Wonder which is the most clarifying/illuminating,
badbeef’s comment or the silence we have been seeing???
Bruce
Did you miss this part?:
"## How to get started
- Install a Bridge II Network Card in your PerfectWave DAC
- Update Bridge II to the latest firmware
- If your PerfectWave DAC is a DirectStream or DirectStream Junior, install the latest firmware"
Paul has indicated numerous times that Octave is not on a Roon-ready or Roon-tested path. He intends to build a “better mousetrap”. However, he is prone to changing his mind on occasion 
.
Cheers.
Wait, me? Change my mind? NEVER! I am always on the same path (unless I change my mind). I will have to think about that. Might be worth changing my mind about whether or not I change my mind.
Every once in a while…maybe…
Roon is almost looking like an industry standard:
Given its functionality, it’s hardly surprising. If they integrate Amazon HD, I suspect that will seal the deal.
No I did not miss that part. But this is a campaign of today, while Octave had been announced more than a year ago.
The campaign got me confused about the direction PS Audio is taking.
I am still puzzled, My question if PS Audio still planning to release Octave?
FWIW, I don’t think this blurb on the Roon site is a campaign of any sorts (at least not in terms of it being a new point of emphasis). As far as I can tell, it is simply promoting the fact that there are three PS Audio pieces of kit that are Roon Tested/Ready.
And, Octave is still “on”. Check out the Octave thread, which is relatively quiet but still active.
Regards.
@stevensegal Apple is dragging its feet too much with updating the iTunes Store and Apple Music to at least uncompressed sound format. I use Apple Music for ripping (to Apple Lossless) and managing my music library. I don’t stream my music from the iCloud, my Apple devices are synchronized to memory.
However I expect the marked share of iTunes / Apple Music is declining, and I am afraid Apple Music (iTunes is practically non existing already) will await the same fate as Apple Aperture. I went through the horrible experience being put for the choice of changing to another rather overwhelming subscription service or loosing much of my carefully added metadata once, being in ignorant disbelief Apple wouldn’t do that to their customers.
So this time I want to be prepared. It is time to start transitioning to another more dedicated music management and player system. I have been long against Roon, due to its subscriptions, but Roon seems to provide the least painful transition from iTunes/Apple Music and offers the most compatible and future proof updates to Red Book CD, High Res FLAC and DSD in one package. I am big on Cover Art too and Roon seems to be the Benchmark on delivering metadata.
When Paul announced Octave it sounded very interesting, but with only one or two, rather expensive Direct Stream, BHK budget proprietary PS Audio streamers, and the fact that PS Audio is rather silent on the Octave front, pushes me into the direction of a lifetime Roon subscription.
There are tons of streamers / servers out their that support Roon at a budget even lower than the Stellar, so I don’t understand why the Stellar Strata (double the Price of the Stellar Gain Cell DAC) could not have been developed to be Roon and Octave ready.
I have a Ton of CD’s ripped with iTunes that play nicely via my Sony UBP-X1000ES which feds my DirectSTream DAC Sr. I’d given up on iTunes as a ripping medium/GUI for my networked collection many years ago. Hell, Windows Media Player is what I’m actually using now because the DLNA inside the Sony Player is formatted that way. Again, this has nothing to with what WMP file formats it’s capable of playing on it’s own, it’s just a a way of retrieving those music files and streaming them via the Sony. Since the Sony is a True Universal Player. It outputs DSD over HDMI @ 2.8MHz in Stereo, all PCM formats and spins every disc known to mankind…LOL.
I’m too cheap to use Roon, but have Audirvana on my fanless Music Server/Home Theater PC. Everything is Ethernet cable connected (generic shielded stuff works fine for me) and WiFi is only used for controlling Apps.
Hope I either answered your question or just went off on a Tangent (which I’m known to do). 
We like tangents.
@Rudolf_Appel I think I used iTunes for a short period well over a decade ago, I first ripped my CDs over 10 years ago.
