amgradmd

I say get the B&Ws! I recently got the 804 D3s and they are wonderful. They have totally transformed my system. I have them paired with a couple JL Audio Fathom 110s and they are a great pairing. Love them! And Chris, thank you for that refreshingly honest appraisal of your experience. I've never been to an audio show but would like to at some point. I'd love to use it as a means of scouting out future purchases. Although in the end, I think I'd more like to go to have a few drinks with you and the other CA patrons and talk about our hobby than listen to Patricia Freaking Barber, that's for sure!

Cool. Let me know what you think!

I got the standard double shielded. They were highly recommended by another insane person, er, audiophile on PSAudio.com forums.He said that the TG cables bettered the AQ Vodka cables he had. I think they sound pretty identical to the AQ Cinnamons, myself. I've never auditioned the Vodkas. I think the theoretical problem with the double shielded has to do with connector in that if designed poorly can lead to ground loops. I don't believe these cables have this problem. They sound fantastic, IMO, and are relatively cheap along the order of Blue Jeans cables. I get nothing but clean files with not distortion at all like I used to get occasionally with BJ cables. I think this is because of the fact that I have a serious collection of power cords and wires behind my rack and some EMI is inevitable with those. I do think the BJ cables were a big step up from the generic cat5 cables I had, it's just that these offer a bit more clarity across the board. Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for that tip, Alex! I did notice a difference right away. My SQ keeps getting better and better! As for the ethernet cable, I've tried a couple different ones from generic Cat5 cables to Blues Jeans Cat5e, Cat6, 6a, Audioquest Cinnamon (Cat7) and now Tera Grand Cat7. My favorite of the bunch so far have been the AQ Cinnamon and the Tera Grand, easily. The Tera Grands are Amazon specials, btw. Very economically priced compared to AQ. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around how an ethernet cable can make a significant difference, but it really can. I honestly can't tell a difference between the AQ and the TG cables, though. Both are equally musical to me. So TG Cat7 cables it is for me. I have my cabling from my modem to router and from switch to Mac and Mac to DS DAC taken care of. I will replace the generic 5e from router to switch (about 25 feet) at some point in the future also the TG. I would audition one for yourself. I'd be interested in your opinion. Thanks, again, Alex!

For those who aren't fluent in Mac bridge networking (I wasn't), here's a rundown of how to do it which I posted on PSAudio.com forum: Connect a Thunderbolt Ethernet adaoter into one of the TB ports and direct connect the ethernet cable to the DS DAC. Then do the following: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Network. Click the Action pop-up menu (gear icon) then choose Manage Virtual Interfaces. Click Add +, choose New Bridge, then select the interfaces to include in the bridge. This is important – select BOTH Ethernet and Thunderbolt Ethernet. This tripped my up for a while, as did several other things I won’t go into. Hey, I’m just a doctor, not a networking expert here! From there selected the option for DHCP to manage IP address for the Thunderbolt Bridge (too many Bridges!). Then I went into the DS Bridge II menu and manually put in a workable IP address, also including the subnet mask (the same as the Thunderbolt Bridge) but not the DNS server or Gateway. Maybe I could have put those in, but I didn’t need to. After waiting a minute, the router saw the DAC! Unreal. It is listed in my router client list as “CoversDigitalCo., LTD” who is the manufacturer of the Bridge II, I guess. I have no idea why it took me so long to get to this point, I swear. It seems so simple.

If by server you mean my Mac Mini, then I have! I don't have a NAS, just to be clear. Like I said, it wasn't without it's frustrations, but it was worth it. Plus I learned a lot about my network and router, so there's that. I forgot to mention that my previous setup had optical fiber isolation to the Mac and in between the DAC and switch, and this setup easily beats that, FWIW. I hadn't noticed a significant improvement with optical isolation, honestly, but kept it since it worked.

So I finally got the direct connection to work with my PS Audio Directstream DAC! It was not without it's difficulties, mostly self-inflicted since I'm not a networking guru. It turns out the problem I had when trying to connect with my Mac Mini was that I wasn't selecting both Ethernet and Thunderbolt Ethernet when bridging the Thunderbolt ethernet connection. Ugh. Of course! The point is that the sound is fantastic! Noticeably better than through the switch. I didn't get a chance to listen for long last night since I got it working pretty late, but it's pretty clear that the music has more dynamics, better instrument separation, just more pop, in general. Thanks to Romaz for pointing me in the right direction!

