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streamer for PWD DAC mkII - tired of a computer and complicated connectivity!

Hello All,

I have a PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC mkII (PWD II) and I am sick and tired of having a computer connected to my hi-fi system.  I find it far easier to clean and play a record than it is to play a digital file, this is not acceptable!

I would love to keep my PWD II as it is a great sounding piece of gear, but I need to feed it with a music stream that is simple, and eliminate the mac mini and software.  I would love to use a Sonos Connect, but it cannot handle high res music.  Is there any other solution?  Is there a competitor to Sonos that handles high res?  Can I plug in an Apple TV and play music from the network without needing to look at iTunes on a computer somewhere?  Is there a low cost streamer that can plug into the PWD?  Can I control a NAS drive connected to the PWD II via ethernet without a computer?

Or, do I sell the PWD II, raise some funds, and buy a Cambridge 851N or Sony HAP-Z1ES?  Both of these units look way simpler, and both have plusses and minuses:  The Sony supports DSD, The Cambridge supports iTunes Airplay (and I would assume I can stream Apple Music through that?).

Thank you for your help!
- Mark
marktomaras
mahler123
3,399 posts
 
 "SO, mahler, how do you like the bluesound?"

  I was holding off answering this until I got a little more experience using it.  In general, I like it, but it is far from perfect.
  In answer to some of the questions posed since my post of mid january, I don't think that one can use any of the components unless you get the Vault.  The Vault is the only part of the system that can store music and controls the GUI, among other things.  I knew that going in, so that isn't a problem, but I do think the ads are misleading in that department.
  The sound is great.  I did a few comparisons with CDs that I had ripped to the Vault and playing them from my Oppo 105 and the differences are trivial at best.
   One problem is the App, which isn't quite ready for Prime Time.  It works a lot better at identifying albums than i tunes, but that is a low bar to step over.  It doesn't do the best job of organizing and finding albums compared to some other apps out there.  It is somewhat counterintuitive and difficult to make plays lists with.  It also frequently gets updated, which might be a good thing but which crashes the whole app and requires a reboot of the the components.
This also happens when Apple updates the iPad or the Android updates occur.  It isn't the hassle free panacea that I had been seeking compared to doing a Mac and Dac.  Nothing for me will beat popping in a disc and hitting play.
  It is an improvement over iTunes, but it could be so much more.

cymbop
315 posts
 
Mahler, if you ever get the itch to move on from the Bluesound, know that the Bridge II for your PWD is much more stable than the BI.  I put in a BII last week to replace a Squeezebox touch, and I am _floored_ by the increase in sound quality.  I did not imagine that a source upgrade (basically a transport upgrade) could make so much difference in any system.
marktomaras OP
544 posts
 
Hello All, so I decided to keep the PWDII and I actually just replaced the bridge with the Bridge 2.  I figured that had to be done.  I also recently discovered Roon & Tidal, which I adore.  So now I am playing the music via Roon and hard drive, connected via USB.  As soon as Roon & PS Audio combine forces, which I expect to happen this year (hopefully sooner than later!) I will be able to move my mac mini and hard drive off the audio shelf, back into a closet, and connect via ethernet.  At that point I will give the Bridge 2 its proper listen.  For now, I cannot imagine using JRiver again.  Utterly crap user interface and functionality compared to Roon.  I'll be in touch...
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