PS Audio AirLens

Network Audio
196

I understand the frustration with endless boxes. But the honour of my expensive Antipodes boxes has been besmirched, so like any wandering knight with nothing better to do I will jump in to defend my gear…

One actually important correction – the EX does not have an ‘expensive DAC’ in it. By Antipodes’ admission it’s basically a very slightly modded version of the very standard DAC contained in every PC. (According to the Antipodes marketing this is so that an entry-ish user could use the EX as server, streamer, and DAC all in one, and then (of course) spend more money on an external DAC. I think this is nuts, I can’t believe that any users who don’t own a DAC are going to buy a relatively high-end streamer/server, but there it is.)

Also, now that I re-read the OP, I don’t think there is additional ‘circuitry that could run server software’ in the EX either. The EX is a low-power computer, designed to have a low-noise USB output. If you are running server sw, that computer is working pretty hard, and if you are running streamer sw only, it is loafing. Loafing = better sound quality (at least this is the theory).

Oh and re: “re-clocker” I don’t think that’s relevant to the EX / streamer part of the Antipodes line-up – “re-clocking” only happens when the USB output is being converted to another format (HDMI, AES, BNC, et al) in the old P2, new S20, or new K50. These boxes are performing a function similar to DDCs like the Matrix, Singxer boxes, Denafrips Gaia, et al).

Beyond that, the Antipodes approach, which is actually very flexible and modular, has its uses, particularly if you want to experiment with the sound of different streaming / server software – it’s all built in, you just turn it on or off. However, it is also very flexible and modular, which can be maddening. I originally bought an EX, and tried using it as Roon Server / Streamer. The performance wasn’t up to that for my large library, so I moved Roon core back to a desktop and used EX just as streamer (much better), later added a CX, and now have the whole enchilada with a P2 (which converts USB to HDMI among other formats). With all the Antipodes boxes (including the new S line) you can set them up as server, streamer, or both in one box. This allows you to collect lots of boxes and, hopefully, get better sound. Plus an optional S-series power supply now, jeez. I have a whole string of boxes and ethernet cleaners now, and regrettably each of them makes its impact (for the better).

Anyway I too await the arrival of this thing – even though it presumably doesn’t do a lot of the tricks that the Antipodes and other gear does (like HQPlayer NAA, Squeezebox, DLNA). I hope it can replace 3 different boxes (Antipodes EX, Innuos Phoenix USB, Antipodes P2) at substantially less cost… we shall see.

I hereby also volunteer for the beta program. I’m patient and I got a ton of cables and a modded DS.

197

Air lens, what is it, and why do I need it?

198

Everything you may want to know is here:

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199

In a nutshell (details to follow, from PSA):

A stand-alone network bridge from which 1s and 0s can be fed to a DAC – a “streamer” if you will.

Indications to date are that it will not host any type of on-board storage and serve solely as a means of receiving a digital stream and feeding it to a DAC.

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200

Slowdown man! Never take their first offer. That’s not how you negotiate. (but I agree, I’m just wondering if I can trade something, technically a Raspberry Pi is a “streamer” but I don’t think $45 is a good trade-in value) :stuck_out_tongue:

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201

If it’s $1800 and I can have one now, I’d gladly pay for it. I’m in one of those flux states with my gear and if the AirLens was available I could be testing three solutions side-by-side. That’s my idea of fun!!!

If the AirLens has a SPF, all three under consideration would be fiber connected. Definitely fun!

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202

Agreed - side by side is the only way to really understand the differences between this stuff.

re: SPF: I’m using two EtherRegens, running optical in between them, the second with a better LPS. It’s good – better than running the two in series (with the same LPS) with copper. I can’t say if an implementation in a streamer would be better though.

203

I’ve got an opticalRendu currently. It gets it’s fiber directly from a Ubiquiti UniFi switch. It sounds great. Soon I’ll be comparing it to a Signature Rendu SE that’s also optical. I’m really looking forward to hearing the Rendu. It has an excellent reputation.

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Good points on the Antipodes. At least the new series, with the K50, is back in one box, even if there are two IP addresses and firmware updates are still double.

205

Compared with a Bluesound Node, the AirLens is to support DSD, not just PCM. And will be audiophile grade with galvanic isolation and I2S over HDMI cable to a DAC. What we do not know is how good the app will be. PSA track record is not the best there. Bluesound is very strong. Paul talked before about his ideal metadata support under development before too. See videos talking about the joy of album covers in the 1970s. But we have not heard much about this lately. I just want that it can show my high-resolution album covers… mine… not someone elses.

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206

I asked the question earlier but didn’t get an answer. What software streamer interface will Airlens use, as part of the freely available means to control the Airlens (not talking Roon, which is not free)?

Will it be something PSA develops from scratch, or a third party solution? This will be the most important aspect of whether or not the product is successful, IMO.

207

I am so glad that I’ve settled solely on Roon for our digital source. There’s just too many things to take into consideration when you need a streamer to support applications that a user interacts with. Roon may be surpassed by other h/w and s/w solutions, but in sticking with a “stock” ROCK deployment and the xxRendu endpoints it’s been worry free for years.

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208

In short, I think you nailed it. PSA would do best not to rush the Lens, good sound that is not reliable does not equate to a pleasant experience. Certainly BlueSound could improve on the sound, but at the price, and considering it’s reliability it is a bit of a bargain. Especially for casual streaming to explore new releases or recommendations on the PSA forum.

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209

Yes Roon has been getting better. I discovered last night you can swipe left or right on song lyrics to see album art, album reviews, photos and credits versus icon hot buttons.

The air lens may have single box simplicity. But PSA needs to have a world class internal supply with lots of shielding and RF adsorption to beat out the multibox tweaking. There’s lots of competition in that arena.

Plus the number of complaints on power regenerator customers trying to get just that internet connection to work and inability to fix it short or long term. I just run my P20 without ethernet

The airlens users will be blowing up the forum with support needs unless it is seamless. Hopefully it is or at least Roon Ready so early adopters have something for a stable backup solution when the private code has issues. So far code developed internally and ability to quickly support it has been entertaining to watch :popcorn:

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210

Same here, at least for me. My kid still uses spotify and bandcamp with chromecast, so I need that option, but for all my streaming (services and local files), Roon is so good.

Still have CDs and a CD player, which won’t go away, but I play 95% of my digital through Roon.

Looking forward to trying out the Airlens for that. Will it be measurably better than my RaspPi + Pi2AES + RoPieeeXL + HQPlayer? I guess we’ll have to find out at beta-testing time. :sunglasses:

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211

Yes indeed. Not the end of the world, but why offer it, if it isn’t reliable. More of a distraction than anything else. I just don’t connect mine to ethernet as others have recommended.

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212

100% of my interest is with Roon Ready.

I’ve said this above, it would be fantastic to make the network connection a swappable SFP. You need ethernet? Put in an ethernet SFP. You want fiber? Put in a fiber SFP.

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213

I suppose the air means WiFi hopefully that is not all.

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214

I assumed it was the air gap tech they are using to remove jitter.

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215

So much negative waves man!
Please consider chilling.

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