Unable to read HiRes AIFF files on my new ND555

As a workaround you can convert the files to WAV using something like dbpoweramp... in doing this there is no change to the sample values.

Have you tried setting your Synology to transcode,  that streams the file from the Synology in WAV format.   

Question is why have AIFF anyway, either go all out with WAV or have all in FLAC.    You can batch convert on your Synology share using dBpoweramp on your PC/Mac.   

Hi Mike and Simon,

I set my Synology to transcode to WAW. It does not work.

I guess I will have to convert the file to WAV with dbpoweramp. Nevertheless, it is strange that I have to do that.

Michel

I suspect the Qobuz end has done something,  they seem to get most things wrong.  Strange that it was OK on your NDS.    It would be interesting to take one AIFF file & "convert" it with dBpoweramp to AIFF,  I did that with a bad WAV file from Qobuz & it fixed it.     But if you need to do that with all te AIFF's,  I would convert to WAV or FLAC.

It's very weird. Actually, converting with dbpoweramp both to AIFF and WAWE allowed both type of files to be read. In addition, some files are ok in AIFF and others not. A bit of pain since converting takes quite some time.

Thanks for the advice to both of you.

Michel

I had similar issue with NDX2. The problem appears to be with files from Qobuz as HD Tracks was fine. I found if I converted the files to FLAC then back again using dbpoweramp they played without a problem. Bit of a pain but sorted in the end.

[@mention:1566878603893484]: could you possibly send me one file by WeTransfer? I’d like to have a look at the metadata to see what is causing this.

Michel Werner posted:

Hi Mike and Simon,

I set my Synology to transcode to WAW. It does not work.

I guess I will have to convert the file to WAV with dbpoweramp. Nevertheless, it is strange that I have to do that.

Hi Michael, no problem. BTW if you drop box a sample file I can decompose the file using a software tool I have (bought from the days of the ripping wars ) and I can see what is different in the file. 

For example AIFF has a restrictive set of allowable metata data types, and is not formally extendable like WAV, so something might be tripping up over this...but even so AIFF like WAV is a RIFF construct, so if the parser doesn’t understand something, it’s supposed to jump over that file section and carry on.

@Adam Zielinski: I'll do that. Where can I find your email address to send you a WeTransfer link?

[@mention:1566878603876589]: Indeed, files are skipped until the streamer finds a good one. As for Adam, where can I find your mail to send you a WeTransfer link?

I reloaded the corrupted files in FLAC format during the night. I still have to transfer them to the NAS. I'll see if it works now.

Thanks for the help

Morning 

My email is in my profile.

Looking forward to the sample.

Best,

Adam

Some Qobuz AIFF files have some characters in the metadata that precludes them being read correctly.  dbpoweramp can, as Simon suggests, convert these to wav and they should then work OK. If you prefer to keep the files as AIFF then dbpoweramp will correct the metadata problem if you set it to convert AIFF to AIFF.

[@mention:47746324554803327]: It sent you private mail.

The problem seems to come from the Qobuz .aif files. dbpoweramp conversion corrects the problem. Its a bit of a pain though.

Thanks to you all for help and advice. It solved the problem.

Michel Werner posted:

[@mention:47746324554803327]: It sent you private mail.

The problem seems to come from the Qobuz .aif files. dbpoweramp conversion corrects the problem. Its a bit of a pain though.

Thanks to you all for help and advice. It solved the problem.

Hi - didn’t get the email yet... please double check that you have dots between my name, initial and surname. Also surname is a bit awkward

Missed you middle initial. Sorry about that. You should have received it by now.

Michel

You don’t need sorting fields ... very few of my files have sorting field metadata.... I suspect there is an issue in the header or there the use of extended characters.. as I said use a Dropbox and I can decompile the whole AiFF.

the key thing no note is the metadata is not sent to the streamer with the media.. the media server separates them completely... so for the media not to play it’s either being given a wrong mime or incompatible type by the media server, or it is an compatible resolution... AIFF can allow for strange media types and configurations which might not be recognised the Naim streamer, but dbpoweramp converts.

The Naim UnitiServe was quite sensitive to the presence of extended characters in the metadata or in the file name itself -- they'd cause the UServe to skip over such tracks.  I learned from that to always check and often re-do metadata from purchased downloads.

@Simon-in-Suffolk: Here is a WeTransfer link to a corrupted file

@Bart: Having to check and re-do metadata from purchase downloads takes time and some knowledge. To really plug and play as putting a CD or vinyl record on a turntable. Makes me think that the industry is not totally mature.

Thanks to mConnect and ND555, I am now reading HiRes streamed record. This is really nice. I haven't had the time to audition HiRes files streamed from the NAS to those read from the NAS.

Forgot to put the link... Here it is https://we.tl/t-L27rfXMNry

Michel Werner posted:

@Simon-in-Suffolk: Here is a WeTransfer link to a corrupted file

@Bart: Having to check and re-do metadata from purchase downloads takes time and some knowledge. To really plug and play as putting a CD or vinyl record on a turntable. Makes me think that the industry is not totally mature.

Thanks to mConnect and ND555, I am now reading HiRes streamed record. This is really nice. I haven't had the time to audition HiRes files streamed from the NAS to those read from the NAS.

Michel I'd argue that the time it takes is rather miniscule.  And (1) time savings is not how I pick a medium of music storage, and (2) even if I did I could probably establish that over a year's time I save time by not having to find an lp or cd, clean (lp), and then put away.

There are two types of metadata changes one might (I might) want to make.  Those that correct an unusable file, as reported here, are extremely rare.  And if they happen predominantly with one retailer, I'd not point to the entire industry.  The second is metadata edits to (simply) bring the data into conformity with how the individual likes to see it.  Not necessary to play one's music, and something I certainly don't mind.

Now that you own a fabulous streamer player, you'll want to learn how to edit metadata if you don't already. "It's not rocket science!"

You will always need to adjust metadata in order to manage your collection. One person’s Classical - Vocal is another’s Vocal Classical.  

Bart,

It took me a good part of the week-end to set my files back in shape in order to have them read by the ND555 even though they worked with my former NDS. Of course, I am ready to do that to enjoy full the ND555. I know that editing metadata is not rocket science but I rather spend my time listening rather that doing it. What I was meaning is that far from everyone is ready to spend time wrestling with computers. In that respect we, members of the NAIM forum, are a minority.

Anyhow, the ND555 is a splendid joy machine. When I was reading posts on the forum that said that the ND555 allows to rediscover recordings, I always tended to be skeptical. Not anymore ! In addition, I am streaming Qobuz HiRes very simply using mConnect.

Cheers

I'm glad you are re-enjoying your music Michel!  The same can be said in our home.  The ND555 has been fabulous.

None of us are born knowing how to or wanting to manage metadata.  So I bought a UnitiServe years ago, figuring that I did not need to figure it out - Naim would do it for me.  Not the case . . . and after I learned it I realized that it's not daunting, gives me a degree of control over how I browse my music, and in the grand scheme I'd rather "play with" metadata than deal with a parlour full of cd's or lp's.  As HH just wrote, it's a necessary part of adopting in-home streaming.  Honestly, I find it (oddly?) satisfying to 'organize' my digital files in ways that I can browse them easily and find what I want to find. (Roon makes this far easier and does a lot of it on it's own, but I still do it in case I ever migrate away from Roon . . . )

Cheers!