Roon really is difficult to fault after you’ve used it for a few days. it’s very easy to do anything really, whether compiling 80-CD box sets or adding cover art to imported files ripped from vinyl.
Streaming is software-driven and I’ve no doubt that many people choose their streamer by the quality of the control software. Sonos, Auralic and Bluesound are prime examples. They are both Roon Ready. My Auralic Aries Mini cost £350 new (about €400, $500). I have the Bluesound Powernode, the normal Node 2i streaming DAC is £400 (€450, $550).
I just cannot understand any company making streamers that run off different platforms. It excludes people who want more than one system to run off the same app, which I suspect is a lot of people. There are no uPnP apps that are anywhere near as good as Auralic Lightning, Bluesound BluOs, let alone Roon.
So I just cannot fathom that Stellar Strata and Octave will run on different platforms.
Devialet made this mistake using different platforms for their Phantom/Reactor eggs and the Expert pizza pox range. They made the Expert units Roon Ready and that was the end of all the complaints for a new Devialet app.
The names of those products alone would do them in.
With transition I mean that should be able to adopt and sync with Apple Music such that I do not need to rip my CD collection again and that allows me to still sync my music with my mobile devices as I am usually on the road a lot.
Last year I bought a Bluesound Node 2 to be my music server for my PS Audio Stellar stack while waiting on Octave Stellar. Sounds like it will be a long wait. Most of my neighbours run Roon. But I prefer the Bluesound app. Bluesound will be the first benchmark for me with which to compare when Octave comes out.
The other one will be Plex, which also just launched a music-only app called Plexamp. I run a Plex server off the same SSD that holds my music on my NAS server. So no re-ripping of files etc. needed.
In some of the tangent discussions to this thread, folks mentioned wanting to have their music with them either multiroom or on the road. I usually just load up a 32GB USB with FLAC8 files for my car, which can handle 24-bit FLAC. But around the house and in the car, I also can ask “Alexa ask Plex to play…” whatever I want from the Plex server too. It can stream too.
I admit, though, I do not live in the country of uncompetitive overpriced digital cell data. Along with two phone numbers, I have unlimited high-speed data monthly for $40. So I can run my Plex music feed uncompressed, even crossing borders in pre-Corona days, which did not always work with streaming services.
But for folks stuck in the US, most of the apps allow for downloading at home before heading out.
If one wants synchronized multiroom sound, then I usually recommend the likes of Sonos and NAD-Bluesound to friends. One can have an NAD-Bluesound ATMOS video setup that uses PS Audio for the main stereo.
If someone likes to build their own, like on diyAudio, then I recommend running the Logitech Media Server on Raspberry Pi’s with Max2Play. In rooms with TV sets, I output from the Pi’s to soundbars. In other rooms, there are overhead speakers.
Anyway, I am still waiting on Octave as well. Am curious to hear if folks in Boulder have considered such wider integration possibilities in things to come!
Researching Octave and came across this. Roon is a great interface, but far from the best sounding option. Octave has a great chance to move ahead and claim share for those persons interested in the absolute best sound quality. To date, Bryston MPD is the best I’ve heard.
I’ll personally will wait until Octave is an actual product I can hear before saying if it is better or not. I know if I was building a product myself I would say the same thing.
I’m a lifetime subscriber (since 2016) with Roon. I’m confident Bryston MPD sounds better (than Roon) --at least on my gear.
It will be interesting to learn your opinion once Octave is out and you have a chance to listen to it.
I have two Bryston BDP-2 transports, and two microRendus with I2s converters (I use the microRendus with Audirvana/ A+). The Bryston MPD is far better than Roon with my gear. I’m about 90-95% on good quality headphones, and the definition is much better with the Bryston. Roon interface is great, but for raw sound quality, Bryston BDP MPD gets the nod.
I might take the plunge on the Octave if they have a special like they did with the Power Plants. I don’t really need one.
Would I like to have one? Sure.