you Nigel - I always imagined it would straight forward!

We have a couple. For what they are they're marvellous. Overpriced, but still convincing if you grit your teeth.

It is straightforward Lindsay but we like to pretend it isn't to help justify having a whole room on the forum for streaming.

best

David

Harry posted:

We have a couple. For what they are they're marvellous. Overpriced, but still convincing if you grit your teeth.

I don’t think overpriced.  I compared with Sonos and putting price to one side no comparison in terms of sound quality. 

Nothing from Sonos is in the same league according to my ears. Not so B&W, which is closer. One thing Sonos wipes the floor with is Naim's control software.  The Muso is nearly a Grand now and the QB isn't too far behind. That's an awful lot for a soundbar. But, as you say, putting the price to one side, the Naim offerings win easily. 

Lindsay, I did a fair amount of research on NASs when I got mine. You can pretty well narrow it down to QNAP (which I have, model TS-251A) or Synology and if it is primarily for music storage (and possibly for serving music files) then a 2 bay mid spec NAS should be fine. Western Digital Red hard drives seem to be the default for this application and I have 2 X 2TB WD Reds installed in my QNAP and everything has worked fine so far. The best place to compare and buy NASs and Hard Drives is the river.

I went for a QNAP because of positive reports and also you can install Asset UPnP software on a QNAP with no problems if you want to use your NAS as a music server in addition to using it as a back-up device. I originally bought mine as a back-up device to my Naim UnitiServe, however I installed Asset and now use may QNAP as a music server too and I must say the SQ is as good (possibly a little better) than my purpose built UnitiServe music server.

One word of advice. If you use your NAS as a music server, store all your music files in FLAC format on it and set the NAS to transcode from FLAC to WAV when serving those files to a streamer. Files stored as WAV on a NAS play havoc with the metadata and the display of album and artist information goes haywire. Note, I use all the technical jargon! Naim have clever UPnP software on the UnitServe (now the Core) where you can store music files in WAV and it sorts out any formatting/display problems. You do not have this luxury with other UPnP software such as Asset so you need to store files as FLAC and transcode to WAV on the fly.

This all sounds much more complicated than it is in reality. This novice did it and Phil at Naim helped me set up my QNAP. There is also helpful 'how to' documents on the Naim website to assist with set up of both QNAP and Synology NASs.

Good luck

Tagging and indexing WAV files isn't complicated or limiting at all. They take tags just fine and can be indexed in all sorts of ways - if the tags have been added. The way Naim rippers tag them (or to be accurate, don't tag them) can make indexing a pain, occasionally to some extent in the Naim universe, and to a bigger extent outside it. There is no need for Naim to insist on a propitiatory tagging model. 

If you can't hear a difference between FLAC and WAV, raw or transcoded, maybe FLAC is the way to go.  But if you can hear a difference, there's no reason to abandon WAV for indexing convenience. Naim rippers will lash up the tags in a way that allows a Naim server to present them coherently, and if another ripper/tagger is used (such as dBpoweramp, to cite one of many candidates) there won't be an issue in the first place.

Files tagged (or to be more accurate, not tagged) by a Naim ripper will present and play back just fine with something like Asset or Minimserver, but the presentation at the control point can be ugly - because the files are not tagged properly. Been there. Redone my whole collection. Should have used dBpoweramp from the off, in wonderful, 3D hindsight.

Thanks guys.  

Alba1320 posted:

Say it ain't so... The Strat (Fender) going over to the dark side?!

What, you mean he's realised the superiority of Gibsons?

Resistance is futile……..muwah…..haaa..…haaa…..haaa! The Fender is ours!!!

It is only a matter of time until he starts flapping about Cisco switches and ethernet cables. You'll see...

Okay I’ve got my free 6 month Tidal set up.    It clearly leaves Spoticrap for dead.  Great to be listen to Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie while I’m washing up!

I love Tidal, no so much for its SQ, although it is decent, but it is great to sample music you have not heard before or have heard years ago. It is great to be able to try before you buy and Tidal is superb for that, although I accept it does not have the largest Classical catalogue.

Gone are those 'what was I thinking' music purchases, replaced by stuff you really like and appreciate.