This thread seems to have become really long and people asking basic questions.
In the interest of clarity, I’ve summarized below everything we know about the upcoming AirLens. Maybe the moderator can pin this to the top so that it’s seen by everyone new and avoid speculation and arguments about its use. But most importantly, hopefully avoid unnecessary heartburn for @aangen 
(Thanks to @vkennedy61, @aangen and @Interested for their informative posts that I consulted and for @vkennedy61’s initial review of this summary.)
I will keep updating this post as new details emerge.
Summary:
AirLens will be mainly a network bridge that takes a data stream from wifi or wired Ethernet and outputs a data stream to a DAC via I2S or Coax. It will galvanically isolate the input and output signals.
According to @Paul, “The main benefits of the AirLens are two fold: its complete galvanic isolation as well as Digital Lens outputting jitter free data.”
It will:
- Cost around USD2k.
- Support input and output data streams in DSD up to DSD256, DXD, PCM up to 352kHz, and MQA unfolding up to 352.
- Be a Roon endpoint; that is, the input data stream can be in RAAT format; you’ll need something else to be the Roon server (like Nucleus, Mac OS/Windows/Linux machine running Roon core, NUC running ROCK etc.).
- Have an internal power supply; there is no option for an external PSU.
It will not:
- Be a network streamer; that is, it won’t stream directly from Qobuz/Tidal/Spotify etc.; you’ll need something else like a Roon server/machine running Audirvana/JRiver etc. to provide to the AL the data stream from such services.
- Have an app to manage your music or serve it to the DAC.
- Be Roon server (see above).
- Support Airplay/Bluetooth/Chromecast.
- Rip CDs, have inbuilt storage, ability to plug in an external drive, support Dirac or multichannel audio.
It will accept the input data stream through:
- RJ45 Ethernet
- Wi-Fi
It will output the data stream through:
- I2S
- Coax SPDIF
In the PS Audio ecosystem, the optimal signal chain would be:
Your favorite network source → AL (via Ethernet input) → DS DAC (via i2s input) → your favorite preamp.
Because of galvanic isolation, Ethernet input and i2s output, it removes any need for USB reclockers, DDCs etc from the signal path.
For further reading, here are some informative posts in this thread:
- Paul’s rationale for the AirLens and why it doesn’t have USB output
- Connecting Tidal and Spotify
- Why AirPlay was killed from the specs
- Streamers and endpoints
- Where the AirLens fits into the signal chain
The last known sighting of the AL showed it to look like this. Although it will most likely look like the rest of the PerfectWave series when It’s released.
