Closing out the DirectStream DAC w/ Network Bridge II?

[Poppyhome]

And album cover art and titles on the DS touch screen.

Ron

[crwilli]

Is the Bridge a ROON endpoint?

[Poppyhome]

Originally Posted by crwilli

Is the Bridge a ROON endpoint?

........yes Roon ready.

Ron

[AVphile]

If a person has a Roon Nucleus+, is the Network Bridge II necessary to stream music from Tidal?

[Poppyhome]

Originally Posted by AVphile

If a person has a Roon Nucleus+, is the Network Bridge II necessary to stream music from Tidal?

No, you can connect Roon Nucleus+ via USB into DirectStream and play Tidal via Roon.

Ron

[doggiehowser]

I personally find the USB input on the DS DAC to be a little underwhelming

You can get a lot of improvements using ISO/USB Regen type devices and of course, the quality of the streamer (like an Auralic Aries G2) would bring the performance up a fair bit.

But the best inputs on the DS DAC are the Bridge II and the I2S. I did a crowdfunding for an I2S streamer (LH Labs/Geek Source) but the bastids never delivered and took the money anway. It is now 2 years overdue.

Anyway, I reckon there is still a hardware upgrade for the DS DAC but the Mk2 will cost more than the current DS DAC. And you should be able to get a board upgrade to get the DS to the Mk2.

In the case of the PerfectWave Mk2 to DS DAC, it was slightly cheaper to get the Mk2 and the DS upgrade kit, than to buy the DS DAC brand new

[JMD]

My preferred input on the DS Sr. for the Aries G1 is AES/EBU. Not interested in devices like the Matrix 2 and all the necessary bits and pieces to get I2S. Tried the W4S Recovery and didn't hear any real improvement with this combo of gear.

Someone asked Ted last month about internal parts upgrades to the Directstream and I didn't get the impression that another PerfectWave style upgrade would happen again but rather a full replacement with a larger and newer FPGA module.

[1KW]

Originally Posted by AVphile

If a person has a Roon Nucleus+, is the Network Bridge II necessary to stream music from Tidal?

If you have nucleus + you would need the network bridge to stream wirelessly ie you could have your Roon Nuc. in a closet hidden from view otherwise without the bridge you need to connect with a cable such as usb.

[1KW]

Originally Posted by AVphile

PS Audio announced this morning what appears to be a closeout sale of its highly regarded DirectStream DAC with the Network Bridge II installed. If my math is correct, the price will be $4,000 -- while supplies last.

On the one hand, what I have read about this DAC/streamer, especially with the new Windom software upgrade, is very impressive -- and, at this price -- is akin to a siren call, strongly inducing me to buy one. But, on the other hand, the fundamental architecture of this product is five years old -- which is a lifetime for a digital product, even one software-upgradable. This factor is a bit of a red flag waving.

And so, I feel somewhat like the horse frozen between the bucket of oats and the pile of hay -- unable to commit to one direction or the other.

To complicate matters, I am very pleased with my current DAC/streamer (a Lumin T2), which is based on dual Sabre 8028 DACs. That being said, affordable upgrades are always in the cards for me.

As a consequence, I am soliciting the thoughts of others about this dilemma.

When this DAC first came out MQA had not been released yet. Network Bridge II allowed for full MQA as well as wireless streaming to it. There has been talk on the PS audio forum about a Network Bridge III so this may be one of the reasons for the sale on units with the Network Bridge II pre installed. I have been very pleased with the performance of this DAC. The whole deal with a FPGA module instead of a fixed architecture is so though software the DAC can be updated. They have released a new update Windom which is really fantastic. You have ability to install other prior versions which you can download for free if you prefer a different sound.

[RLF]

Originally Posted by AVphile

PS Audio announced this morning what appears to be a closeout sale of its highly regarded DirectStream DAC with the Network Bridge II installed. If my math is correct, the price will be $4,000 -- while supplies last.

On the one hand, what I have read about this DAC/streamer, especially with the new Windom software upgrade, is very impressive -- and, at this price -- is akin to a siren call, strongly inducing me to buy one. But, on the other hand, the fundamental architecture of this product is five years old -- which is a lifetime for a digital product, even one software-upgradable. This factor is a bit of a red flag waving.

And so, I feel somewhat like the horse frozen between the bucket of oats and the pile of hay -- unable to commit to one direction or the other.

To complicate matters, I am very pleased with my current DAC/streamer (a Lumin T2), which is based on dual Sabre 8028 DACs. That being said, affordable upgrades are always in the cards for me.

As a consequence, I am soliciting the thoughts of others about this dilemma.

At $4K, I believe that the DirectStream is a good deal, with or without the Bridge and since PSA offers a 30 day money back refund policy, you have nothing to loose if it doesn’t float your boat.

I alternate between my PSA DirectStream and Ayre QX-5 and find them both good sounding DACs. Each has their strengths and to my ears in my system, I would find it difficult to chose one over the other if I had to sell one of them. Just my 2 cents.