Is PS Audio aware of the Ravenna network audio standard? Might it be incorporated into the Bridge. I need to read further, but it looks like a possible replacement for WaveStream.
http://www.ravenna-network.com
If this is not viable then at least I tried. I just came across it and it looks interesting.
J.P.
An interesting talk on ip audio and AES47 standard
Okay, that was interesting. Über nerdy, but interesting. 
J.P.
By the way, I added this thread because I saw that some competition is using it: Merging Technologies is now using Ravenna INSTEAD of USB for their latest digital products.
j.P.
Do not let audiophiles know this network protocol has been in use in pro applications for a good while now, making it inherently less good sounding then it would be if it was audiophile exclusive. Very sad.
Worse yet, licensing is free. It can’t be any good if it is not expensive!
J.P.
There has been some discussions about the NADAC over at the CA forum for a while now. Not everyone is convinced, though. I think I also have mentioned it before in this forum. I find the Ravenna protocol both interesting and promising.
I learned of it through Genelec.
Still no comment of any type from PS Audio. @Paul? @Alex? Any thoughts on this or any similar Audio over IP standard being incorporated into the Bridge II?
J.P.
It’s an interesting direction but one that we looked at and abandoned for a number of reasons. There’s not enough support for formats and sample rates, at least not when we looked at it. I don’t remember exactly, but Gordon had been suggesting it to us for some time. Engineering went through it some detail and we decided against it - didn’t want to get trapped.
I wish I remembered more details of why, but it was limiting.
It also requires a computer in the mix something we’re convinced fewer and fewer people are interested in - preferring instead for dedicated hardware. For example, there is a device I have been playing with that send USB over IP at any distance on CAT5 or WIFI - and it is flawless. Sounds better than just USB directly into the DAC. Same sort of thing as Ravenna really - but I abandoned work on turning it into a product because the only value it has, aside from sound quality, is the ability to remotely connect a PC to a DAC over CAT5. That’s interesting but not what people are looking for.
Our direction in product development is to continue working on the dedicated server/hardware box approach.
Thanks Paul. It is always good to hear a clear response, especially from the top.
I guess at I am in a small minority, actually liking a computer solution. I am open to the dedicated server concept too. In that veign, I contributed to an indiegogo campaign for an LH Labs Source - server with internal storage. After a long wait, I hope to see it some time in the next six months.
J.P.
As with all things, the vast majority rate convenience over quality. Think microwave popcorn.
A subset of this is the proliferation of USB devices to fix a USB datastream, when there are all sorts of high quality AES/EBU and S/PDIF cards. But USB comes installed on all computers and is easier.
Now that dedicated servers equal the sound of even the most highly tweaked computer, servers will eventually dominate - with a few dedicated computer tweakers happily enjoying their setups.