So I’ve been a fan of PS Audio for I guess at least a decade now, maybe more. I upgraded to the DSD DAC and have been loving it since day one! I held off for a bit on the Bridge 2 upgrade, but just pulled the trigger on that a bit ago. About the same time I pulled the trigger on ROON, which (as a stand alone isn’t the cheapest out there). And was instantly disappointed when I found I couldn’t connect (A) to (B).
On the ROON side they have issues with trying to cover all of the myriad of UpNP variables, I get that. And on the PS Audio side they’re sort of stuck waiting for code from ROON, I get that too. But these two together could rule the world! It’s easily the best sound and library control out there at this price point in my opinion.
So I guess I’m wondering if this can really happen, and if so is there an actual timeline (I’m a bit of a program manager type) to making it happen? I would love to look at my ROON settings and see “BRIDGE” in there, that would be beyond awesome, and I can’t believe I’m the only one thinking so.
In a nutshell, apparently it is a software issue for one of the modules on the Bridge II and the software is written by a third party company. Paul had a meeting with the company and Roon a couple of weeks ago and the company is working to see if they can redo the software to make the Bridge II compatible with Roon. Paul gave it a 60 - 40 chance of successful but no timeline. As much as I’d like it to be ready tomorrow, I’d hazard a guess that if it is doable, it won’t be until mid-summer at the earliest. Hopefully sooner, but these things always seem to take longer than what we’d like.
Thanks for the update. I live in silicon valley and I’ve worked for software and hardware companies (usually they are intertwined). So I understand the complexity of the situation. It’s good they’re getting “close”, I think all of us loyal PS Audio folks are more than willing to wait it out. There are some other hardware choices out there that seem to already have ROON support, but I’m honestly not interested as I’m not just a loyal supporter of PS Audio, but an actual listener like you who appreciates the fact that PS Audio believes in continuous improvement, and always has.
Will there be a partner redemption discount code for purchase or Roon lifetime or subscription service…I just started a trial and read somewhere that this question should be asked of partner hardware suppliers…Paul any lobang?
also with the integration of Roon into Torrey’s will there be any benefit to using HQPlayer in the setup…I’m guess it will not be a benefit but as yet of no experience of HQPlayer
If my understanding is correct, Roon makes an output towards an NAA for HQP and it is normally HQP that connects to the renderer (DAC) over USB.
In this case it sounds to me that a Roon ready BII won’t be able to accommodate this because the I2s output of the BII is tightly/directly tied to the FPGA in the DS, meaning that the BII will always be the endpoint. If HQP should work, Roon has to output to HQP and then HQP has to go Ethernet to BII (maybe this is possible?) instead of USB…
wizardofoz said
Will there be a partner redemption discount code for purchase or Roon lifetime or subscription service...I just started a trial and read somewhere that this question should be asked of partner hardware suppliers...Paul any lobang?
also with the integration of Roon into Torrey’s will there be any benefit to using HQPlayer in the setup…I’m guess it will not be a benefit but as yet of no experience of HQPlayer
When we launch Roon in the DACS we will be able to offer a 60 day free trial. That’s all I am aware of we have at our fingertips to users.
I have invested fairly heavily in PS Audio equipment (which is a little more financially stretching here in the UK) and am also waiting for the final piece in the chain to be linked in order to play Tidal via Roon (or any other similar service) using the Bridge rather than USB. I have both bridges now (…what does one do with a superseded Bridge I?)
Just speaking for myself, my drive has been to move away from vinyl to access a whole world of online music, not just what I physically have on the record shelf, but still maintaining as high a quality as is reasonably possible.
The advent of higher quality 44.1kHz streaming has been a huge leap forward as has the arrival of Directstream DSD and its associated downloadable upgrades.
However the final step to get that “world of music” into the DSD via the Bridge is not quite there…….
No need for a new android tablet or phone if you already got an I-pad/I-phone. In that case you can stream Tidal to the Bridge with mconnect hd/mconnect. No need for a computer in any case but whatever you use be sure to install the Tidal app also on your tablet/phone.
For the real Roon experience we have to wait for the next Bridge II update…
Thank you for your kind and rapid responses. I am an all Apple/Mac setup and had already had limited success with the Lumin app on the iPad as well as JRiver via the Mac using a downloaded Bubble UPNP app, however both were unstable and dropouts frequent and would not start for several days at a time. The Lumin app stopped working completely recently and I wondered if they had found a way of limiting it to work only with their own products. It felt as if I was making do with a cobbled together arrangement and was hoping that Torreys and the specifically designed “Roon ready” Bridge II arrangement would bring a more slick/professional solution to all of this. Of course having invested in another Bridge I am somewhat committed to wanting this to work to get the best use out of my somewhat underused hardware.
