Naim Uniti Core DOWN. What could be the problem.

Any way of playing  the Core over the ethernet to see if it is outputting in any way at all ?

i can’t think of any way to use the Ethernet.  I’m longing for a second digital out on the Naim.  If it had another digital out I could learn so much more.  So many DACs use, even expect, USB, for example.

Does the Naim app still see the Core?

Yes, the app sees the Core.  I can navigate freely.

I don’t see either of my replies, so I will repeat them:

1.  I don’t know any way to use the Naim in any other way than it’s a aim to DAC connection.

2.  I can see the Naim via the app.  And I can readily navigate through the app.  The Naim turns in and off, so it’s not “dead” in that sense.  It’s just not sending music (apparently) via the BNC > RCA connection to the DAC.

Have you tried to disconnect the cable, switch off the core and the dac, and then restart all again?    sometimes it works.

Like any computer type device, try a "reboot" - i.e. a hard switch off.  Leave a few minutes then switch on again. Then let it sort itself out for a minute or two.  Try again.

I wish I could report that a hard reset accomplished something, but nothing has changed.  DAC still has error message.  App makes it seem Naim is working perfectly.  I don’t know what else to do.

If the app shows a track playing as normal, I suspect there must be a fault in the SPDIF output or cable. Maybe time to contact your dealer. 

Good news!  I decided to do everything one more time before I gave up.  So I did  one more hard reset and pulled and reinserted the BNC Cable  *one more time*, turned on my DAC and the error message was gone.  I’m back to listening to music.

Which leaves me with a huge WHY.  Something is wrong,  but what?  I’ve been playing music daily.  With nothing touched or changed, I woke up to the error message on the DAC a few days ago.  I must have reset the cables four or five times without success.  I’ve done three hard resets.  Why is it working now?

I dealt with this error message when I set up the Naim to the DAC the first time.  After a similar scenario of testing and retesting, it suddenly worked.

Does it do this with a different digital cable?  There may be fault with the cable that prevents the DAC locking onto a signal.

Otherwise, probably worthwhile having a chat with your supplying dealer to see what they think or suggest. Maybe they can check it out for you.

I reckon it will turn out to be a faulty digital cable or maybe the ends need to be plugged in "hard" - I have one ethernet cable like that, which catches me out occasionally when I use it to connect my laptop to the network.

best

David

When I insert the RCA end of the cable into the DAC, that last 1/16 or 1/32 is unusually tight.  I’ve made a point of really pushing it in with a fair amount of force.  This last time I really pushed on it, and then some.  Maybe that made a difference?  How to tell.....

i think I should swallow the extra cost of a second cable in hopes that will solve the problem.

Echolane posted:

When I insert the RCA end of the cable into the DAC, that last 1/16 or 1/32 is unusually tight.  I’ve made a point of really pushing it in with a fair amount of force.  This last time I really pushed on it, and then some.  Maybe that made a difference?  How to tell.....

i think I should swallow the extra cost of a second cable in hopes that will solve the problem.

There are plenty of inexpensive SPDIF cables about, so maybe worth trying a different one. First, I would talk to BJ Cables. Sounds like the connection is a little tighter than it should be. 

Most of my interconnects are BJC as is this particular digital cable.  I will still order it from BJC, as I trust their products.

Reopening this thread because of new developments.

I do have a new BNC to RCA cable.

I’ve continued to have occasional problems with the PLL INVALID message.  At one point I thought they might be caused by turning on the DAC first, and the first time I tried it deliberately, the PLL INVALID messsage occurred.  But after repeating this protocol numerous times, it did not provoke the error message.

    Then I had some other intermittent problems with the DAC:

     1) It’s display was shutting down after ever shorter playing times, then remaining on for only a few seconds after turning in, then no display at all.  But its display is now staying on as long as I play it, all day, even most of the day,  

     2)  The music would also stop suddenly, though the DAC would remain on.  Since I was having problems with the DAC, I assumed it was at fault.  But today the music suddenly quit AND THE NAIM HAD TURNED ITSELF OFF.  The DAC was still turned on.

