PS Audio Primer on Network Audio February 2, 2011 In 1982, Sony and Philips jointly introduced the world to digital audio through the Compact Disc, or CD. For the nearly 30 years following the introduction of the CD, digital audio was always played in a CD player; a device as simple to use as a vinyl turntable. Within a very short period of time, CD s and DVD s began to be replaced with hard drive storage instead of the optical storage of a CD, but until recently, the means to play those files on the hard drive was not a simple matter. Music stored on hard drives required a computer to retrieve the music and then a special player attached to the computer, or internal to the computer to hear anything. The latest advances in digital audio have gone a long way towards simplifying the process and removing the computer as a requirement for playing digital audio from a hard drive. Digital music can now be sent anywhere in the home or, for that matter, anywhere in the world via the internet, without any compromise to the quality of the music. This is a major breakthrough in both convenience and performance, and these advances are the basis for the PS Audio Network Music system in the PerfectWave DAC with the PerfectWave Network Bridge installed. The purpose of this primer is to explain how network audio works and to provide our customers with a clear understanding of the options available to them Overview of a modern Digital Audio System In any digital audio system there are three central requirements: 1. A source for the digital audio 2. A player 3. A controller In the original digital audio system (a CD player) the source was stored on an optical disc called a CD, the player (an optical disc reader and a DAC) were built into the CD player, and the control functions were handled with either the front panel or a hand-held remote control. In a computer based digital audio system, the audio is stored on a hard drive, the player must be attached to the computer through USB (or internal to the computer on a soundcard), and the control functions are typically through the computer s video screen, a keyboard and a mouse. In a Network Digital audio system there are a many more options for storage, including (but not limited to) a computer, an external hard drive, even the internet itself. The player (or players) can be connected to the audio source throughout the home and the controller (or controllers) can be any number of options including a computer, a handheld wireless remote device like a phone, a webpage, or a remotely located touch screen.
The network audio approach offers the best choice for delivering music throughout the home. Using the PS system ensures there are no limitations to quality, performance, format or resolution of the recorded audio. Let s take a closer look at the basic network audio system requirements for connecting your PS Audio Bridge to music. The sources for your music As mentioned in the overview, the 3 central requirements for any digital audio system are a source for the music, a player to play them and a controller to manage what and how loud you play the music. We will focus first on how to store and serve the music to the network. The player and the controller are much simpler and will follow in the next section. Understanding storage and serving There are two tasks to be completed in order to get music to the PerfectWave DAC/Bridge combo. 1. Store and access the media on your hard drive or the internet 2. Serve (send) the selected media to the network. Store and serve. These are the pillars of any digital audio system, regardless of its vintage. In a CD player, the stored media was served by the software inside the CD player to the internal DAC. In a computer based system, the stored media is served by software to the USB port of the computer. In a network based system the stored media is served by software to the network. So the two elements we need for any digital audio system are storage and server software. The only take-away from understanding the three types of servers (internal, USB, network) is that each task needs software specific to the task. Now that we understand the need for the two central elements, storage and server software, let s proceed to details and options available for storage. Storage options A network audio system has the advantage of choice: do you want a computer involved or not? It is certainly possible to eliminate the computer entirely in a network audio setup like PS Audio s PerfectWave system now, or anytime in the future. Here are some guidelines we suggest you consider when making this choice. Fortunately none of these choices locks you into anything permanently. The first thing you need to think about is where you re going to store your music: inside or outside your computer or even if a computer is involved.
