I tried to read through most of the threads but I’m not sure if this topic was already treated. So, sorry if this turns out to be a double post…
My problem is, that eLyric crashes after playing one song. It’s virtually impossible to have a sequence of songs played through the Bridge.
Since I never really got to work the Bridge properly when I bought my PWD Mk.II some months ago, I switched to USB connection and play my Lossless songs now from a MacBook Pro.
Quite embarassing when you have all your music on a big iMac and need to transfer to a Laptop. And I’m pretty sure that the Bridge would provied better quality than USB connection…
So my question is: Has there been any fix for this in the last few months? What do the Mac users currently recommend?
Welcome to the forum Arcus7. There are still some folks who are successfully using eLyric but they are an increasingly small minority as eLyric is no longer being developed or supported. I have an early 2009 Mac Mini sitting in my rack. I primarily use JRiver 19 Mac connected by USB but it also works with the Bridge (you set up separate players for USB and the Bridge and can switch back and forth). You will not get gapless play with the Bridge using JRiver (the Bridge 2, due out in the next few months, I hope, should address the gapless issue). You can also use iTunes with BitPerect, Audirvana Plus, Pure Music, etc. I couldn’t say which of those programs work with the Bridge. Minimserver is another option and it is free (and multi-platform). It does work with the Bridge as I recall. When I want to use the Bridge I generally use a PC running foobar2000, which does gapless with the right plug-ins. I know that doesn’t help a Mac user.
Hopefully others will chime in with what works for them on a Mac with the Bridge. Maybe even an eLyric user or two.
I have Pure Music and Amarra, and tried Audirvana Plus and JRiver, all will work on a Mac with the Bridge except for the (too many) disconnects which are not related to these players. And MinimServer too on my Synology NAS. eLyric stays connected 80 % of the time for me which is not good enough.
I’m especially wondering, what Player Software anyone uses to administer and play the songs from Mac -> Bridge.
When I’m playing the songs via USB from my laptop, I use iTunes & Puremusic. But I had the impression that the connection via LAN-Cable & Bridge hat the better sound quality, though I’m using a pretty decent Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB cable. Just embarassing, that the connection iMac -> Bridge was never well established and almost always crashed…
I mean it can’t be that you spent several hundred bucks for network card, that never properly works!
Looking forward to get more inputs from other Mac users. Thx
I’m using a dedicated Mac mini with only JRiver MC19 running. My audio files are stored locally on the Mac mini (SSD) and a Synology NAS. The mac mini shuts down every night at 2.00 AM and boots up at 9.00 AM. At boot up it auto-connects with the NAS. I’m only using the Bridge and this setup (hardwired and fixed ip-addresses) has proven to be a very stable system. The only 2 issues I have are: 1. no gapless and 2. ticks and pops when changing samplerate. When I come home from work, I just select the music via JRemote on the iPad and the music plays …
Arcus7, since rogerdn confirms that iTunes with Pure Music works with the Bridge, why not try connecting your laptop to the Bridge just to see how that works? If you like that software and it works well for you, you could then try installing it on your iMac.
Okay, since rogerdn and Wybe seem to achieve good results with JRiver, I might give it a try. Thanks for your suggestions!
But the matter hasn’t been successfully addressed/resolved so far by PS Audio, am I right? Before buying a Bridge 2 or something like that, I’ll PSA have confirme me in written, that it will work flawlessly with Mac, this time…
Arcus7 said
Okay, since rogerdn and Wybe seem to achieve good results with JRiver, I might give it a try. Thanks for your suggestions!
But the matter hasn’t been successfully addressed/resolved so far by PS Audio, am I right? Before buying a Bridge 2 or something like that, I’ll PSA have confirme me in written, that it will work flawlessly with Mac, this time…
To make sure you understand, what I said was these players will run on the Bridge but, like me and many others, there probably will be disconnects with the Bridge. In my experience these are not player related (except for JRiver which crashed a lot but could be incompatibility with my 10.6.8 OS) because they connect well via USB. The Bridge disconnects often for me when playing thru my Synology with eLyric and other iPad controllers and must be reset, which usually works for awhile.
