It’s funny how sometimes temporary names just seem to attach themselves to products and stick forever.  Such is the case with the PS Audio Network Bridge.  Best known by everyone as simply 'The Bridge' the PS Network Bridge is the link between the home network and your high-end audio system.

Sure there are other streaming audio solutions, but none that brings true high-end performance coupled with the fun of a great user experience like the PS Audio approach.

The Bridge has been in the works for over two years and represents the single biggest engineering project ever tackled by the PS Engineering staff.  The work was completed by a team of 15 engineers, programmers and coders located in Russia, Rhode island, Cupertino and Boulder. 
Truly, this was a worldwide effort of some of the brightest people in the industry and a monumental achievement now that it is done.

The mission 

To bring together the fun and utility of a music library with the zero-compromise performance of a high end DAC and make it painless and brainless to install for our customers.  Why was this important to us?

It’s because the engineering people at PS Audio want to change the world.  It’s just in our blood to want to make a small dent in the universe and delight our customers with products that redefine how we listen and enjoy music in our high-end systems.

When we started the PerfectWave DAC and Network Bridge project we did so because there was nothing available on the market that combined the fun and ease of use of a well designed user interface and digital storage library with the no-compromise performance of a high-end DAC and frankly, we wanted one.  We wanted it badly and so too did our customers.  Two years later there still isn’t anything as complete as the PerfectWave/Bridge setup and once you get your hands on this system, you’ll see what we mean.

The Bridge is the missing link that, for the first time, marries a high-end DAC to a fun-to-use network music experience without any sonic compromise whatsoever.  Certainly there have been many attempts by others and some of these get the performance right, but are not as fun to use.  Some are tethered to computers with USB umbilicals, which means the computer is always in the listening room, others are fun to use but don’t perform, and the list goes on.  Only the PerfectWave DAC and Bridge combo combine all the elements together in one cool, fun-to-use package with 32 bit high-resolution performance that is simply breathtaking.

When we began auditioning the streaming audio solutions available a few years ago we realized that their performance was all over the map; but that map didn’t include high-end performance.  Even if you took the digital stream output of these devices and played them through a high-end DAC they still didn’t perform to our standards.  Worse, none of these solutions would address high-resolution audio requirements of 192kHz 24 to 32 bit media that was beginning to appear on the scene.

This was a familiar problem to us after our work on the Digital lens.  So we decided early on that stripping and rebuilding to perfection using Lens technology was going to be the key to our success in the world of connected audio.

Our first new product to incorporate the Lens technology would be the PerfectWave Transport (PWT).  The PWT uses a 64mB Digital lens inside to produce high-performance audio from CD’s or DVD’s and if you’ve ever had the good fortune to listen to (or even own a PWT), you know what we mean.

The challenge with streaming music over a network was to create a network interface that would provide performance equal to or better than the PWT.  The interface would use the a modern day version of the Digital Lens technology to achieve this.  Once built, all we needed to do was create a fun and useful portable interface to scroll through your library and we’d have a killer product.

That killer product is the Bridge and the bridge and PerfectWave DAC will change the world of high-end audio.  This is the silver bullet we’ve all been looking and waiting for.  The Bridge and DAC represent the best no-compromise approach to high-end audio we have ever seen or heard.  Once you get to play with the interface and listen to the Bridge/DAC combination, you’ll never be able to go back to anything else, including CD’s and DVD’s.

The Bridge 

The Bridge is a custom designed PC board that slides into the back of any PerfectWave DAC.  When you hold it in your hand, it doesn’t seem like much; but don’t let its small size fool you.  Under the hood of the Bridge is an incredible high-resolution 192kHz 32 bit capable network interface with innovations and technological breakthroughs galore.

The bridge is unlike anything ever built to date.  Instead of a 'quasi asynchronous' clocking system found in most systems we have investigated, the Bridge is a true asynchronous parallel 32 bit system approach.  This means that there are actually two low jitter isolated and separate clocks (44.1kHz and 48kHz) that are completely unrelated to any other clock in the Bridge for true asynchronous performance.

