As several of us have posted inadvertently or in response to other queries about new firmware in the incorrect threads, time to start a new more specific one for the products above.
Probably best for Mu-so/Mu-so Qb owners to have a separate one if needed.
Background:
Naim released 2.3.1 on March 19th to address HDMI S/PDIF issues:
https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...casional-dropout-fix
This ruined my Nova's sound - made it thin, lifeless and unengaging. A couple of others felt the same, others were more positive so fair to say inconsistent experiences. Some found a factory reset helped, others didn't.
I remain puzzled why firmware 2.3.1 was released when we then got 4.6 for older streamers and 2.6.9508 for the new Uniti series (well Nova anyway - I assume Atom/Star are the same) only a fortnight later, though presumably there are good reasons:
https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...o-streaming-products
I had maybe a 10 day gap between listening to the (to me) awful 2.3.1 (19th March 2.3.1.9464 - app screen grab) and 2.6.9508 (released 4th April), and only did limited before/after listening. They didn't seem too different though perhaps the latest is not as harsh sounding, and while I think 2.6.9508 the app currently shows is a little better, the sound of the Nova overall just seems lacking compared to a few weeks ago before 2.3.1.
It simply doesn't engage me in the way that 2.3 (8574) did before I installed 2.3.1.9464 on 20th March.
Until a few days ago I only played digital audio on the Nova - from WD NAS, via rear USB, Roon from Mac Mini and a lot of Qobuz playback using Chromecast built-in.
Having listened to the 4th April firmware for several days now it is undeniably quite detailed, but just sounds fairly thin and uninvolving comapred to the Nova prior to 2.3.1. Another poster Obsydian sums it up saying it seems to have 'lost its mojo'.
In the last few days I've hooked up my old Linn LP12 via Analogue 1 input and it's a much better experience than lossless SD/HD digital audio from the LAN or streaming apps.
It's not that it sounds bad/distorted or anything like that, just that it no longer seems engaging/involving in teh way it did before.
Some recommendations from others in the Music Room threads turned up some fantastic tracks/artists which really showed what the Nova is capable of - these same tracks now seem rather lacklustre and don't thrill in the same way - many things just seem like background music not engaging audio.
Admittedly all this is highly subjective, but for those of us who feel our devices sound worse it is all the more frustrating due to the apparent inability to revert to older firmware which we were happy with sonically - placebo effect or not, without being able to go back to compare we'll probably remain convinced something has deleteriously affected our device's sound quality.
Please provide your comments based on your experience with the latest updates.
I appreciate there may be some known issues others have I have not mentioned.
Posted on: 21 April 2018 by EoinKav
It's absolutely not in my head ... I was listening to my Atom last night ... really fatiguing. I had to turn it off in disgust. I loved it so much before the update.
Didn't matter what source, it's a mess. And to cap it off no reply to my email to support as of yet.
Can't understand the secrecy around where the link is to the 2.3 firmware. Also I remember reading some of the beta testers saying they had several versions of the firmware where the SQ was changed .... the shipping version was agreed to be the best sounding. Of course this was mentioned after the official firmware was released and I had updated. Not exactly sure if it was the 4.6 or the 2.6 firmwares they were referring to, but none the less a bit of warning to flag possible DSP changes would have been appreciated in the documentation.
It seems pointless auditioning any future Naim product prior to purchase, who knows what it'll sound like after a FW update.
Posted on: 21 April 2018 by JosefM
But I don't recall seeing any comments from any beta tester about sound quality on the new Unitis, so it's all a bit of a mystery as to why there is a problem for some owners. I am sure Naim is looking at this now though.
This would be quite interesting to hear from the Uniti beta testers if the different FW versions also changed the characteristics. And as we are talking about software here, a change to the characteristics is easy to achieve but it is quite a hard and long way to find the right settings to have the right mix for every kind of music.
