Airplay 2 on MUso

Jan,

I'm experiencing the same problem after updating  to firmware v1.7 on my new Muso and unfortunately there's no solution from Naim Support yet as of our last correspondence late last week. Please report your issue to Naim Muso Support at mu-sosupport@naimaudio.com.  We'll likely get this resolved quicker if they're aware it's affecting a greater number of owners. 

If I receive a fix I'll make sure and update this thread with the solution. Please do the same so we can help anyone else affected that finds this thread.

regards,

Dave

Airplay 2 works fine for me, and worked for everyone who beta tested it. It can send music from the phone to any or all of my QBs quite happily. So it’s not a case of ‘Airplay 2 does not work’, rather ‘I can’t get AirPlay 2 working’. 

Airplay2 on my Muso Qb works fine with me too.. using the latest firmware.

i would suggest work back to first principles if it doesn’t.. and remember Airplay2 needs a proper functioning home network.. various kludges etc might stop Airplay2 working.. just like with UPnP.

What device and software is the OP sending from?

I don’t usually use AirPlay but have tried an iPad Pro an iPad Mini using FLAC files and it plays fine using WiFi

Nigel and Simon,

Thanks for the heads up about *kludged network topology in some cases but when AirPlay 1or 2 works just fine from and too all networked devices other than a Muso upgraded to AirPlay 2 via FW v1.7  and with no change whatsoever to the existing network topology, the problem lies with Apple or Naim's implementation of AirPlay 2.

If Apple knew Airplay 2 would be less fault tolerant of network conditions vs AirPlay 1 then they should have notified licensed manufacturers letting them know so they could plan accordingly so existing products in the field and new purchases like mine wouldn't be left  not working.  

I doubt Apple or Naim are withholding information from us and both likely working together to determine what's causing the issue for some users.  I truly believe we'll get a solution from Naim once the cause is determined. In the meantime reverting to AirPlay 1 via a firmware downgrade has resolved my Airplay issue completely. This isn't a long-term solution but I'm up and running again with my brand new Muso using Airplay so I suggest others with the same problem contact Naim Support for assistance if they suffer the same after upgrading their Muso or QB to firmware version 1.7.

regards,

Dave

* My network topology : one AmpliFi HD mesh system with two mesh points - no customized settings, system FW current;  all devices run wirelessly with my Muso averaging TX and RX rates: 54/54 Mbps, latency for the Muso averaging less than 10ms when pinged from primary iMac server 15 feet and line of site away from Muso with an occasional spike to 100ms but rare, Bonjour packets are traveling, SNR: unknown. 

Downgrade the Muso firmware to version 1.5 or 1.6 and AirPlay 1 works flawlessly on the same Muso. No devices were physically moved during repeated FW upgrade or downgrade tests. Factory resets on all or any client and/or router does not affect the issue nor does hardwiring any device including the Muso solve the problem.

Not sure I agree, Airplay2 would appear to require more robustness of its underlying network to allow synchronous multiplay etc... not sure how it could do this effectively if the the underlying home network was less performant... a home network should be robust and reliable... anything else is just asking for trouble with synchronous play and I wouldn’t bother.

BTW don’t confuse Wifi broadcast rates with data throughputs.. they can be VERY different.. even more so with WMN (Wifi mesh networks) with wireless hops. Also have your checked to see if you have enabled multicast forwarding on your Wifi mesh controller assuming it has such a setting... another forum member appeared to be having all sorts of issues and their Wifi access point appeared to default to disable this for some reason... might not be relevant for you especially as you had working... but worth checking anyway.

So on an iPad can you select the Muso as an automation device? What happens when you try and link it with an other Airplay2 device like AppleTV 4K?.. are you able sync and control both devices from iPad automation? Can you can select but not link together?

I just downloaded an update to my MacBookPro, which listed an iTunes update to "improve Airplay2 functionality" (or something along those lines) as one of the updates.
I wonder if there is or has been an issue with some Apple products?
My own SuperUniti and Muso QB's are working fine with Airplay2 after doing all of the updates.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Not sure I agree, Airplay2 would appear to require more robustness of its underlying network to allow synchronous multiplay etc... not sure how it could do this effectively if the the underlying home network was less performant... a home network should be robust and reliable... anything else is just asking for trouble with synchronous play and I wouldn’t bother.

BTW don’t confuse Wifi broadcast rates with data throughputs.. they can be VERY different.. even more so with WMN (Wifi mesh networks) with wireless hops. Also have your checked to see if you have enabled multicast forwarding on your Wifi mesh controller assuming it has such a setting... another forum member appeared to be having all sorts of issues and their Wifi access point appeared to default to disable this for some reason... might not be relevant for you especially as you had working... but worth checking anyway.

So on an iPad can you select the Muso as an automation device? What happens when you try and link it with an other Airplay2 device like AppleTV 4K?.. are you able sync and control both devices from iPad automation? Can you can select but not link together?

Exactly my thoughts regarding robustness with synchronized multi-room playback however it's hard to deny the facts where the only change in the entire environment is the FW (and AirPlay) version on the Muso. 

Point taken regarding broadcast rates vs data throughput...a quick stream sent from my iPhone (upstairs) to the Muso (downstairs) shows 1-2 Mbps on average. That's the best I can tell you just using the Amplifi app in iOS which is limited in functionality. Most of my streaming is from a Mac iTunes Home Sharing server in the same room as the Muso (15 feet between them with no obstructions) and both connect to the same mesh point. This mesh point along with the other one connects direct to the core router one floor up via wifi so it's only one hop if that helps.  Again, FW 1.5.5 and 1.6 on the Muso had zero issues with this same mesh system. Oh, multicast forwarding isn't an option for configuration on the AmpliFi HD system unfortunately.