I recently installed a couple points of fiber optic isolation on my network. One between the switch and my Mac Mini server (TP-Link MC200CM with 15 foot duplex cable) with the other between the switch and PS Audio Directstream DAC (TP-Link MC100CM with 5 ft cable- the MC200CM wouldn't work with my DAC!). As of right now I am powering my PS Audio LANRover and the receiving module for the DAC with my UpTone Ultracaps LPS-1 with splitter. So I'm wondering if there's any point in getting another LPS-1 for the sending units as well. I can theoretically see the benefit of doing do, but does it really make a difference? And is the receiving unit to the DAC the one to power with the LPS if you can only choose one fiber module? Any input is greatly appreciated!

Actually the Bridge II is a Roon endpoint and normally shows up in preferences. That's why it's confusing that it is hooked up to the network, obtains an IP address, but is not seen by Roon. Any suggestions weclome!

Just bumping this since nobody has responded. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

I've been following this topic with significant interest. I recently purchased the PS Audio Directstream DAC and had a Bridge II on order. My goal was to try the bridged ethernet config from my Mac Mini and run that cable to my DS DAC and have the Mac connected to the switch. So I followed the directions by Romaz on how to add a Thunderbolt ethernet connection. I found I could only add under Network Settings with "Thunderbolt Ethernet" and not "Thunderbolt Bridge". By doing this, both the DS DAC and Thunderbolt would see the router and get an IP address using DHCP. But Roon could not see the Bridge as an endpoint. I rebooted everything and even tried difference ethernet cables but nothing worked. Then I tried to assign each an IP address, both on the same subnet mask and directed to the proper IP address of the router. Nothing. Roon was blind to the DS DAC. I'm no networking expert, but I'm confused as to why this isn't working. Can anyone help me with this? Thanks. Adam

I have a love/hate relationship with Play-Fi. I have a set of wired outdoor speaker powered by the Paradigm PW Amp. The Paradigm amp and speakers sound great and work well streaming my hi-res files across my network. My Sonos speakers cannot do this. Awesome. However, the speakers are located on my back deck adjacent to the back yard. Because the music runs through the device, as detailed above, I cannot go into the back yard with my phone on me while listening to music because my phone will lose Wifi connectivity cutting out the music. This necessitated me leaving my phone on the deck while in the yard, missing calls, texts, etc. I forgot to mention that when I control my music with th Play-Fi app on my Samsung S8 Edge, the music stalls out after only a couple soungs, for some reason. I've gone round and round with Play-Fi/Paradigm tech support on this and they don't have a clue why this happens. Paradigm is awesome, BTW. I don't blame them for Play-Fi's shortcomings. My Nexus 7 tablet, works fine with it though! No song stalling. So if I want to listen to my outdoor setup, I have to go upstairs, which is where the Nexus 7 is usually located (hopefully it's charged) and bring it downstairs and outside to operate Play-Fi. Oh, definitely do not forget that the tablet is outside when you are done or else it might get rained on!! And don't get me started on updating Play-Fi components!! It takes like 10 minutes on average to do this, seemingly every other week, and may or may not work. I've had to re-attempt this up to 10 times to get the update to take. Ugh. Ok, now I feel better.

Hi Alex. Here is another adapter I found for LANRover. C1 Power Connector Tip - 4.75 x 1.75mm Male Plug with 5.5 x 2.5mm Female Jack BTW, I'm still burning my LPS-1 and witholding final judgement for now, but it sounds great so far paired with LANRover.

Awesome Alex! So looking forward to getting my LPS-1. Not to mention looking forward to seeing the ISO Regen!

I've been following this thread with keen interest. Thanks for all those who have contributed, especially Romaz! I have been thinking as to whether or not this setup with a direct connection from my Mac Mini to my PS Audio DirectStream DAC with Bridge II. Keep in mind, the Bridge II on the DS DAC connects via ethernet and incorporates a Roon endpoint. So, from what I can gather, there is no obvious reason I couldn't "bridge" my Mac Mini with thunderbolt dual ethernet dongle and run direct to the Bridge II card on my DS DAC. Has anyone tried this?? I would love to ditch my USB connection. Thanks in advance for your input.