Sourav; before I rush out and start buying in more kit from the android side I think I will try and persevere with the IPad arrangements. However I may need to return to you…!
Wijber; I will ensure Tidal app still all good on iPad and find mconnect hd/mconnect on the web and load that on the iPad too?
The Lumin app requires an OpenHome renderer, which the Bridge is not, so it won’t work. (There is a way around this but my sense is you don’t want to add another layer of complexity at this point.) I always understood that BubbleUPnP was android-only, but it sounds like you downloaded something on your Mac; I’m not sure what’s going on there.
As wijber said, mconnect or mcontrol is probably your best choice on iPad if you want Tidal. I’ve tried several control points for the iPad and most of them aren’t great. I find mconnect a bit flaky but it usually works. I like the app from Creation 5 Media but I don’t think it does Tidal (could be wrong about that). Lumin and Linn Kazoo are both very good but need the OpenHome extensions.
JRiver will stream to the Bridge but you have to get the setup exactly right; there are several settings that all must be correct. I’m not a JRiver user but there are many here who can help. There’s also a JRiver setup guide here.
At this point I would:
–try to get Tidal working via mconnect or mcontrol; should be OK.
–if for some reason that won’t work, BubbleUPnP is the best control point I’ve tried, and it does Tidal, but requires an android tablet. But you might want to wait a while because
–Paul has made it clear in other posts that they are working very hard on the Bridge update that will provide Roon access. There are no guarantees where software progress is concerned, but the Bridge update may well appear soon.
To answer your question, the BubbleUPnP Server layer that you add on top of your upnp music server allows you to configure the bridge as an OpenHome renderer. The android BubbleUPnP Controlpoint app is (currently) probably the best way of playing music to the bridge (I use Asset on a windows pc as my upnp music server).
As mentioned by Chris/Magister, I am neither aware of Bubble UPnP on mac.Even if it is there may be it is not yet enough optimized to run on ios. Hence you are seeing such problems.
Mine is all Apple system too otherwise. But just for this purpose I invested on a small andriod tablet to run Bubble UPnP. I tried various controllers in ios and android but eventually settled in Bubble UPnP because not only for its Tiday support but for in general great features and UI. I use it to stream music from my Mac Mini to DS (connected through a router) through Minim Server running on Mac Mini. And trust me with this setup I don’t even care for Roon. I don’t think you will regret your investment.
Lumin will work from a iPhone/iPad, but was intermittent, so much so I do not use it any more, I may have been asking it to do something it was not designed to do.
I searched and found Bubble UPnP as an app and downloaded it onto my Mac and it seems to launch and work without complaint and JRiver ver20 will find Bridge II and transit/play music stored on my Mac HDrive. However I have failed to get the same setup to stream Tidal.
I loaded MConnect Control HD onto my iPad and this does stream Tidal - RESULT!. It drops out from time to time which may be wifi router detail positioning and use of Apple wifi ethernet connection rather than cable for DSD. I have ordered Devolo 1200 Powerline units to see if this will overcome distance from wifi router issue and possible dropouts. - Much of this is a British Telecom (national monopoly on telephone lines etc) issue here in the UK as they insist on placing the incoming “master” data socket, and thus wifi router, at the first socket in a household usually in a utility area or garage and of course we all have our music gear elsewhere, unless you want cables hurriedly “nailed” around your house by a contractor eager to leave for the next job etc.
As I can see posts from P.McG indicating that a Roon ready Bridge II solution may be close at hand, I will content myself with fiddling for a while until that comes along.
My thanks again
I once tried to show my other half how to use the stereo…
Frode said
If my understanding is correct, Roon makes an output towards an NAA for HQP and it is normally HQP that connects to the renderer (DAC) over USB.
In this case it sounds to me that a Roon ready BII won’t be able to accommodate this because the I2s output of the BII is tightly/directly tied to the FPGA in the DS, meaning that the BII will always be the endpoint. If HQP should work, Roon has to output to HQP and then HQP has to go Ethernet to BII (maybe this is possible?) instead of USB…
To have hqplayer connected to bridge2, there should be implemented NAA interface in bridge2. But is it so that b2 can handle max dsd64 or pcm192?
While waiting for Roon interface to be published in b2 I did roon server and hqplayer setup. No NAA device used.
Hqplayer can be connected to ds dac usb (and network isolation could be done with NAA device such as Sonore micro rendu). With usb connection the limit would be Dsd128. I also managed to get upsampled pcm 352 thru to ds dac (no NAA, just laptop with usb)
while changing hqplayer filters and modulators you can have different sound characteristics. What I noticed Sq Differences are quite similar (in a smaller scale) as differences between Torrey’s beta/final releases.
Thanks! We’re working hard on it.