Using any Apple device (iMacs, iPhones) I can send an Airplay 2 stream successfully to any Apple TV in the house up or downstairs including an ATV 4K sitting three inches above the Muso on a shelf above it. All of those Apple devices are running Airplay 2 now of course with OS upgrades installed and the stream worked fine on Muso FW 1.5 and 1.6 for the few days I had them before 1.7 advertised and I installed it. Immediately after installing 1.7, I no longer experienced audible output from the Muso though the stream was intact and the Muso was online and "seen" by all Apple devices and my router. Curiously, iTunes now "drops" the connection if you watch the Airplay device list 40 seconds into the stream and a quick check using the Amplifi app or running a continuous ping from a Mac during and after the drop never finds the Muso actually losing network connection. Restarting any or all devices including the router doesn't change this behavior nor do factory resets fix it on any or all devices. Restoring FW 1.5.5  however does restore audible functionality with zero drops and no connection drops show up in the iTunes interface. 

Apple is clearly aware there's a problem with third-party wireless speakers failing to connect in iTunes per last week's OS updates (change log: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209149) so I'm hoping Naim is working with them to figure out why FW v1.7 stopped working when no other changes were made anywhere else in the environment.  (I don't know if Apple was referring specifically to Bluetooth connections in that change log or wifi using AirPlay so that may not be relevant to the problem here)

Thanks for helping here Simon....I appreciate it.

best,

Dave

P.S. iRadio or input from any other source on the Muso has not been impacted by FW v1.7...only AirPlay streaming

blythe posted:

I just downloaded an update to my MacBookPro, which listed an iTunes update to "improve Airplay2 functionality" (or something along those lines) as one of the updates.
I wonder if there is or has been an issue with some Apple products?
My own SuperUniti and Muso QB's are working fine with Airplay2 after doing all of the updates.

Thanks to Dave Simpson's link in a post above, I can confirm that the MacBook update included:

• Resolves an issue that may prevent iTunes from playing media to third-party AirPlay speakers.

Same problem here. I emailed Naim:

Hi, after I updated my Mu-so firmware to 1.7.0, I  cant play music through AirPlay. I can connect, control volume and switch songs, but there’s no output. Cant hear anything.

On the Naim forum, there are more users experiencing this. Will there be an update soon to fix this bug?

Grts Jelmer

PS Airplay 2 does work if I'm playing songs from my mac to the Mu-so. It's just not working from my iPhone Xs. 

Maybe your phone isn’t on the latest software. It works fine on my iPhone 8. 

Just updated my phone to the latest software, doesn’t fix it. 

If you press the two little curves at the top right of the music box, do you see your Naims listed?

Yes, and I can select them. And skip songs, adjust volume.., but there is no sound. 

I found that I have to get the music playing first, in this case from Qobuz. Once the music is playing on the phone itself, when I fire up Airplay and select a Qb, the music stops coming from the phone and instead comes from the Qb. If you are trying it in that order and it still doesn’t work, then I’m stumped. 

Thanks for your reply, but this doesnt fix it for me... I also received an e-mail from Naim, seems they are working on it:

Thank you for your email, I'm sorry for the issue you have been having i have come across this issue a few times recently, it seems our head office team is working on a software fix for this, I'm sorry for the inconvenience

Thanks for that update from Naim Support, Jelmer.  Several of us are facing the same issue where you can see the Muso with FW version 1.7 on the network,  control it from a volume, play and pause perspective on any controller but you get zero output from the Muso.  

Yesterday I bought a second Mu-so and experiencing the same issue after updating firmware. From Mac AirPlay 2 works fine, but from iPhone there’s no sound. I hope there will be a solution to this soon.

Yes I do experience this very occasionally on my Qb. I find getting the Qb to do something else and then repeating the original Airplay action has usually cleRed it... I would say more an occasional minor irritation for me.

Just an update for all with respect to my issue with AirPlay not working on my Muso (but working on any other device) after updating Muso's FW to v1.7. 

Turns out my issue was with my network after replacing my AmpliFi HD Mesh system with a single Time Capsule. Once the TC was in place substituting for the AmpliFi HD, AirPlay instantly and repeatedly worked with the TC.

Not wanting to keep the TC in place as it's six years old, provides poor coverage and we don't want to run wire through the house to create an Ethernet backhaul with the AHD system, I picked up a Linksys Velop Tri-band, three node mesh system early yesterday morning and I'm pleased to report besides outperforming the TC and AHD in throughput and range in my house,  AirPlay is working solidly with zero drops over the past 24 hours.

Here's a big thanks to Henry O'Shea with Naim Support for sticking with me and his unwavering persistence about my network being the source of the issue which spurred me on to find the solution!

regards,

Dave

Hi Dave, thanks for your update. Not sure this will fix it for me. In my setup AirPlay 2 works from my Mac, but not from iPhone. Must be a software thing, since both muso’s dont give sound output..... I hope Naim comes back to me soon. Grt Jelmer 

Hi Jelmer,

It was very difficult to believe the same issue was not caused by the Muso firmware update since that's the only thing that changed in my system yet swapping my current (and relatively new) router with a six year old router and a brand new router proved Naim was right. Regardless, I'm sure Naim will help you get to the bottom of this. 

best,

Dave