PS Audio Bridge Beta Testing

[catastrofe]

I've been selected as a beta tester for the PS Audio Bridge. I sold my Esoteric D-05/G-03X combo a few months ago and purchased a PS Perfectwave DAC. In my system, to my ears, the PWD is at least the equal of the D-05 and might be slightly better. I did not compare the D-05/G-03X combo to the PWD as running an external clock added a level of complexity that I no longer wanted to deal with. Primarily, it defeated the sample rate switching provided by Pure Music, my playback software of choice.

 

I currently run USB out from my Mac Pro to the PWD. I also have a Lynx AES16e installed in the Mac. Even though USB only provides 96K compatibility, I'm still enjoying the sound.

 

I hope to provide a number of different comparisons given the options at hand. Stay tuned. . .I'm not sure when the Bridge units will ship. PS Audio has set up a dedicated blog site for testers to post their findings. With Chris' permission (and Paul McGowan's), I'll post a link in this thread.

 

Bob

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Bob - Of course all well intentioned links to other sites are welcome here. The more information the better.

 

[rhmmmm]

Awesome! I'm super excited about this and can't wait to hear about it. Subscribed!

 

[reverendo]

any news on the bridge?

it's kind of becoming a mirage or fata morgana if you will.

hope it does come out and that it justifies all the hype.

best regards

André

 

[Mr.C]

Yes, the most recent PS audio newsletter stated that it is coming out on time, in the next few weeks I think. They are releasing it to their fan base while acknowledging that some bugs need to be worked out in the firmware. While it is not technically fully functional, they will be letting people use/buy it if they choose.

 

[reverendo]

they have stated again and again that 'in the next few weeks' it would be released. Hope it's true this time, since this might be a way for me to go. That way I'd sell my SB Touch and Uther DAC.

thanks for answering

best regards

André

 

[barrows]

of their dealers, or give them a call directly. PS Audio answers the phone during business hours, and will be able to tell you exactly what is going on.

Last I heard the first couple hundred bridge orders were due to ship out this week. If you want one, you should probably get an order in with one of their dealers, as the back order/waiting list will be substantial for the first few months of availability. The hardware is solid, so any updates will be software only, and are easily accomplished by the user at home.

 

[reverendo]

Barrows,

I have been contacting Paul & Angie the last few months. I only didn't continue asking this month especifically because the other times the answer had always been the same. OTOH, if the Bridge is already a reality I will wait for the first user reviews and commentaries to see if it works as expected. Hope the new users start writing about their first impressions.

best regards

André

 

[firedog]

I'd be interested to hear your comparison of the sound via USB>Bridge as compared to Lynx>Bridge.

 

Thanks

 

[catastrofe]

Hey guys (and gals). I've been Beta Testing the Bridge for a couple of months now. I can only comment on the sound of redbook, 32/44.1 and 24/48 AIFF files as higher rez playback is not yet bug-free. Paul advises that the issues with playing other sample rate files (which are software related, not hardware) will be resolved in the next week or 2. This is about when the first shipment of Bridges should hit PS dealers.

 

Comparing the I2S "direct file connection" (my term as there is no computer in the chain between the source file and the Bridge) to my Mac Pro/Lynx/Pure Music set up wasn't that difficult. The I2S connection provides a noticeably clearer sound. I'm not good with audiophile adjectives, but I know what I like and what sounds "right" and the Bridge is it. It only took A/B comparisons on about a half-dozen tracks for me to turn off the Mac for good. A local high-end manufacturer brought by some equipment for me to try and spent about 3 hours listening to the Bridge. He was extremely impressed. I have no doubt that hi-rez files will follow suit once the software has been updated.

 

The controller software (Tag N' Play) is not up to iTunes standards, but Paul was able to include something similar to iTunes DJ. There's an active queue of tracks and you can add, delete, and rearrange the tracks. The internet radio is pretty slick too, even if it's only 192bps.

 

I'll be happy to answer any specific questions. . .just post them here. You can also view the information provided by the Beta Testers here: http://www.psaudio.com/betablog/

 

 

 

[catastrofe]

Just to clarify, the USB and Lynx connections are directly to the DAC, where they are converted to I2S for processing. The Bridge is a direct I2S connection, so there is no additional conversion. This is what makes the Bridge (or any other direct I2S connection) the best way to feed a DAC (all other things being equal).

 

I compared the Mac>>Pure Music>>USB>>PWD and

Mac>Pure Music>>Lynx>>PWD to the Drobo>>Bridge. I feel the Bridge is superior to both. As I mentioned, I haven't really tested hi-rez files as they're not fully functional, but I'm sure they'll sound better through the Bridge.

