I watched Paul’s latest vid about network streamers today and noticed he didn’t mention anything about an upcoming streamer. I wonder if that was just a simple omission or is the streamer now so far off in the future that it’s not worth mentioning. I’m happy with my ultraRendu’s. I’d be happier if they had I2S built in versus yet another box for USB to I2S. I am hoping for an all in one that doesn’t cost $5K.
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I saw the same video and was wondering the same thing. I am trying to figure out what streamer/transport to buy that will feed into my PS Audio DSD dac.
I’ve been incredibly happy feeding the coax and optical inputs of my DSSr. with a Bluesound Node 2i and AmazonHD Music. My local (spinning disc Hard Drives) on my Win10PC are accessible via my Sony UBP-1000ES (PCM & DSD via I2S) networked player or Audirvanna (also PCM or DSD via I2S) or Node 2i (PCM only of course).
It’s pretty simple really.
My current path:
Sonore UltraRendu → USB → Sonore ultraDigital → I2S → DirectStream.
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I have a Bluesound Node Vault for my second system that uses a Schiit Gungnir dac. I like the Bluesound app. I happen to prefer Qobuz over Amazon HD. The speakers are Paradigm Studio 20 V.5 with two REL T/9I subwoofers. Amp is an old McIntosh MC 2205, preamp Musical Fidelity A3.2 Dual Mono. Occasionally used CD player is Oppo BDP-83. Nice little system.
As I said earlier I am looking for a streamer/transport for my main system which is:
PS Audio P10 regenerator
PS Audio DSD Sr dac
PSAudio Memory Player
Amp: McIntosh MC 352
Preamp: McIntosh C2200 tube preamp
Speakers: Aerial Acoustics 10 T
Was using a Mac Mini as a server/disc storage.
Are there any of you guys that use the Lindemann Limetree bridge? Would be good to hear you opinions about features and sound.
German design and build, decent price and good spec (no I2S however). Time to start the research to be ready in time for the DSD MkII…
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I have an order in for the DS2 in, but it involves trading in my DS1/Bridge, which would give me a great DAC, but no source ahead of the AirLens coming onto the market. So, my local dealer suggested I bring in the Lindemann Bridge II between now and then, which I could use as credit for when the AirLens comes out.
It ticks the boxes Paul mentioned for a streamer a while back, being a separate, without a DAC and having galvanically isolated outputs. Having had it for a couple of days now and given a good run over the weekend, a couple of initial impressions…
- It’s beautifully made, is nice and small with a matt aluminium finish. It doesn’t look out of place with PS Audio’s “silver” BHK & DS.
- Hooking it up to the DS1 (and removing connections to the PS Audio Bridge II), there’s much better timbre and depth of sound compared to the same material played through PS Audio’s Bridge II. I am seeing toe tapping from family members. While connecting via toslink provided greater depth than the PS Audio Bridge II, it but was a bit etchy and wouldn’t go beyond 96k. Coaxial – ahh, that’s better, the sound is more rounded out.
- It has two output settings; native mode (outputting the signal in the same rate as the original – unless its DSD or MQA), or upsampling. I found the music lost its weight / body / slam in the upsampling mode, through to the DS1.
- It doesn’t get hot. The unit is barely warm to touch in operation.
- It relies on Roon to do the work for MQA and DSD. Maybe it’s because the unit does PCM a fair bit better than the PS Audio Bridge, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well the combination of Roon and the Lindemann went for MQA and DSD. Roon authenticated the MQA to 352k/24b before it was output as 88k/24 PCM, whereas DSD64 got converted to 352k/32b, before being output as 176/24 PCM. I expect the AirLens will trump it here by unfolding MQA, supporting DSD256 and PCM 352.
- The Lindemann App is handy, but not in the same league as Roon. Its airable radio feature is quite a bonus. It brings up way more local radios stations than I’ve seen in Roon. Also, some radio stations are available in higher resolution than the same stations via Roon. WFMT sounds good in Roon, but glorious via airable, feeding through from 32bit/48k.
- Perhaps the one thing I miss about having the PS Audio Bridge II is the ability to start, stop, skip tracks, power on and off with the one remote. Roon and the Lindemann app can turn the Lindemann Bridge II on and off, or you can do this via a switch on the unit. Pause, skip, stop is done by smartphone/computer.
- It will let you hook up an external USB CD drive. The music is cached in memory and then streamed. I found sound via the CD drive was as good as the ripped version of the same within Roon, after the initial whirring into action from the disk drive passed. I didn’t get any album art or track title info when doing this, but it seems that’s possible via the Apple USB Superdrive if one was inclined.
So all up, quite worth a look.
Looks like about $840 US?
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Yes, that’s the one. It’s a tidy package for US$840 ish (I got a similar price, in AU$).
Just noticed the Crux site is showing the specs for the Bridge I, while advertising the Bridge II. The specs for the Lindemann Bridge II are just a little different - https://lindemann-audio.de/products/limetree-series/bridge/?lang=en
Has anyone else given the Lindemann Limetree Bridge a go?