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dCS Network Bridge


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Heard the bridge last night at Paragon Sight and Sound in Ann Arbor. Streamed a few songs from Tidal. Sounded ok. The Staff said the mac laptop that they were playing red book files from sounded better

At 4200 there may be better choices out there.

Ah interesting. Was the Bridge still running beta software / firmware?

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I lost a bit of interest after finding out it doesn't stream from local file copy like Aurender. I'd still like to hear it out of curiosity but it feels like a missed opportunity, unless I'm missing something.

 

Two completely different products. The dCS Network Bridge is very similar in concept to the microRendu.

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1 minute ago, stevebythebay said:

Today Michael Lavorgna has posted a review of the dCS Network Bridge:

 

http://www.audiostream.com/content/dcs-network-bridge

 

Seems he favors it over the current microRendu in his system.

 

As Chris has had it in his system, I wonder if a review will be forthcoming.  Of course this area is a fast moving one, what with and ultraRendu in the wings and recent SOtM gear.

 

That's interesting because the two are completely different products that can't accomplish the same thing. One is USB output only and the other is AES and S/PDIF only. 

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1 minute ago, stevebythebay said:

Both take a network input.  The output methods are clearly different.  However, for those of us with the option of getting bits into their DAC either via USB (in my case through the Berkeley Alpha USB > Berkeley Ref. 2) of directly into the DAC via AES/EBU it would appear that each would server the purpose of supporting my particular environment.  Each also offer Roon support and the dCS goes a bit farther with MQA, while the microRendu had another collection of very nice apps.

 

So, maybe you can clarify what is you mean by "completely different".  I get you about the quite different output options.  And given no USB output on the dCS, I would fully understand why you'd be less than enthusiastic in reviewing the Network Bridge, since fewer DACs support such limitations.

 

 

My comments were strictly limited to the fact that the outputs are very different, thus making a comparison very awkward. If one likes apples more than oranges that's cool, but saying apples are better than ranges is awkward. 

 

From the consumer's point of view both products are tools to accomplish something. NOthign wrong with ither approach. I have both and really like both. I'll be writing up the Bridge after Munich.

 

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18 hours ago, AmusedToD said:

Ok guys, I discussed this with @Beolab in private messages, but I think this is a rather interesting matter and would like to ask other dCS owners too of their experiences. The matter involves 2 situations:

 

1. dCS Network Bridge connected via dual AES to a dCS DAC (Paganini in my case)

2. dCS Network Bridge connected via dual AES to a dCS DAC, with an external dCS Master clock added into the mix

 

The NB has 2 word clock inputs, one accepts 44.1 and multiples (meaning 88.2, 176.4 and 352.8) and the other accepts 48 and multiples (meaning 96, 192, 384). Everything is clear with this.

 

The NB has also 1 word clock output which outputs data rate up to 96. So if I slave the Paganini clock input directly to the NB clock output, I will get only up to 96 because this is the limit of the NB’s clock output according to the manual. So if I don’t have an external Master clock, and just connect the clock output of the NB to the clock input of the Paganini, what happens if I play files with sample rates higher than 24/96 (which is the upper limit of the NB clock output)? Will I lose the sync?

 

Now let’s add the Master clock into the mix, and this becomes only more confusing. 

 

I can connect the 44.1 (and multiples) word clock output on the master clock to the 44.1 (and multiples) input on the NB input, and 48 (and multiples) word clock output on the master clock to the 48 (and multiples) on the NB input. This is clear. 

 

However, the Paganini DAC has only 1 word clock input that accepts all data rates up to 192, regardless if they are multiples of 44.1 or 48, meaning it can accept 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192.

 

So which output on the Master clock should be connected to the Paganini clock input? As far as I understand, there are no word clock outputs on any dCS Master clock that support both 44.1 and 48 (and multiples of both) simultaneously? Or did I get all this wrong?

 

 

 

I got some help from dCS on this one:

 

Begin quote

 

"dCS started adding word clock I/O to consumer products in 1999. These features have been on our pro products from 1989.

-          1st Generation 1999 to 2007 – Classic products: Elgar Plus / Delius / Purcell / Verdi / Verona. These have a basic clocking interface where the clock frequency must match the (single wire) sample rate. So, the DAC accepts a 44.1kHz word clock for 44.1 data, or a 96kHz word clock for Dual AES 192kS/s data, for example. Single-wire interfaces are limited to 96 maximum.  

 

-          2nd Generation 2007 to 2015 – Scarlatti / Paganini / Puccini / Debussy. These can multiply the clock frequency by 0.25 / 0.5 / 1 / 2 / 4 to match the sample rate. So, the DAC accepts a clock at 44.1, 88.2 or 176.4kHz for data at 44.1, 88.2, 176.4 or DSD. Similarly with 48, 96 and 192 clock and data rates. More flexible. (This multiplier feature was added to Elgar Plus also.) Computer audio causes a problem here, because the sample rate can change from one file to another. If the sample rate is not an exact multiple of the clock frequency, the DAC will lose lock with the Master Clock. There are ways around this, but they not ideal.