Storing inside your computer is a reasonable option for small music collections (3000 albums or less) as long as you make sure you use some type of external portable storage to backup the library and as long as you don t mind having the computer on all the time. Storing outside your computer with a portable storage device is best for medium to large libraries (3000 albums or more) as it can easily be backed up and allows for unlimited growth of the library and doesn t require a computer. Storing and serving inside a computer We suspect the most common method of storing and serving your music to the network will be with a computer. The advantages to this are: Most of us already own a computer Our music is probably already stored on a computer Easy to connect more storage Easy to connect to a network Easy to get music into the computer Multiple options of server software Many options for management of the media library Easy to place anywhere the network is available (no need to be near the listening environment) The disadvantages are: Typically noisy machines Typically used for many more purposes than just serving music Requires some level of computer skills to operate and manage Can be expensive Required to run constantly to access media Multiple software packages required to manage, serve and operate If you ve decided to start out using a computer for storage and serving of the media to the network, here are some guidelines and suggestions. What you need to use a computer for the PerfectWave network audio system
The good news with this decision is that our network audio system does not care what the computer program or operating system is (MAC or Windows), and very little attention to detail must be exercised to make sure files are delivered properly to the PerfectWave DAC. This is not necessarily true in a computer based USB system because in the network setup, the media is never processed by the computer. You will need: Sufficient hard drive space to store your media library Network connection to a wireless router and home network Media management software Server software Connection to the internet (if you want artist s bio information, cover art, Bridge updates, internet radio) Network connection to a wireless router and home network Your computer must be connected to a wireless router to communicate with the wireless controller for the PS PerfectWave system as well as the PerfectWave Bridge. The recommended controller is a mobile device that runs our ipod, iphone, ipad application, tagnplay, available on the Apple itunes store for download to your Apple mobile device. You can read more about the controller (and other options) in the section labeled Controller. The PS Audio PerfectWave Bridge must also be connected to the network, either through an Ethernet connection on a network fed from the same wireless router or a wireless connection from this router. If you wish to connect the PerfectWave Bridge to the network through wireless means, you will need either an approved USB wireless dongle from PS Audio or an Ethernet wireless Bridge. available from any number of manufacturers. Media management software Media management can be handled with any number of programs, such as itunes, Media Monkey, Twonky, or Windows 7 media center. itunes is our recommendation for MAC users and Media Monkey for Windows. However, not all of these are servers. To use the PerfectWave Bridge you will need a server program running either on your NAS or your computer. You can download and use PS Audio s free elyric program www.elyric.com as your music manager and server. Storage formats acceptable to the PerfectWave system There are three ways to store your music on your computer s hard drive: raw, lossless or lossy. The PerfectWave system handles sample rates up to 192kHz and bit depth of 32 bits for any
format. We recommend lossless for storing your library. The PerfectWave is designed to produce bit perfect performance for any of the three lossless formats available. Raw storage formats available for the PerfectWave system are: Waveform Audio File Format (WAV) Audio Interchange Format (AIFF) Lossless storage formats available for the Bridge include: Apple Lossless (ALAC) Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) The PS Audio PerfectWave system also supports a number of lossy formats as well, such as MP3, Ogg, etc. These do not provide bit perfect results and are not recommended for music storage. Storage today is cheap and there s no reason we can think of to degrade the performance of your library by storing in a lossy format. Server Software Accessing your stored media and placing it on the home network and making sure the media is delivered to the chosen player is the job of the Server software. This software is installed on your computer and operates in the background. There are multiple options for server software available, among them PS Audio own elyric server software, available for MAC, Windows and Linux for free at www.elyric.com. Whatever server software is used the server must be a UPnP based server. The UPnP based server The PS Audio network based high-resolution audio system has its roots in something called UPnP or Universal Plug and Play. UPnP is really nothing more than a way for network equipment to talk to one another. The beauty of UPnP is everything is enabled with no setup. Plug a component onto the network and it announces itself to any other UPnP device and the two do what s known as a handshake and they are instantly communicating together. The heart of this UPnP based system is the UPnP server. Once installed on your computer, it will find all your media, find the PS Audio Bridge and make itself as well as all your media available to the PS controller on the ipod/iphone/ipad. We recommend elyric from PS Audio first, then Twonky and J River. Twonky is available for both MAC and Windows, is very efficient, and works well for the PS PerfectWave system. Its downside is a crude user interface, but once you install Twonky on your computer, setup is easy and it just works. J River is only available for Windows http://www.jriver.com/.
