DirectStream/Bridge II volume synchronization

Hi PS Audio community,

I’m monitoring this forum since the beginning of this year and am a happy owner of a DirectStream DAC and Bridge II since February.
Highest time to join the community.

I’m streaming my music from my Synology NAS via the Bridge II and DirectStream directly into my TAG McLaren power amplifier which is driving my B&W 804N speakers.
This appears to be a sensitive configuration since I had to activate the attenuator to avoid an audible hiss when no music is playing.
With that activated it’s all sounding great, big improvement to what I had in the past.
Since the primary functions are covered well my question is more about the secondary functionality.

I’m using BubbleUPnP on an Android tablet as a control point and also controlling the volume via UPnP.
What I discovered is that the integration of the Bridge II and DirectStream is not very tight.
The Bridge has its own volume level and is not fully relying the the DirectStream volume.
I draw this conclusion based on the following:

  • If the volume is changed via UPnP/Bridge the DAC volume changes, but if the DAC volume is changed (e.g. by remote) the Bridge volume is not affected/synchronized.
  • After powerup the Bridge has a default volume level of 60 while the DAC volume is kept. This can cause a jump in volume if the DAC is at e.g. 40 and the volume is increased via UPnP, the volume will instantly jump to 61.
  • With the attenuator active the maximum DAC volume is 106, but via UPnP the volume is still clipped at 100.
The same type of issues are there for the mute function of the Bridge and DirectStream, states are not sync'ed.

What I would like to know is if there are plans to ‘fix’ this or, even better, if this will be part of the upcoming DirectStream/Bridge II update which is currently being worked on.
I also would like to know if others ran into this issue.

Maybe a bit lengthy post for a first one, but I hope it will be of any help in further improving the DirectStream/Bridge II combination.

Regards,

Koudijs

Not being a bridge user I don’t know what you mean by bridge volume, but it is an (unexpected) feature of the DS DAC that when the 20 dB attenuator is engaged the DS’s volume can go to 106, when it is not engaged the DS’s volume can only go to 100. This is to allow a little overlap between sensitive and less sensitive systems with the volume control and the 20 dB attenuator.

Hi Ted,

Thanks for your quick reply.

With ‘Bridge volume’ I mean the UPnP volume control function. So via my control point I can increase the volume, but the maximum is 100 even if the attenuator is active. I have to grab the remote to further increase the volume to 106.

It would be nice if these two were aligned.

Koudijs

I would be impressed if this would ever work. Most (all?) control points go to 100 max.

Also, if BII works in the same manner as B1, there is no feedback on actual volume setting from the renderer to the control point.

I don’t know what version of the UPnP spec is used by the Bridge, but in the versions I have seen (1 and 2) it is specified that the maximum volume is vendor defined. So if the volume range if maintained by the Bridge and the control point doesn’t make assumptions it may be possible.

The feedback from renderer to control point seems to be there. If I set a volume via BubbleUPnP and after that restart the app, it gets back to the previously set volume. Only if I turn off the DirectStream DAC via the power button it falls back to the default volume level of 60 after power-up.

I am wondering if there is a volume feedback from the DirectStream DAC to the Bridge. If this is in place then the Bridge can get the volume from the DAC and forward this to the control point.

I hope that someone familiar with the Bridge implementation can give some feedback on this.

Koudijs said The feedback from renderer to control point seems to be there.
So what you are saying is that if the control point says volume 50 and you go to 60 via the DS infrared remote control, the control point now says 60?
Frode said
Koudijs said The feedback from renderer to control point seems to be there.

So what you are saying is that if the control point says volume 50 and you go to 60 via the DS infrared remote control, the control point now says 60?


No, this is what I would like to see.

But I consider this a missing feedback from the DirectStream DAC to the Bridge II, as the Bridge II should be the ‘owner’ of the UPnP volume. Of course my assumptions can be wrong, as I don’t know the actual implementation.

I think you may find that the BII does not send this feedback over your LAN, but I guess Dennis will know.

The latest version does.

Dennis

Thanks Dennis, that’s great news.

I’ll be glad to do some beta testing.

Can I imply that the new software allows for Bridge II to be discovered using a browser: similar to Bridge I? The feature I would love to see is the ability to re-set Bridge II using a web browser and the Bridge II IP.

amsco15 said Can I imply that the new software allows for Bridge II to be discovered using a browser: similar to Bridge I? The feature I would love to see is the ability to re-set Bridge II using a web browser and the Bridge II IP.
No it does not.

Dennis

My Volume control from Jremote/jriver only works sporadically but when I use the DS remote sometimes it does update the apps volume. B1 was always solid with volume and was so when I recently reinstalled it to check.

I’ve seen the volume sync between Bubble and the DSD intermittently, and I haven’t pinned down when it works vs. when it doesn’t.

Some times, while remote-control for DSD and Android/Bubble both operate independently, they don’t seem to know about each others volume changes. Other times they do. Puzzling.

I’ve had the same experience as EldRick, using Bridge II and BubbleUPnP.