PS Audio PerfectWave Bridge II

Playing high-end audio just got a whole lot more fun

The PerfectWave Network Bridge II allows PerfectWave DAC and DirectStream DAC owners to enter the world of connected audio and rediscover their music in a fun way that has few sonic compromises.

Bridge II is the successor to the original Bridge network card. Bridge II has a number of advances to the original, including: gapless play, stable connectivity, far better sound, lower jitter, higher speed architecture. The step from Bridge I to Bridge II is a significant one. With Bridge II you aren’t tied to a computer, you can store and access your music from anywhere in the house, you can connect either wirelessly or wired, and perhaps for the first time, you’ll be having more fun with your collection than you have in years.

Bridge II is your network gateway to streaming music. Using a UPnP compatible controller on an iPhone, Android or computer, you can access all your music stored on either a computer or NAS drive and enjoy bit perfect music on your PerfectWave or DirectStream DAC. The Bridge easily slides into an expansion slot located on the back of the DAC and allows you to connect quickly and easily to your home’s network (router).

Once connected the fun of internet radio, bit perfect music up to 192kHz 24 bits, is yours to enjoy. Most agree music ripped in either lossless or raw WAV files, located on a hard drive, sound equal or better to what you get with the PerfectWave Memory Player, yet you can choose what you want to hear with the touch of a finger on your tablet or phone. This is fun!

Just for the fun of it

There was a time in many of our customers lives that playing music was a more rewarding experience than it is now following the advent of the CD and CD player.

In days past, the vinyl experience would include pulling out the record and 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 world of possibilities and a mix of performance enhancements but we lost some of the original vinyl pleasures. With the PS Audio Bridge, the fun is back.

This changes everything

The PerfectWave Bridge and PS Audio DAC 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.

And with the Network Bridge you are no longer tethered to a computer to build your high-resolution media server. The PerfectWave Bridge permits placement of one, two or any number of DACS and Bridges anywhere in your home – accessing music stored on your network. Now you can focus on what you really want, music and the joy of a high-end audio system.

Have fun!

With UPnP software like JRiver, or similar programs like Twonky internal to most NAS, 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.

The PerfectWave Bridge can handle any sample rate and bit depth from 44.1kHz 16 bit all the way up to 192kHz 32 bit–and DSD–without breaking a sweat. Used with UPnP based server software like Twonky, or JRiver Media Center, the PerfectWave Bridge is easy to configure and use with music from your entire digital library ready to play at your finger tips.

Compare the sound of a CD or DVD disc through the PerfectWave DAC to the same recordings through the Bridge and the Bridge might sound even a touch better as digital music stored on a hard drive can be superior to that of a CD or DVD.

It just slides right in

The Bridge is a PS engineered options board that easily slides into the back of any PerfectWave DAC, including DirectStream and instantly transforms the DAC into a state-of-the-art network media server. You can then use any number of handheld touch screens like an iPhone, iPad, iPod or Android device to choose and play all of your music stored anywhere in your home or even over the internet. Any UPnP compatible App works fine, like Plug Player or, if you’re using JRiver for your server, JRemote.

The PerfectWave Bridge makes high-end fun again without any performance compromise whatsoever and removes the need for the DAC to be connected to a computer allowing music lovers the world over to enjoy their digital audio collections with uncompromised performance at the touch of a finger.

Under the hood of the Bridge is a powerful high-resolutiontrue asynchronous parallel approach based on 32 bit architecture with the core processor running at 500mHz and 256mB of high speed DDR memory.

High resolution audio up to 192kHz 32 bits

The data, which can be up to 192kHz 32 bits, is clocked into a custom Complex Programmable Logic Device that organizes each of the 32 bit frames into the requisite I2S format. That I2S data is then clocked out with extremely low jitter fixed frequency asynchronous clocks and into the PWD through high speed buffers isolated by a separate power supply.

The net result of this sophisticated asynchronous approach is a high-end, high-resolution network media player that does not care what the quality of the digital audio stream is over the network. What you get is simply breathtaking in its presentation heard through your system.

The music can be sent wirelessly or with a network cable and the sound coming out of the PerfectWave DAC is untouched by the transmission method. You never have to worry about setting sample rates, bit depth or any computer-like requirements. Simply touch play and enjoy.

Network Audio is the future

Network audio is the future and the PS Connected audio system places you at the forefront of technology in the high-end.

We understand that many of these technical terms and concepts may be a bit bewildering so here’s the bottom line: the PerfectWave Bridge simply, easily and without regard to how it receives the music you want to hear, plays everything in your collection perfectly and gets you closer to the music than you may have thought possible.

“The Bridge is a gem”

“Since I awarded the PS Audio MKII DAC an Audiophilia Star, I feel it is imperative to award one to the Bridge, too. The MKII allowed me to rid my system of a $4,000 preamplifier — and get better sound.

The bridge allows me to rid my system of $400+ USB cables and replace them with $5 ethernet cables and get better sound. Now, that’s progress.” Karl Sigman Audiophilia review

If you’re just now learning about the PerfectWave Bridge you probably have a lot of questions. How difficult is it to install the Bridge into the DAC? How easy is it to setup on the network?

The quick answer is, it’s easy  and if you don’t want to install the Bridge yourself, your local PS dealer will be happy to do it for you.

We’ve done our best to make the PS Connected audio system as simple as it can possibly be. Simply remove the Bridge from its package, turn the power to the DAC off, insert the Bridge into the back and restore the power. The Bridge is basically a true plug and play device.

All that’s left to do is connect to your home network through an Ethernet cable (the same way you might connect your computer to the internet) and everything else is automatic.

Once you connect the PerfectWave Bridge to your network you’re all set to start playing music.

Install any UPnP compatible program like JRiver and you’re set to go.