dCS Network Bridge

[rickca]

3 hours ago, AMP said:

The MQA release is done and has passed MQA certification as of today.

Sad to see a fine company like DCS misallocate R&D resources like this.  Are you really seeing customer demand for MQA?

[Patatorz]

More than for USB it seems 

[AMP]

8 hours ago, rickca said:

Sad to see a fine company like DCS misallocate R&D resources like this.  Are you really seeing customer demand for MQA?

 

Yes, quite a bit actually. We chose to implement based on a significant amount of customer demand.

 

8 hours ago, Patatorz said:

More than for USB it seems 

 

Correct. Based on feedback from dealers and distributors as well as direct customer interactions the demand for USB audio output is comparatively low.

 

 

[rickca]

Thank you @AMP.  Those priorities are certainly not what I expected, nor do I share them.

[Patatorz]

Very surprised that customers, dealers etc...are expecting so much MQA. Good to know. As Ricka, I’m not sharing but let’s continue.

[stevebythebay]

With Roon 1.5 released with MQA first unfold, and with MQA first unfold soon availalbe in the Network Bridge, what will be the optimal means for playback in systems incorporating both, irrespective of DAC in the chain?  Is it best to have, as in my case, the Roon core running on my Nucleus perform the initial unfold, or disable this and “enable” MQA on the dCS NB and have it do the first unfold, passing the bitstram on to my Berkeley Ref. 2 capable MQA DAC?

[AMP]

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

 

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

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

 

 

 

 

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?

 

 

[Patatorz]

Good to ask as these settings in Roon are not so obvious according to me. 

[stevebythebay]

1 hour 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

 

 

 

 

In addition to MQA, what other additions and, most importantly, fixes come with this firmware release?  I’d assume the full USB support and WiFi will finally arrive. But what of fixes to problems that have been reported since product introduction?

[stevebythebay]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

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?

 

 

 

Prior to this update, and using the new Roon 1.5 with dCS NB and Berkeley Ref 2, setting up NB as “Renderer only” worked perfectly, with MQA tracks lighting up the rather awkward MQA LCD. 

 

As you suggest, setting up the dCS as decoder should alert Roon that it not do the first unfold but simply send a bit perfect stream of MQA to the dCS.

 

Seems that unlike the video world’s use of EDID, once the MQA stream leaves a device it’s up to each subsequent downstream device to simply pass along the bitstream that it either leaves unchanged or not.  

 

However, any DSP settings in Roon will prevent the downstream devices from doing their MQA thing, though I recall that will be fixed in a future update.

 

Please correct me, Andrew, if I’ve misspoken. 

[AMP]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

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?

 

These settings impact how Roon engages its built-in MQA decoder and/or DSP functions.

 

This is how Roon works with an MQA stream:

 

MQA Capabilities set to Decoder only:

Roon DSP off – stream passed to Network Bridge for decoding

Roon DSP on (no upsampling) – Roon performs core decode then DSP. No MQA signaling passed to NBR

Roon DSP on (upsampling) – Roon performs the core decode then DSP (including upsampling). No MQA signaling passed to NBR

 

MQA Capabilities set to Decoder and Renderer:

Roon DSP off – stream passed to NBR for decoding

Roon DSP on (no upsampling) – Roon performs core decode then DSP. MQA signaling passed to NBR

Roon DSP on (upsampling) – Roon performs the core decode then all DSP _except_ upsampling. MQA signaling passed to NBR

 

My guess is that you aren’t performing any DSP in Roon.

[AMP]

22 minutes ago, stevebythebay said:

In addition to MQA, what other additions and, most importantly, fixes come with this firmware release?  I’d assume the full USB support and WiFi will finally arrive.

 

As I've stated before both here and in the Roon forum (to threads which you are obviously following and responding to), the only new feature in this release is MQA core decoding support. USB output and RS232 control are slated the next release (in testing now).

 

Wi-Fi will likely never be implemented due to a combination of regulatory issues and the fact that the interface was not up to our standards in terms of reliability. Works great for things like AirPlay or 16/44 streaming, but as the bit rates went up the experience suffered (especially in Wi-Fi congested areas).

[Beolab]

2 hours 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

 

 

 

 

 

Great news AMP! 

 

So to setup the NBR with MQA decoding for a non MQA dac using the dcs Nbr app would be full decoding in the NBR 

[stevebythebay]

48 minutes ago, AMP said:

 

As I've stated before both here and in the Roon forum (to threads which you are obviously following and responding to), the only new feature in this release is MQA core decoding support. USB output and RS232 control are slated the next release (in testing now).

 

Wi-Fi will likely never be implemented due to a combination of regulatory issues and the fact that the interface was not up to our standards in terms of reliability. Works great for things like AirPlay or 16/44 streaming, but as the bit rates went up the experience suffered (especially in Wi-Fi congested areas).

 

What's been fixed in the new firmware?  Is that listed anywhere (app, website, etc)?

[AMP]

17 minutes ago, stevebythebay said:

What's been fixed in the new firmware?

 

The list is too long to post and a number of the fixes have nothing to do with the NBR.

