Thanks for sharing. Great to see the AirLens reviewed and compared to a range of other streamers 
What a succinct, no-nonsense and straight-forward review.
Subjective opinion and conclusions aside, I found the prose refreshing enough that I will be looking for more reviews by this author.
For example:
Who is the AirLens for? *The AirLens is for the audio enthusiasts who appreciate the magic of high-performance music streaming and are willing to follow a stricter path to achieve it.
FWIW.
Agreed, i always feel simple dedigns better serve the end resultās
Only one error I saw -
ā DSD converted to PCM (DOP)ā
Which of course is not what DOP is.
Iām a bit confused about Qobuz. The reviewer states:
āMusic Streaming service compatibility includes Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and Roon Ready certification, whereas Qobuz and Tidal are embedded.ā
But Airlens specs state that Roon is required.
The Roon requirement is a hang up for me. How do you understand āQobuz and Tidal are embedded.ā?
I think that was a poor choice of words.
I think the author meant he listened to Qobuz and Tidal via Roon. You can set up Roon to source music through subscription services like Qobuz and Tidal and use the Roon interface for searching for and cueing up music.
I used to do the same thing but dropped my Tidal subscription. Now I only have Qobuz āembeddedā into Roon.
FYI.
yeah, prolly could have used āwhereinā?
I use Qobuz directly with my AL, just download the Mconnect app and sign up for Qobuz, sounds really good with the SGD
I do the same thing as @jtsnead with mConnect ā no need for Roon, which I have no desire whatsoever to use.
Many thanks guys. I appreciate you sorting it out.
Nothing against Roon. Itās interesting but only as a nice to have and certainly an Airlens deal breaker for me if required. Knowing M Connect is an option is definitely encouraging.
Thanks again.
I really want to like the Airlens. Iām a Roon user so that part works for me. But I cant get past the lack of any webpage control over the device. My current streamer has no screen but is accessible via a browser and it works well. Airlens would be a natural upgrade to me but I refuse to fiddle with DIP switches and count blinking lights. There is also the fact that when it goes wrong itās hard to see what is going on. Alll the rest of my gear is PS audio btw.
For what itās worth Iāve had my AirLens for about 5 months and I havenāt touched a dip switch in about the last 4 1/2 months. Iād adjust them if I changed DACs I suppose.
The lights in the back came in handy with an early, wonky OS. It tends to be more about the color and pace of the light if you have to deal with customer service on an issue. No real counting involved if that helps.
Thanks - I realize that for most people itās a set and forget experience. But the lack of control is a rare mistake - so is using WPS for WiFi set up. I expect a bit more - maybe a Mk2 will be forthcoming. In the meantime I am staying put while keeping an eye on alternatives as upgrades. Also my rack is hard to access so not easy to lift the unit or see back panel
I have had my airlens for about 6 months connected to a DS MK1 via i2s. Set up took a few minutes no dip switches required moving and I havenāt touched it since installing except to dust. Sometimes I operate it from Tidal connect directly from my phone sometimes I use my IPad and Mconnect. Iām not sure what an imbedded app or a screen could add to my experience or sound quality.
PS my completely non tech wife can operate it from the kitchen just to annoy me from time to time, from her phone
Welcome!
The sum of my digital experience is limited to BlueSound (Vault on the main rig and module on the NAD HT receiver) and some some stuff (including DSD) on a desktop plugged into the main rig.
Maybe because itās all I know, I like the BS ecosystem but Iād like to see how my system will respond to a streamer upgrade, which is my interest in the AL. But Iād also like to understand what to expect before a demo. So, given a couple of daze off Iām finally taking some time to get a better understanding of this whole digital ecosystem.
If Iām understanding correctly, the AL is fundamentally different than BS or other network devices that that manage all your online (and stored) content.
HIFI News describes the AirLens as āa ānetwork bridgeā between your choice of Roon, Audirvana, JRiver, Tidal Direct, Spotify, your NAS or any DLNA-compatible server, and PS Audioās top-end DACsā
If Iām understanding this correctly you either have separate apps for each of your streaming services/internet radio stations or you have a network device (Roon Nucleus) or software (Roon server) on a computer via USB to a DAC that manages content.
Since Qobuz still doesnāt have a stand alone app you need a network device or software that includes Qobuz. Am I understanding this correctly?
The AL may be fantastic sounding device, but the number of them showing up on TMR and the Strata MK2/AL package has me wondering what people arenāt liking about it.
Iāve been following the AL buzz since launch and have had similar interest and hesitations as you mention. My take is that the ALās sound quality is top of the line - especially feeding a PS Audio DAC via i2S. However, the market has responded slowly due to the lack of features (like a web based configuration for WiFi and sound settings). The $2k price point combined with DIP switches on the bottom of the unit as the āinterfaceā have caused reluctance in the otherwise enthusiastic PS Audio community. I would spend $1K for the AL as it stands, but I am not holding my breath for a price drop.