There is also no digital manipulation of any kind going on in the Bridge, either through sample rate converters or DSP’s whatsoever.  While many of our competitors rely on system wide clocking and digital manipulation to lower jitter and improve performance, only the PS Bridge has a real Digital Lens built into its architecture, providing low jitter I2S music without any digital manipulation and the differences are easy to hear; the PS combo is simply stunning.

The bridge contains all the CODECS (programs) to convert just about any format of audio into what the PerfectWave DAC wants for perfection; I2S.  Once the Bridge gets a network music stream, it figures out what the native format is (FLAC, WAV, ALAC, MP3, etc.) and converts the format into a pure digital audio stream without any associated clocks.  This is important because this data, once converted to its raw format, can then be placed into the 256mB memory of the Digital lens and then output in I2S directly into the DAC.

The I2S format has separate clocks and data lines that never mix with each other and therefore there is little to no jitter.  The Bridge can accept any format with resolutions up to 192kHz, 32 bits and feed that info directly into the PWD for sound that simply takes your breath away.

Compare the sound of a CD or DVD disc through the PWT into the Bridge/DAC combo and the differences are so small (if at all) that you’ll have fun debating your friends on which one they are listening to.  In multiple side-by-side A/B tests here at the PS Audio Reference System, differences between the Bridge and PWT are so small as to be non-existent.

Just for the fun of it

The bridge allows PWD owners to enter the world of connected audio and rediscover their music in a fun way that has no compromises.  You aren’t tied to a computer, you can store your music anywhere in the house (as long as there is a network), you can connect either wirelessly or wired, and perhaps for the first time in a very long time, you’ll be having more fun with your collection than you have in years.

The Bridge and PWD combo will change everything in your system and allow you to build a glorious musical library your friends and family can enjoy for years to come. 
Think of the difference between thumbing through the collection of CD’s in your shelf compared with the fun of having your library and artist information right at your finger tips with the hand held controller.

With the PS system you can build playlists, compilations, listen to radio, sort through everything that’s high-resolution, listen to music and artists as never before. 
For perhaps the first time the thrill and discovery of a music library system comes alive in your hands and you never have to worry that you’re missing something in the performance.

With the PS system, we simply do not tolerate compromise in the performance.

The PS connected audio system

So, how does this install and work?  Is it easy?  Can anyone do it or do you need a network expert?  What’s inside the package?

First off, it’s easy and no, you really don’t need to know anything about networks or computers or drivers or, for that matter, anything to make this work.  The Bridge is basically a true plug and play device.  Once installed you connect it to the network and everything else is automatic.

Second, there are several simple elements you need to make this system work and we will go through those elements now.

A connected audio system has three elements necessary:

A player (the DAC/Bridge)

Music stored on a hard drive or memory of some kind

A controller

The player is simple.  Get a PWD, insert the Bridge into the back, connect the DAC up to your high-end system and the bridge to your home’s router (either wireless or wired) and turn on the switch to play music.  The controller will “see” the bridge and allow you to connect to it with the touch of a button.  It’s just that simple.

Music stored on your computer or external hard drive is pretty simple as well.  The Bridge will play just about any format of encoded music ever designed; either lossless or lossy, high resolution or standard resolution.  FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, MP3, OGG, APE and the list goes on until it gets boring.  The only thing the Bridge will not play is SACD and this is because of digital rights problems through Sony who will not permit you to copy the SACD onto a hard drive and stream the results.

A controller is also a simple issue.  The controller is the interface between your stored library of music and the Bridge.  The controller lets you scroll through everything in the library, create playlists, read cover art, artist’s bio’s etc.  The controller is the FUN part of the connected audio experience.

There are numerous ways to control the PS Audio Bridge: from your computer or from a portable device.  The most fun is from a portable device and here is where we have partnered with Apple.

Using Apple’s extremely affordable iPod Touch, or an Apple iPhone or iPad, you can load the PS Audio controller app and be instantly connected.  The PS Audio app will soon be available for download on the iTunes store and provides a fun and rewarding experience controlling everything in your library.

The app will also control every feature on the PWD, including sample rate, phase, filters, inputs and volume.

