At the moment, the issue with the RAAT implementation is that it isn’t transparent. You have to select an output speed and it transcodes everything to that choice. It works well and sounds glorious but that lack of flexibility will be a barrier to some. It is also unhappy if you upsample to 192k and then ask it to output at that speed. It produces audible clicks. However I am pleased I purchased it and an update that fixes the above will be cool.
It’s worth mentioning your experiences to Primare directly (Details earlier in this thread) they are quite receptive to comments & suggestions and will respond with a couple of days.
Both the issues I mentioned have been raised with Primare as far as I know.
is the usb port a DAC or USB drive?
On primare website I got the impression that it is only for usb drives
For drives only. DACs can be connected with toslink only, both optical and chinch
I was having problems with the RAAT transport option not being available, a factory reset brought it back but it needEd to be re-enabled in Roon settings/audio. This has happened a few times but the reset seems to work.
Firmware updates & full Roon certification are imminent I was told, last week.
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Mmh, now we’re waiting a lot of months for becoming roon ready.
Any news out there?
Chromecast isn’t really satisfying…
You should be able to use Roon for RAAT you need to enable it in settings/audio (it’s awaiting certification but works). If it’s not visible do a factory reset on the NP5 then it should appear.
I’ll only see chromecast and airplay, but no RAAT for the PRE35 Prisma. Perhaps there’s a difference to the NP5…
I understood the PRE35 was already Roon certified. You could PM Terry_Medalen (See earlier posts) at primare who should be able to help/advise.
Still no Roon certification and no native playback (bit-perfect) option available. I think I will sell the NP5 and go for the Volumio Primo.
Terry told me, that certification will take some time ( corona) and I’ve decided to take more cups of tea…
Meanwhile it’s possible to use the chromecast part as backend for roon (gapless, also with Tidal and Qobuz) or to use BubbleUPnP (also here you can set it to gapless) or the current app from Primare (not really satisfying).
I’m using also three systems with volumio, but I don’t like the frontend so much. But also here you have Openhome integrated and so you can use BubbleUPnP as frontend for gapless playing…
It does seem there is a mix of people, some with the uncertified RAAT and others who don’t seem to have that. I’m OK with my NP5. It isn’t my main (or even secondary) endpoint so I am happy to wait. It is my only endpoint entrusted to wireless connection and that works really well.
Hi all,
I’m looking at the N5 as possible add on to my current audio system for it’s streaming capabilities, it’s seems the perfect add-on at the right price point…but it also needs to pass the WAF… 
…for the people already using the N5, how does it work moving between Audio Source, for example, from Chromecast to Airplay to Roon…do you need to use the app to shift source? Can it automatically detect and move between source…? I really didn’t wanted to introduce one more app in the family ecosystem… 
… regarding the Chromecast integration, I’m assuming that the Google home will accept the N5 as a default playback target (to play Spotify, etc), like a Chromecast Audio, etc…? I’m asking this question because the SW implementation of this feature (ie Windows AirServer) does work with the Google Home…
Appreciate the help. Cheers.
Switching from sources is seamless. Just go into Roon and press play, or press a chromecast button from another app and it just switches over. Once you’ve adjusted the settings for the NP5, your family should never need to use the app at all.
Also, Google Home just sees the NP5 as another Chromecast Audio / Chromecast Speaker. Not sure what you mean by default cast device. If you’ve just got 1 device then it’ll be the default, but if you have multiple devices like me you get the option to cast to any of them when you press the cast button in a app like Spotify.
Fantastic! Thank you for the support.
Mean time got my message on the Chromecast side of things, all cool.
I just sold my NP5. To many bugs and no Roon ready update. New firmware versions introduce new bugs. Terrible distortion when streaming high-res audio via Chromecast built-in. Drop outs when using Roon with Chromecast and no option to do native playback. You have to choose between up or downsampling with fixed values (48, 96 or 192 kHz). That means that the NP5 is unable to passthrough a bit-perfect signal.
My HiFiBerry Digi+ pro with HiFiBerryOS has servered me for 18 months with great SQ and no bugs. It is also a much cheaper solution compared to the NP5. The only thing you miss out on is Chromecast built-in. All other streaming protocols are integreted in HiFiBerryOS.
Hi there, looking for NP5 users… bought mine recently and I’m generally happy with it…but the first few “bugs” are showing…I’m connecting the NP5 to my Apple TV 4k via Airplay, for some reason the ability to control the sound with the Apple remote is gone (it worked when I first setup). I’ve the Primare app set to “variable”…and this feature works when I connect my PC via AirPlay to the NP5, in that case I can control the sound via Windows remote…only with the AppleTV is failing… anyone experience a similar situation…? Cheers.
A follow up question is around Toslink cables recommendations… anyone having issues with 192/24 quality tracks…not sure if my “standard” Toslink cable is working properly, since from time to time I’m missing the connection with my speakers…?
Are the Toslink I/O specified to 24/192 at both ends? The standard for Toslink is up to 24/96 so to have dependable 24/192 transmission both ends need to be specified for that rate.