 

[reverendo]

Catastrophe,

thanks for the update. That sounds very promising indeed. Is there any way to feed the Bridge through an ethernet network like the Squeezebox? That should give the best results, shouldn't it?

 

[catastrofe]

The whole idea of the Bridge is to eliminate as much hardware and software as possible between your source file and the PWD. You only need 3 components; storage for your files, server software to serve the files to the Bridge (like Twonky or the PS Audio Server Software which is under development), and a controller (Tag 'N Play).

 

The Bridge only accepts an Ethernet connection, so I don't think you can feed it using a Squeezebox.

 

[reverendo]

Catastrofe,

I think I wasn't able to make myself clear, but you still answered my question. I wanted to know if the PWD Bridge has an ethernet input and you stated that it has. I do not intend to use the SB to feed it, since that would defeat the whole purpose of the Bridge. If the bridge works better than the SB Touch (which it potentially should) I will sell the SB Touch and my current DAC and move to a PWD + Bridge.

Best regards

 

[catastrofe]

Sorry for the confusion. You're absolutely right. . .I think the Bridge will sound much better than the Squeezebox since it bested my Mac Pro/Lynx setup.

 

[silverlight]

Just got my shipping notice from Audio Advisor, so hopefully will have it in a few days or so...

 

[reverendo]

silverlight,

please post your impressions.

best regards

 

[silverlight]

Will do. I have on my setup the PWD on input one of my headphone amp and the MH/Sonic Studio Model 4 on input 2. from a MBP running on battery (using Amarra), I do prefer the Model 4's SQ (soundstage, lower noise floor, separation, and importantly, doesn't have the small amount of digital "hash" or edginess of the PWD). Clear issue is I'm running the PWD on USB (albeit w/ a good cable), so excited to add the Bridge as we've all heard it's a superior interface. I would love to be able to run this setup w/ no computer and just the iphone or ipad interface, so fingers crossed it can reach the same or better level of performance.

 

[reverendo]

You're using the MH ULN-8 or ULN-2? Now I'm EVEN MORE interested in your findings!

OTOH, people do say that the usb-input on the PWD is the worst. Using fw on the MCP into a MH should be a hard thing to beat.

I'm using a SB Touch into a Uther, but could jump over to the PWD with bridge. Don't know if I'm ready to go por computer audio yet, since it still is less comfy than the SB or, possibly, the PWD+Bridge.

Best regards

André

 

[silverlight]

The Model 4 is the Sonic Studio version of the Metric Halo LIO-8 (ULN-8 minus the powered mic inputs). Identical hardware, but different console/software interface (and maybe EQ I believe). It's a wonderful DAC, I really enjoy it, but there are lots of good ones out there of course. Will post back in a bit when I've had a chance to break-in the bridge. still have to decide best way to feed it music (NAS setup, twonky, etc.)

 

[av_passion]

I too am very interested in the hearing your thoughts on how the Model 4 compares to the PWD with bridge. Do you think there is any possibility you will have it and be able to post your findings before RMAF, weekend after next?

 

[silverlight]

AA is pretty fast, shipped out today get it tomorrow (7th). I just placed an order from Amazon for a DLNA router (Paul recommends the WNDR3700 from Netgear connecting to a drive via USB for the time being) so should be in good shape to provide (just one person's) feedback fairly soon (and definitely before RMAF)

 

[barrows]

Be sure to try the PWD in "Native" mode (no asynchronous upsampling) when using the Bridge. You should not need the jitter reduction of the ASRC when using the Bridge (although you may prefer using the ASRC in conjunction with the USB input) as the Bridge interface is very low in jitter.

Look forward to hearing your impressions.

 

[reverendo]

silverlight,

you definitely got me interested. hope to hear from you soon... first impressions without break-in and then after about 100 hours, if possible. will you be able to run it 24/7?

BTW, what's twonky?

best regards

 

[catastrofe]

It seems my issue with hi-rez files is related to my choice of NAS (Drobo/Droboshare). These files play fine if they are stored directly on my Mac, or on a DAS device like a MyBook. They also work fine when using Drobo as a DAS, attached directly to the Mac. I'm speculating that the issue is related to Droboshare not being UPnP compatible without running a 3rd party application.

 

I will also say that sound quality when using a DAS is not up to par with a NAS. I can't put my finger on the differences, but when the files pass from the DAS through the Mac and then to the network they just don't sound as good as passing directly from storage to the network.

 

Looks like I'll be changing my NAS. . .