Using the app couldn’t be easier.  Cover art and artist’s bio are sent over from the PS Audio servers automatically as long as your network is connected to the internet.  Everything just happens without anything required from you, the user.  Scroll through the library, find something you want to hear and simply touch the song title. The system immediately begins to play, setting the correct sample rate and filter setting automatically.

Radio, playlists and an awesome experience

Using the Apple based controller gives you a number of advantages: among them full access to internet radio, including PS Audio’s own eTracks radio station offering great, commercial free high-resolution programming into your home.

You can also build and use playlists right on the iPod Touch device with just the flick of a finger.  There’s a great video of all the features and functions available on the iPod Touch or iPad version of the PS Audio app that does a great job of explaining everything.  Simply click on the video to watch.

The PWD front panel

If you own a PWD you know how cool the front panel touch screen is and what a joy to use.  If you don’t own one, head to your local dealer and try it out.  The PWD plugged directly into a power amplifier (or into a preamp) can change the way you think about your music system and provide a tremendously rewarding experience matched by nothing else in the industry.

The PWD’s apodizing filters, Native resolution options, fully discrete analog output stage and 32 bit resolution make it one of the best sounding DACS in the world and now that it is also a music server, the front panel touch screen comes alive in a way you may never have expected.

When you install the Bridge into the back of the PWD, the entire touch screen interface on the front panel of the PWD takes on a whole new purpose; that of controlling your network media and displaying cover art as the music plays.

Using the front panel touch screen, you can scroll through any playlist you have loaded into the bridge, choose the next track from an album that’s playing and, most important, watch full view cover art as you play what’s in your music library.  It really adds a whole new dimension to the PerfectWave experience.

What’s inside the Bridge?

A lot of technology and programming.  This is not just a small off-the-shelf computer motherboard like a lot of companies have turned to, but a complete custom in-house solution designed by the hardware specialists at PS Audio in Boulder.

The Bridge is based on 32 bit architecture with the core processor running at 500mHz and uses 256mB of high speed DDR memory for the lens.  The data is clocked out of the DDR memory into a custom CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) that organizes each of the 32 bit frames into the requisite I2S format.  That I2S data is then clocked out of the CPLD with one of two custom, low jitter, fixed frequency asynchronous clocks (depending on the sample rate) and finally leaves the Bridge and into the PWD through high speed buffers powered by a separate supply in the PWD.

How is this different than everyone else?

Of course we cannot say with complete confidence what 'everyone else' is or will be doing now or in the future, but here’s what we can say with confidence.  The majority of the few connected audio streaming devices on the market today are based on either a small PC type motherboard or off-the-shelf microprocessor based solutions with integrated clocks and little to no control over the way the data is handled and manipulated.  With very few exceptions, these solutions do not come close to the performance of the PS Audio bridge.

We knew from the beginning of our project that in order to give our customers a true high-end PS experience - one that would ensure that they would never have to be concerned about performance compromises - we had to do everything from scratch.  This means the firmware that runs the system, the hardware it runs on and the basic architecture these platforms use to work their magic.

The results of all this hard work are immediately obvious the first time you listen to your PWD with the bridge installed.  It’s almost hard to believe you’re listening to streaming audio from a hard drive located somewhere else in your home, but it’s true.  This is really a revolutionary experience and one we highly recommend you enjoy at your earliest opportunity.

Getting back to what it’s all about

There was time in many of our customers lives that playing music was a more rewarding experience than it is now with the advent of the CD.  In days past the vinyl experience would include pulling out the record, reading the cover and liner notes as the music played in all its analog glory.  When the CD came into existence it brought with it a new audio experience but we lost some of the original vinyl experience.  With the PS Audio bridge, the fun is back.

There’s simply too much to write about to give you the full story and to relay the experience of a library full of music available at the touch of a finger through the PS Audio bridge and DAC combo.  We encourage you to visit your local PS Audio retailer and take a Bridge/DAC combo home and play with it for a week.  The experience is something that is absolutely addicting so be careful: once you try the bridge there’s simply no going back to what you had in the past.

The PS Audio Network bridge changes everything and completes the goal set by our engineering staff two years ago: to make a small dent in the universe and change the world.  Welcome to the future.