I’m a fan of DSD, but frankly - the need for whatever-X DSD is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Never been a fan of the sound of the Bridge myself, and use I2S. But bear in mind that many of us I2S users feel that it takes about, oh…$2k of ‘bits and pieces’ between the source and DAC to get the best out of it. 
An observation, perhaps apropos of nothing: I think this is indicative of the, arguably, inherent inferiority of USB output as a source of the digital feed, no?
[Full disclosure: I am a big Bridge II fan and have never used a USB source in my main system. My experience is limited to an (also “hot rodded” via galvanic isolation and low noise power supplies, etc.) Ethernet signal chain that originates from my iMac over Wi-Fi.]
Well, yeah - a topic in it’s own right I guess. The very fact that USB seems to be endleessly improvable could be seen either as a plus or a minus. But because another type is not improvable in this way is not proof that it is superior. Simpler, possibly. Many seem to like other means as about the only thing you can do is get a better cable. But hey, I have improvements on my ethernet as well.
I have a love/hate relationship with tweaking. Part of me feels it should not be so. But on the other hand, things can ALWAYS be improved. Unless it is designed to not allow changes.
Then Ted upsampling DSD as much as he does in the DirectStream should be a head-scratcher for you as well.
I guess you have never heard what HQPlayer can do upsampling to DSD256 on a great DSD DAC…
Not at all - the fact that the DS is upsampling to 20x and back down to 2x is part of it. What I’m referring to is the need for/insistence on the DAC handling every iteration of DSD. I get it if you own a lot of media in these formats, but it is more that it seems overkill-ish to me when Redbook (now) can sound so good.
Yes, I’ve heard upsampling - with other means as well as the DS. But strictly speaking, this is independent of/unrelated to upsampling, as it is possible to have a native whatever-X DAC and native file.
I thought it was 40x now…
Anyway, it’s only “overkill-ish” if someone doesn’t have DSD128 or DSD256 or doesn’t want to upsample to those levels. I can tell you that upsampling to DSD256 with HQPlayer is superior than upsampling to DSD128. I upsample PCM and DSD to the max DSD rate and prefer HQPlayer’s upsampling of PCM to Ted’s.
For years now it’s been up to 20x and back down to 4x. Early on it was up to 10x and back down to 2x.
That’s great - and I don’t doubt it.
I forgot that my Kitsune Tuned Edition (KTE) SU-2 has an I2S output. I just put it into the mix.
I will report back in a few days. First impression so far is that Corea’s Trilogy 2 sounds pretty much the same as via Bridge II.
After a few days I will pull the Bridge II to see if that makes a difference.
If you don’t know about the KTE check it out, it’s quite good. I had a Matrix and the KTE for a month of comparison. KTE was the clear winner. KTE SU-2 : Kitsune Tuned Edition – DSD1024 USB Digital Interface Femto second clock Interface – 3.2uV/2.0uV output noise, 125db PSRR | Kitsune HiFi - HoloAudio USA
I do get your bits and pieces comment. Having five Roon endpoints has resulted in all sorts of bits and pieces including various LPS, ethernet to USB, and of course DAC’s.
I have heard from a few sources that the superior sounding input on the Kitsume is the USB. If what I’ve heard is correct, you and I will be losing a lot of little boxes creating the input. The chain for me would be: router to ether regen to ultrarendu-May DAC, eliminating the Matrix from the chain.
I’ve done this as well to no noticeable impact. Blind tests with my Wife and I taking the EtherRegen in/out of the signal path resulted in us independently scoring no discernable difference. Perhaps this is why we get along so well 
On a positive note, the used EtherRegen sold for the original purchase price.
After I am done with the I2S testing I will be testing a Sonore opticalModule Deluxe. This version outputs 100/1000 vs the prior version which was 1000Mbps only. This new chain will be:
Ubiquiti UniFi Switch w/fiber SFP to opticalModule to DS via ethernet.
After this round of signal path geeking, I am going to return to power tweaks. I have heard more significant changes with power then signal path. This may be due to the fairly quality components that I have in the signal path. I am really looking forward to a PP15. But I need a new media cabinet first and a new TV. Our 10 year-old plasma needs to be retired.
The journey never ends.
It’s no surprise that your preferences are different from mine. I tend to lag behind everyone else by about six months in these things. However, I can buy my gear at 1/2 price because of the “be first to try it” types who buy and then discard…
Me too. Used for me is the primary purchasing method, there are the occasional new purchases, but those are rare. We are still recovering from the cost of our daughter’s education 
I’ve paid for 7 degrees for 4 kids. So, I can relate.
Bless you! Wow! You’re a good lad.
TED, didn’t PSA make extensive beta tests for the new firmware? I know the communication mess last time which maybe caused a drop of such tests, but are some homies enough so you don’t have to rewrite in case of a bug and PSA doesn’t have to revoice the builts again?
I wasn’t trying to imply that there weren’t betas. It’s still in beta. There were a few serious bugs found early on that took multiple rounds with the beta testers. Also since all of the input code was changed we had to have people test as many different source devices as possible. I did talk PS Audio into a Matrix finally 
Up higher I was just talking about the rounds after things looked good bug wise…
I hope there are some XS4400 users in that beta group too 
Thanks much, didn’t read at all if you mentioned beta tests…I was just curious because earlier there seemed to have been more public testing.