 

The network firmware is built from a shared source tree that covers all of our products so one of the main benefits of this release is that it brings the underlying infrastructure to parity with the Rossini and Vivaldi One. This includes an update to the Roon Ready SDK (Roon endpoint code) as well as a significant number of fixes surrounding the Roon implementation. The end result is much more stable operation with Roon. In addition there have been a number of fixes to the UPnP implementation as well as native Tidal streaming.

 

At this point in time we do not publish specific bug IDs nor do we publish a detailed changelog. We track this information internally, but we do not publish it.

[stevebythebay]

3 hours ago, AMP said:

 

These settings impact how Roon engages its built-in MQA decoder and/or DSP functions.

 

This is how Roon works with an MQA stream:

 

 

 

MQA Capabilities set to Decoder only:

 

 

 

Roon DSP off – stream passed to Network Bridge for decoding

 

Roon DSP on (no upsampling) – Roon performs core decode then DSP. No MQA signaling passed to NBR

 

Roon DSP on (upsampling) – Roon performs the core decode then DSP (including upsampling). No MQA signaling passed to NBR

 

 

 

MQA Capabilities set to Decoder and Renderer:

 

Roon DSP off – stream passed to NBR for decoding

 

Roon DSP on (no upsampling) – Roon performs core decode then DSP. MQA signaling passed to NBR

 

Roon DSP on (upsampling) – Roon performs the core decode then all DSP _except_ upsampling. MQA signaling passed to NBR

 

 

 

My guess is that you aren’t performing any DSP in Roon.

The way I have Roon set up at present for the dCS NB chain to Berkeley are:

Device Setup: MQA Capabilities - Renderer Only

What that allows is with Roon DSP on and upsampling: Roon performing decode and DSP and seems to be doing upsamplng as well as sending the MQA signal to the NB and on to the Berkeley which indicates it is seeing and handling MQA.

 

Not sure what will happen exactly once I've enabled the new firmware.

[Chiong]

I updated NB firmware about an hour ago via App. After downloading the firmware, the app told me to close the App and restart NB once the LED blinks. So I closed the App. But the LED never blinks and via App, it shows "no entries" in Configuration-> Information-> Unit Status and Version. Shall I reboot NB or keep waiting?

[The Computer Audiophile]

43 minutes ago, Chiong said:

I updated NB firmware about an hour ago via App. After downloading the firmware, the app told me to close the App and restart NB once the LED blinks. So I closed the App. But the LED never blinks and via App, it shows "no entries" in Configuration-> Information-> Unit Status and Version. Shall I reboot NB or keep waiting?

I flipped the power switch on mine and all was good. 

[Vule]

On 5/3/2018 at 3:55 PM, AMP said:

Correct. Based on feedback from dealers and distributors as well as direct customer interactions the demand for USB audio output is comparatively low.

Demand ???    

Enabling function such as USB output has been on my wish list and a trigger to go ahead with a purchase order of NBR.

In spite of the fact that I'll mostly use AES/EBU link. Full functionality is always welcome. Presently I cannot see any device this type on the ww market with shortage of USB output function.

Trust that my opinion share majority of people using NBR with non dcs DACs.

[AMP]

52 minutes ago, Chiong said:

Shall I reboot NB or keep waiting?

 

As long as you can reconnect with the app and navigate the interface you're good to reboot. That was the point I was trying to make with #1 above.

 

The Bridge has to be power-cycled after an update as the network card loses communication with the FPGA on the main board, hence the "no entries" line in the versions screen. Due to what happens when the network card reloads the LED flashing will not always be reliable so we'll be changing the update process slightly.

 

[Chiong]

29 minutes ago, AMP said:

 

As long as you can reconnect with the app and navigate the interface you're good to reboot. That was the point I was trying to make with #1 above.

 

The Bridge has to be power-cycled after an update as the network card loses communication with the FPGA on the main board, hence the "no entries" line in the versions screen. Due to what happens when the network card reloads the LED flashing will not always be reliable so we'll be changing the update process slightly.

 

Thanks. Mine is successfully updated after switching off and on.

[stevebythebay]

Updated though I did see this on the dCS app which was more than a little confusing

”dcs network error httprequest to the selected device failed”

 

Also, though the app info shows all the new Main Board, Network Board and app as you’ve listed, I cannot get MQA indicator on the dCS app nor Berkeley LCD.  I disabled all DSP in Roon and even flipped the Roon advanced switch “Enable MQA Core Decoder” off. Tried “Decoder and Renderer” as well as “Renderer Only” and “Decoder Only”. Nothing works. 

 

What at am I doing wrong?

[The Computer Audiophile]

43 minutes ago, stevebythebay said:

Updated though I did see this on the dCS app which was more than a little confusing

”dcs network error httprequest to the selected device failed”

 

Also, though the app info shows all the new Main Board, Network Board and app as you’ve listed, I cannot get MQA indicator on the dCS app nor Berkeley LCD.  I disabled all DSP in Roon and even flipped the Roon advanced switch “Enable MQA Core Decoder” off. Tried “Decoder and Renderer” as well as “Renderer Only” and “Decoder Only”. Nothing works. 

 

What at am I doing wrong?

Disable volume?

[mecani]

Is there any improvement in the sound quality?