In my case I've listened the Atom for some month and optimized my set up, meaning speaker cables, position of speakers, power cables, etc., to meet my music expectations. Having now a change to the characteristics, I would have to start all over again and even might need to adapt / change some parts (e.g. speaker cables) in order to get back to the expectations I have when listening to music.
Overall it would be interesting to hear from NAIM if some code regarding DSP processing was changed or not.
Posted on: 22 April 2018 by EoinKav
I think when you read this thread and compare it to the 4.6 firmware thread 2 things seem to stand out, most of users for whom the 4.6 update applied to their equipment seem to think there was an improvement in SQ, some (fewer) now after some time think the 4.4 was more to their liking and have reverted.
Compared to here ... where most vast majority think the 2.6 brought a dis-improvement to the sound and those who managed to revert to 2.3 claim the mojo is back. Some (very few) seemed not to have noticed any change in SQ.
So to my mind there is clearly differences between the older and newer Uniti ranges firmware, and we also seem to have 4 versions of the newer Uniti boxes to complicate matters further.
As for "Joe Public", naturally any beta which is seeded to a select user base will result in their experiences helping to improve and shape the final shipping version. No one suggests or blames any one in particular for anything, rather, the complaint is around change in sound and the lack of forewarning that was not deemed necessary by Naim who ultimately released it.
Posted on: 22 April 2018 by glasnaim
There seems to be a total lack of customer service on behalf of Naim in respect of this issue. I purchased my Naim equipment, Nova, Unitiqute2, Unitiserve and was happy with the sound, everything was working great ahead of the update. Now things don't work so good, missing artwork to Nova, sound quality issues and yet no mention or prior warning was given by Naim in respect of sound changes.
To resolve these issues I can go either to my dealer or to Naim technical support, actually on approaching your dealer you will end up being redirected to technical support. This in some way makes the problem worse. After several telephone calls and e mails you will get a technical response that doesn't address the issue, why have you changed something that was working and didn't even have the courtesy to tell me you were making these changes.
This forum is a great source of support and information, with beta testers chipping in, but surely it doesn't replace the need for Naim to have some system of customer support in place. I am surprised how amateur and half baked this update process has been to date and the amount of conflicting information at large because it simply is not being managed by Naim. I have been advised a fix has been issued for the Nova artwork problems in an earlier post and subsequently I am being advised by technical support they are still working on it.
Management of the update process seems to be totally absent, come on Naim get your act together.
Posted on: 22 April 2018 by TallGuy
Of course, that’s “the vast majority” who have posted here, not necessarily of Uniti owners.
I too heard a change but initially put it down to my speakers as temperature/humidity was changing as the weather swapped around quite a lot. Then reading here persuaded me that it was probably the Nova - immediate bias !
i did a factory reset just before going away for a week - initial results seemed to have positively affected the SQ. Now I’m back I spent a lot of yesterday and today listening - the hard edge seems to have gone and the “lively sound” (my wife’s description) is back (Also I note the temperature has increased so again a change to the speakers shouldn’t be ruled out).
I’m convinced that the gain is down - like others I need to turn the volume knob further for a given sound level and I’m still not sure the bass is quite what it was, but I’m now happy to stick with 2.6 as I do hear benefits too (more detailed and better imaging/bigger soundstage).
Having said that I find it very concerning that a SQ change was apparently delivered without being informed and that if a reset is required that the reset requirement also wasn’t communicated.
Posted on: 22 April 2018 by EoinKav
Why don’t you ask to join the Beta testers? Just ask Naim support . The more the merrier.
I have enough heartache with Microsoft, OSX, IOS and general software updates which can impact negatively. Why on earth should I need to partake as beta tester for a music streamer.
Come to think of it, this update provided fixes and the functionality which was already supposed to be there from the start, such as multi room.
I paid my money got my unit, loved the results except for the advertised multiform function which I discovered didn't work.
They fixed that in the update and broke the core and fundamental component in the process which was the sound I had auditioned and approved of before purchase.
This is (relatively) high end audio equipment, its sound shouldn't be altered by code to address another issue without consultation or warning.
