Are there two just the two versions planned for initial release?
1 Dedicated hardware box in DirectStream Chassis
thanks
magicknow
Hi Paul
Did you see my question in the above post?. i am curious as to how the various version of the Music server will be introduced
thanks
magicknow
Sorry, sir! Missed that one. Yes, the first product to launch will be the top dog server in the PerfectWave chassis. We try and always start at the top and work our way down. I hope that the very next product will be the Bridge III version but cannot promise that. Itâs just what I am expecting.
Hi Paul
I hope youâre making good progress the the server development.
I have thought of another feature that my naim unitServe had which I found useful. Ripped CDâs and other stored files could be copied and sent as mp3âs to a chosen location. This was useful as I saved them into my iTunes folder which then enabled me to load my music onto my âiâ device for portable music.
As I added more music, you simply ran the operation again and the iTunes directory would be updated.
Just an idea.
Regards
Hi Paul,
Will the Music Server work for SACD ISO streaming as well?
That is a neat idea, for sure. Thanks.
The server will not itself be able to RIP SACD but you can store anything you want on the device if you can figure out how to rip them.
Are you considering offering upgraded HDMI cables in the future after the server is released?
How is the schedule going?
Think the prototype was due out late this year, which is not that far way!
Are we on track, or even ahead of schedule?
Hope we are not behind - but even if we are we donât want it rushed even though we are eager!!!
Thanks.
Bruce
Still moving forward. Weâve got the first 90% finished, now itâs on to the second 90%.
We should have another public beta test for the software sometime late next week. Iâll probably look for another dozen or so testers who want to try the software to see how it is navigating.
After a long conversation with my favorite PSAudio distributor and Lahaina guru, Walter L, telling him Iâm in the market for an Aurender N10 or similar Player/Server to replace the computer source, he suggested I wait for PSAudio to release their player in 2018 and that UI was the priority. All this is music to my ears as I plan to do just that and expand into the PSAudio ecosystem when itâs available. We discussed what features end users might appreciate and after a little thought, and reading this thread, It takes genius to create cutting edge tech. No player or UI will appeal to everyone. Yes, I would like solid state, yes I would like Octave to talk to JRiver and transfer my library/playlists intact. And yes, I would like it all for way under the N10 $8K price. And if It doesnât, I will most likely adopt it anyway because in 10 years Iâve gone thru 3 $2500 computer playback sources moving files, ripping discs, new JRMCâs and frankly donât feel alone in saying a Hi-Res Player/Server is long overdue in this market. That said, the price is NOT the issue for me. Look at IPhone X sales, what does that say? For six months analysts have said the lion share of phones sold will be the 7-8, NO, people want the cutting edge $1200 phone. If you think a guy with $70,000 worth of gear wonât buy an Octave because itâs $5K not $3K because PS decided it should have 4TB of RATA instead of a 4TB SSD, i think you see what Iâm saying. Make Octave the alpha, and then make a mini-octave if you think there is second market⊠but make the Octave the player you want in your system for 10 years.
just imho⊠i respect the genius in the room and realize itâs going to be good if you guys are behind it. 
Youâre very kind. Thank you. I think weâre on the same page. The Octave server will be our âbig gunâ to start with. I believe it will come in around $6K but cannot promise that. Price is not an issue for us either, we just want to built the finest product we know how to make.
One of the premises of Octave is to honor the userâs metadata so if your stuff is in JRiver now and the metadata is stored on the files they will be maintained when imported into Octave.
I doubt we will ship with a solid state drive but thatâs still up in the air. What we will do is ship with a removable drive so if anyone wants to change to solid state itâll be easy to do. I believe it wonât make a sonic difference from the steps weâre taking to isolate the impacts of compuetr and drives from the output, but that remains to be seen.
The GUI and software are the tough parts and weâre falling behind in the task of getting it out according to our schedule (which keeps moving). Weâre having a big meeting Monday to try and finalize all that remains to be done and figuring out resources to complete it. Itâs a huge task.
Paul McGowan said One of the premises of Octave is to honor the user's metadata so if your stuff is in JRiver now and the metadata is stored on the files they will be maintained when imported into Octave.Which is much more difficult than it initially appears.
What we will do is ship with a removable drive so if anyone wants to change to solid state it'll be easy to do. I believe it won't make a sonic difference from the steps we're taking to isolate the impacts of compuetr and drives from the output, but that remains to be seen.While I have not heard significant differences in drives attached to my server, others do. I find this intriguing.
Paul McGowan saidThis!^ââŠOne of the premises of Octave is to honor the userâs metadata so if your stuff is in JRiver now and the metadata is stored on the files they will be maintained when imported into OctaveâŠâ
Very thankful to âhearâ this.
Best of luck to you in bringing this new kit to market,
Scott
Hi Paul
If the Big dog Octave is priced at $6k what would you estimate the price of the Bridge 3 to be?
In terms of functionality what will the difference be between Octave and Bridge 3?
will Bridge 3 have the same user interface and metadata handling?
Would you expect similar sound quality with Bridge 3 fed by an external USB drive and Octave feeding Bridge 2 via Ethernet?
How much testing have you put into actual sound quality of Octave to date. If so what have you used as the Gold Standard to measure up to?
Looking forward to this product line 
Magicknow, the physical Octave will have an I2S output. I believe they are about to do their second beta test on the operating system. They have been working on getting the meta data right, and make it all easy to use. Their goal is to surpass Roon. My guess is that the Bridge will operate like a player, with no storage, or ripping ability.
I canât tell you exactly but assume Bridge III will remain under $1K as it does now. Bridge III will definitely outperform Bridge II but not the big Octave Server.
Bridge III will enjoy the same Octave user interface as the big server, thus the user experience will be identical.
I will probably buy BIII not the big server (no room for another full-size chassis, plus I am very comfortable with my current system of using a NAS to feed BII). Is the superior performance of the server in regards to SQ, to what it can play (4xDSD, etc.), or something else?
Youâll be fine with Bridge III if youâre sticking with your NAS. Itâll be a step down from a performance standpoint because of the hardware and isolation benefits of the separate chassis. At this point I see no reason it will have any fewer capabilities for DSD rates, etc.
Paul when comparing SQ of Bridge III to the dedicated Octave are you assuming the connection to the DirectStream is I2S? Does the input format matter much?
What if the Octave is connected to Bridge II via Ethernet? How does the additional lens in Bridge play into the SQ comparison.?
Have you finished the hardware part of Octave? Can you give us details of the various things you did to improve SQ?
thanks
magicknow
So this is apparently a Thing: https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2012/06/12/free-brimar-tube-vst-plugin-released-by-cdsoundmaster/
Wonder what they are doing (if anything) aside from some simple eq. I do have some NOS Brimars in my phono pre, and they do sound good, so hey, one never knows.
In all seriousness, eventually I think the ability to use VST plugins would be a great idea. I use the Sonarworks VST product now with my headphones for eq; I can certainly live without it but itâs far easier than doing eq the hard way.