The Bridge is a frustrating beast; it works perfectly for some, not at all for a few, imperfectly for many. The usual explanation from PSA is that the variations are due to network issues in your house. This is probably true but not always a lot of help; it’s also probably true that the Bridge was under-engineered in regard to maintaining a stable connection. If you want to spend time working on your network, it’s entirely possible that you can get the Bridge to work. I’ve had success but I know some have tried and haven’t. It’s your call. There’s a lot of advice here if you want to work on it.
I would say the Bridge works OK for me 95-97% of the time. I can go several days without problems, then it will decide to disconnect for some reason, sometimes a couple of times in a row. One very useful trick I learned from someone here: if you are using a tablet to control your music, you can open a browser window and log in to the Bridge web page and click “reset UPNP server.” This almost always restores the Bridge for me; I basically never have to reboot from the back panel . . . but some people do.
Bridge II will certainly fix the gapless issue. Those who, like me, prefer the Bridge to USB are hoping it will offer more robust connectivity, but we’ll have to see. Do note that PSA usually gives generous trade-in allowances, so if Bridge II works out well you can probably recoup some of your investment in Bridge I.
I’m one who has had great success with the bridge. It did take some monkeying around with my network. Yes, it was my network. At this point, the bridge and Jriver is rock solid stable. Once in a while I have to reset the UPnP server but it’s simple from the bridge web page.
I look at the bridge, Jriver, and my PWD MKII as the greatest thing I have ever bought in HiFi. I love the freedom to categorize music the way I want. And the set up sounds fantastic. Upgrading to the DS soon and hope things get even better. Will definitely upgrade to the new bridge when it comes out (easy gapless is still a dream I have).
I agree with the last three posters. Connection problems are usually network related, although as magister said, the Bridge seems to be less robust in maintaining connections than it should be. I rarely get disconnected. Once you get the new software installed, if you still have connection issues (which seems likely), post again and folks here will try to help you with the network.
Yes, it is unfortunate but the Bridge is remarkably sensitive to network issues. I sincerely hope that Bridge 2 network services are SUBSTANTIALLY more robust.
amsco15, do you run the bridge through a Windows or a Mac based network? What steps did you perform exactly to get such a stable connection?
I tried to address the Bridge with JRiver19 yesterday, but w/o success. Do I have to connect it directly to the iMac where I have my songs stored or through the Router, which requires two LAN cables, if I’m not wrong…
Need to get a USB <-> USB cable first to directly connect my laptop to the brigde. I only have Micro USB <-> USB cables at home…
I use the windows based Jriver (sorry if my post was misleading). However, I use an AirPort Extreme (includes three Gigabit Ethernet LAN Ports) to connect everything. In my case, the AirPort Extreme made the network just work. In my case, it’s a little more complex, but in essence, my computer (older and not very powerful Dell laptop) and Bridge are hardwired to the LAN ports of the Airport Extreme. It is a very easy set up assuming you can run the Category 5e or 6 wires to each of the devices (airport extreme, computer, and bridge). I use JRemote as the controller: iPhone and iPad.
Setting up JRiver is somewhat complicated but I’m pretty sure there are some good posts on this site to guide you.
Good luck to you. In my case, the effort was well worth it.
Arcus7 said
Do I have to connect it directly to the iMac where I have my songs stored or through the Router, which requires two LAN cables, if I'm not wrong...
Need to get a USB ↔ USB cable first to directly connect my laptop to the brigde. I only have Micro USB ↔ USB cables at home…
The Bridge is ethernet (what you are calling LAN) only, not USB. It is possible to connect a computer directly to the Bridge, but this requires a special kind of cable (called a crossover cable) and is not the usual setup. What amsco15 described is more typical and easier to manage (usually). Just to give you one more example: a cable runs from the router in my cellar to the music room. There it connects to an Apple Airport Extreme that links my Synology NAS, where my music is stored, the Bridge, and a PC.
Arcus7, the iMac with your music and the Bridge should both be connected to the same router or switch with ethernet cables (it is possible to directly connect the Bridge to the computer but you would need a crossover ethernet cable and it can get complicated).
