I'd second that. The UI is very intuitive; maybe the best i've ever seen for organizing and playback of music. The app itself is fast-it runs Tidal faster than Chrome or Tidal's own app. When's the last time you could click on an album and look at lyrics? It's still buggy, but I'm sold. I found a Julie London album i've never heard last night by just surfing around using the UI ("Julie London at Home" in case you'e wondering-turns out it was actually recorded in her living room-acoustically perhaps her best album)...Paul McGowan saidIt's not perfect but wow... the UI and actual operation, not to mention the sound quality, is just stunning.
After a couple of years waiting, my only wish is that Bridge II will be released very soon, playing gapless and playing also 24/192 without dropouts/micro skips. No more, no less ā¦
Wybe said After a couple of years waiting, my only wish is that Bridge II will be released very soon, playing gapless and playing also 24/192 without dropouts/micro skips. No more, no less ...Although on my network I have no problems with 24/192 on Bridge I, I say "Hear , hear."
The Bridge I I that you all are discussing - will this be like the old Bridge and mounted inside the DS? Or is it external?
The version currently being tested is internal, like Bridge I. Paul has mentioned that they might someday produce an external version, with some additional functions added. But I think that is a ways off, if ever.
Internal, just like Bridge 1. Pail has hinted they may also do an external version at some point but beyond that I donāt know anything about it.
It is the same form factor as Bridge 1 and goes inside the PWD or DS. there is talk about a Bridge 3 that will be an external box but no timeline on that yet.
But there has been, I believe, an Instragram photo of what must be the External Bridge ?
If the software is largely unchanged, the hardware to process digital connections may not be PS Audioās most challenging project (considering Power re-generators; BHKās; The Digital Lens; DSD DAC).
If the Instragram shot is the External Bridge, then what do āpeopleā think would be the primary advantages of an external bridge ?
i can think of a disadvantage, double cables to & from the external bridge.
now that I have an appreciation of what expensive cables do for a system, they & all the separate power cords to go with are ākillingā me.
Iām going have to learn to make them myself per the clever example in this forum ā¦
So, eagerly looking forward to Internal Bridge II.
GM, the external Bridge will be able to do DSD128, which (I know I sound like a broken record) annoys me greatly, plus one or two other things that Paul has hinted at in various messages. If you do a search for āexternal Bridgeā you should be able to track them down.
Paul McGowan said
Yes, the only wired connection, the LAN. The computer could be something as small and insignificant as a NUC, or the office computer just hanging out anywhere in the home. No need for a computer in the listening room, just somewhere the Roon database can live and work. It's not perfect but wow... the UI and actual operation, not to mention the sound quality, is just stunningI have Roon playing my NAS files to my DS, my Airport Express (is a zone) which outputs optical to the DS, and running Roon on a laptop on my LAN, pretty cool. When their iPad app is available will be able to control the win laptop with it, to my surprise. Can't wait for B II to have it.
According to Roon, some of the functions performed might be quite resource demanding and requires, if not a powerful computer, still one fit for purpose. Hopefully an IOS or Android iDevice hosting Roon can cope with this. The ideal solution would be an embedded one.
Having played 96/24 now I get lots of skips, which I never have on the Bridge, so maybe my cheap laptop is underpowered.
Any of the Beta testers, is there a difference in FLAC (without transcoding) and WAV when using the Bridge II?
Perhaps a suggestion for Roon, what you can do if you have for instance a QNAP X53 or higher you can run VMachine on it and can have Windows running on it as a session. This might (if I am right) work, so Roon can look directly on your NAS which is mapped in Windows on your own NAS. This does not require an extra machine. I have not tested it, but in theory this could be a ācleanā solution without additional laptops etc if you have all your files on a NAS.
patentpending saidGreen Machine said PS - anyone got Tidal to work with Chrome + MacBook Pro or OS X Yosemite + DStream DAC ??I have a mac mini going into my DStream (USB) that i run Tidal/Chrome on using a macbook air / sharing the screen in Yosemite and works well-albeit now iām going to look into this Roon businessā¦
Well, Iām failing miserably at using the latest version (manually downloaded & installed) of Chrome and outputting sound via USB port to Directstream.
I presume itās a Chrome / setup issue, rather than Tidal.
I can get Tidal via Safari => USB => DS.
I can get Tidal via Safari => USB => Laptop speakers
I can get Tidal via Chrome => USB => Laptop speakers
Cannot get Tidal via Chrome => USB => DS ā¦
No problem seeing or selecting the PS Audio USB 2.0 from the list of sound outputsā¦
very annoying since Tidal restricts CD quality streaming to Chrome on Macā¦
Tidal Desktop Apps on Windows & Mac released today.
Mac app supports 1411 kbps, so no need to rely on the Chrome (spyware) browser for CD quality streaming.
Installed and about to try it out nowā¦
Paul McGowan said
If all goes as planned Roon will come built into Bridge II at no cost. Having said that, to use Roon you need to buy their subscription ($10 a month or $500 lifetime) if you want to turn it on.Paul, can you add anything here, might it be ready when BII is released ?
Roon is looking far away right now - their code piece may be too large to fit, so we should not get our expectations up. Sorry for having done so. We are still working with them, but perhaps to little avail. They wonāt have code to even play with until September anywayā¦
Bummerā¦
Is it too early in July to ask whether Bridge II will ship in July or August ?
Tidal just announced complete AC/DC catalog available, so it is getting urgentā¦ 
Paul McGowan said Roon is looking far away right now - their code piece may be too large to fit, so we should not get our expectations up.I am a bit mystified. What exactly would the Bridge do with Roon code loaded on it? Does this make the Bridge a Roon endpoint? If so, how is this different than using the Bridge to receive a datastream without Roon?
It appears to me you need a PC to run Roon in any event. It is used for library management calling up what you want to play. Are you not able to send a datastream from Roon to the Bridge unless the Bridge has Roon installed on it? If so, why is Roon different than otherwise streaming to the Bridge so that its software need be on the Bridge also?
Iām sure there is something basic that I do not get.