 

-          3rd Generation 2012 to present – Vivaldi / Rossini / Network Bridge. These have our advanced clocking system, featuring 2 word clock inputs that can each lock to word clock at 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192kHz. Now you can drive the Upsampler and DAC with bothbase clock frequencies simultaneously. Yhey can choose the compatible clock automatically and it is “set & forget”.

 

We designed the Network Bridge with the intention of serving all 3 generations or products. You can connect  both clock inputs to a Vivaldi or Rossini Master Clock and drive it with both 44.1 and 48kHz. The asynchronous USB interface regulates the delivery of data from the network to match the Clock frequency, or a multiple, changing clocks inputs as needed.

 

With a 3rd Generation DAC and Upsampler, lock them to both frequencies also. For the earlier DACs and Upsamplers, slave to the Bridge’s word clock output instead. The 96kHz limit here ensures even a 1stGeneration system can keep more of the benefit from locking the Bridge to the Master Clock.

 

So, in ToD’s system, you can play a 24/192 file with the Bridge locked to the Master Clock – it will select the 48kHz Clock output. The data output can be single-wire or Dual AES into the Paganini DAC. Connect the Bridge’s clock output (96kHz) to the DAC and set the Sync Source to WClk. The DAC locks and the system is happy.

If you play a 24/88.2 file, the Bridge will swap to the 44.1kHz clock input, change its clock output to 88.2kHz, the DAC will re-lock and play.

 

This setup will also work very nicely with our Classic Elgar Plus or Delius DACs, as intended. You can use the NB app to set the Bridge to match the lower data rate capabilities of these older designs.    

 

Clocking can become fiendishly complicated, but the new system definitely cuts a lot of this out."

 

End quote

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7 minutes ago, AmusedToD said:

 

In the NB - Paganini DAC setup with an external master clock, it will work like this:

 

2 BNC clock cables from 2 Master clock outputs to 2 clock inputs on the Network Bridge. This way all sample rates are covered up to 44.1 x 4 and 48 x 4. This means the NB is fully synchronized to the Master clock.

 

1 BNC cable from the NB clock output to the single clock input on the Paganini DAC. This means the Paganini is slaved to the NB, which in turn is slaved to the Master clock.

 

However, even though you can output the same 24/384 to the Paganini though the dual AES connection (and such file will be played by the DAC in full resolution), you won’t be able to have the clock of the DAC synchronized to the clock of the NB (which is synchronized to the Master clock) because the single clock output of the NB is limited to 96! 

 

In other words, a 24/384 file played back through the NB into a Paganini DAC via the dual AES connection will be reproduced by the Paganini, but only if the clock of the Paganini is not synced to the clock of the NB. If you want them synced, the maximum resolution is 24/96 because the NB’s clock output is limited to 96.

 

 

So the Paganini won't multiply the clock signal like dCS says it will?

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3 hours ago, Beolab said:

 

 

@sb6

I2S is a upcoming and interesting standard, and most likely most of the big brands will implemend this in a few years time. 

Do you got a M2Tech or what I2S DAC are you using? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I2S was released in 1986, 31 years ago. Tough to call it an up and comer :~)

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1 minute ago, AMP said:

dCS will be releasing support for MQA decoding in the Network Bridge on Wednesday, May 9 at 9:00AM UK time (BST). In conjunction with the firmware release a new version of the dCS Network Bridge iOS app will be available via the App Store.

 

As of this release the software versions for the Network Bridge will be:

 

Main Board: 1.00
Network Board: 373
iOS App: 1.4.8

 

Along with MQA support this version includes a number of bugfixes and enhancements.

 

Notes

  1. Upon performing the update the Network Bridge will need to be rebooted. Although the instructions in the app state otherwise you should ensure that you can connect to the Bridge with the dCS app prior to power-cycling the unit. The entire update process should take no more than 5 - 7 minutes.

  2. If you are using Roon with the Network Bridge and an MQA-capable DAC then you should ensure that the “MQA Capabilities” setting in the Roon Audio Device Setup window is set to “Decoder and Renderer” as shown in the screenshot below. If your DAC is not capable of MQA rendering then you should use the “Decoder Only” settings.

  3. The volume control in the Network Bridge must be disengaged in order for MQA processing to function correctly. This is accomplished by setting the volume level for the Bridge to 0.0dB.

  4. This release includes a number of stability enhancements specific to Roon and you should notice much better behavior when the Bridge is used as a Roon endpoint.

Please use this thread for any questions that you may have about this update

 

 

 

Screen Shot 2018-05-08 at 6.57.58 AM.png

 

Hey @AMP - I set Roon to Decoder Only as I assumed Roon wants to know about the Network bridge, not necessarily what's after the Bridge. The Berkeley DAC it's connected to for testing is a Renderer Only. It works perfect.

 

I assume nothing changes within Roon whether it's set for Decode and Render or Renderer Only because it's sending the unaltered signal either way?

 

 

Screen Shot 2018-05-08 at 10.04.30 AM.png

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