   There were three previous instances of sudden stoppage and I noticed the Naim had stopped streaming and wondered why, but I didn’t happen to notice whether it had turned itself off.  However,  I did notice that the stream had paused itself.  Since the Naim is pretty subtle about light,  now I suspect i just didn’t notice that it had shut itself off.   That would explain what caused the music stream to look paused in the App.   Now I’m suspecting the Naim was the cause of those stoppages. 

    The thing is, it could also be the cause of the PLL INVALID messages.  They mean that the DAC is not getting a recognized digital signal or it is getting a frequency it can’t handle.  Since all of my files are redbook CDs, it isn’t a frequency it can’t handle. Could the Naim be sending a garbage signal to the DAC?

    What could be going on?  Is it time to send the Naim in?

Try to do a full factory reset of the Core.

unplug it, wait 30 sec, press and hold the power/stand by button, reinsert the AC plug. Keep holding the button until the usb front socket flashes.

note that this will revert to factory settings, so you will have to re-enter your own settings ( workgroup, music shares and stores...). You are probably only using an internal hard drive, in this case nothing special to do...

Thanks for the tip, I’ll give it another try.  I’ve actually done it once already, but I’m not sure it actually did anything.   Is there a way to check on it as it is happening?

 What does it do besides redo  the database and can I watch the progress of that?

I‘ve been a little disappointed when I do a search on Artists.  Far fewer albums come up than actually exist for several artists.  That’s even though their name appears as the primary artist.  I was hoping that might correct itself when I did a reset the first time,  But I see no evidence of change.

Echolane posted:

Thanks for the tip, I’ll give it another try.  I’ve actually done it once already, but I’m not sure it actually did anything.   Is there a way to check on it as it is happening?

 What does it do besides redo  the database and can I watch the progress of that?

I‘ve been a little disappointed when I do a search on Artists.  Far fewer albums come up than actually exist for several artists.  That’s even though their name appears as the primary artist.  I was hoping that might correct itself when I did a reset the first time,  But I see no evidence of change.

In case Manu doesn't pick this up, the factory settings reset puts the unit back to the state when it was first built, so much more than just rebuilding the index (which you can do without a factory reset through "other settings" in the app). No you can't watch the reset happening. You just have to follow the instructions given by Manu precisely and it will happen. You can follow the index rebuild if you want to, for example by looking at the "all albums" screen in the app.

The issue you notice with not all albums showing up where you expect in Artists view is a problem of the metadata being improperly or inadequately populated. This is down to the album publisher who provides metadata to the online lookup services. You may be able to correct that by editing the artist's field in CD rips using the app. In the case of downloads you can use a tool like dBpoweramp to correct the issue. 

Best

David

David,

Many thanks for helping to educate this new Naim Uniti Core user.   Unfortunately, I don’t quite understand the meaning of “metadata may be improperly or inadequately populated”.  The word populated is the problem.  

I don’t know where or how the metadata is kept, but presumably, wherever it is, there would be an artist field.  There has to be a sort on that.  How else could the Naim app provide an artist display or retrieve by Artist?  Therefore how could it miss an album?  Or more than one?

I was super meticulous when ripping to include the primary artist in the Artist field.  I’ve gone through every CD checking the metadata is correct.  Therefore it really puzzles me  how a properly annotated album can be missed.

After one of the updates, not sure if it was firmware or app, the Core started switching to standby at the set time under auto standby regardless whether it was ripping, playing or idle. I just set mine to always on to get round it

Echolane posted:

David,

Many thanks for helping to educate this new Naim Uniti Core user.   Unfortunately, I don’t quite understand the meaning of “metadata may be improperly or inadequately populated”.  The word populated is the problem.  

I don’t know where or how the metadata is kept, but presumably, wherever it is, there would be an artist field.  There has to be a sort on that.  How else could the Naim app provide an artist display or retrieve by Artist?  Therefore how could it miss an album?  Or more than one?

I was super meticulous when ripping to include the primary artist in the Artist field.  I’ve gone through every CD checking the metadata is correct.  Therefore it really puzzles me  how a properly annotated album can be missed.

By populated I just mean filled in correctly. If you have made sure all of the artist field entries are correct as you describe then I don't know how an album can be missed in a search either.

best

David