Twonky Server is available for $19.95 and available for download here: http://www.twonky.com/products/twonkyserver/ There are other UPnP based servers available such as Asset http://www.dbpoweramp.com/assetwhs-manual.html but only available for Windows. Windows 7 Media Center is also a UPnP based software program, but it is more difficult to setup and not recommended. Connection to the internet It is not essential that your router be connected to the Internet for the PerfectWave system to operate successfully. However, it is highly recommended, as many of the features of the PerfectWave system are unavailable without the benefit of an Internet connection. With the Internet connected to the network router, you can: Download media Play internet radio including PS Audio s own etracks radio Get artist s biographical information for just about anything you are playing Cover art Upgrades to the PerfectWave system when available Storing and Serving without a computer The simplest, easiest and safest way to store and serve music over the network is without a computer. The advantages are: No computer required The device is dedicated to music serving and storage Backup can be built in and automatic Large libraries easily accommodated Easy to use with no extra programs or software required Can be placed anywhere on the network, available even remotely over the internet No computer skills or knowledge required The disadvantages are: Added expense to that of the computer you may already own
Sometimes complicated to setup initially No choice of server software Can be noisy and may require remote location from listening environment What you need to not use a computer for the PerfectWave network audio system The good news with this decision is that you do not need a computer, and the storage can be placed anywhere in the network you choose. You will need: A UPnP based Network Attached Storage device or a UPnP based router and USB storage device. Network connection to a wireless router and home network Connection to the internet (if you want artist s bio information, cover art, Bridge updates, internet radio) A UPnP based Network Attached Storage device (NAS) or a UPnP based router and USB storage device The two simple choices presently available today for storing and serving media without a computer are a UPnP compatible NAS or a UPnP compatible router with a USB share possible. By far, the NAS option is the easiest and recommended of both options from a simple plug-nplay perspective. The wireless router with USB share is the second choice due to library size limitations. Both categories are rapidly expanding and new choices arrive almost every week. Using a UPnP based NAS NAS stands for Network Attached Storage device; basically an external hard drive that connects up to a network and is controlled with its own built in computer. There are a number of these on the market today and at the end of this section we will make some suggestions for your consideration. A UPnP compatible NAS also has the server software built in and ready to go for the system, so this is really all you need to run the PerfectWave setup. Thinks of a NAS as a small, dedicated computer, running server software and connected to your network. Its sole function in life is to serve your music to your PerfectWave system. NAS devices are available from a number of different manufacturers and can be chosen for their hard drive storage size and UPnP software availability. If you decide to go with a NAS, you will need to set it up on your network and then transfer all your media files to the hard drive on the NAS. Over the network this can sometimes take a day depending on the size of your library.
The size of your NAS is determined by its internal hard drive. Here are some figures for you when making your choice. The figures are all based on our recommended lossless storage approach. If you want to store everything in RAW format (WAV or AIFF) cut these numbers in half. 500GB 1TB 4TB 7TB 1400 albums 17,000 tracks 2800 albums 34,000 tracks 12,000 albums 140,000 tracks 20,000 albums 240,000 tracks If you want to backup your NAS using a system that is built into most NAS devices, called RAID, you will half to cut the above figures down by up to 1/2 depending on the type of RAID backup system you choose. See your dealer or call PS Audio for further advice. Our recommendations for NAS devices include the following: Thecus N5500 http://de.thecus.com/product.php?prod_id=22 Not too expensive, well built and reliable. Qnap TS-419B http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=127ripnas A little on the expensive side but good value and expandable, easy to use. The RIPNAS is the most expensive of the group we recommend, it s in a fancy chassis, includes a built in ripping device and can add more storage as you grow your library. In the US only a 1tB unit is available and this may be limiting to many. http://www.ripnas.com/ Network connection to a wireless router and home network Your NAS must be connected to a network router with wireless capabilities to communicate with the wireless controller for the PS PerfectWave system as well as the PerfectWave Bridge. The recommended controller is a mobile device that runs our ipod, iphone, ipad application, tagnplay, available on the Apple itunes store for download to your Apple mobile device. You can read more about the controller (and other options) in the section labeled Controller. The PS Audio PerfectWave Bridge must also be connected to the same network as the NAS, either through an Ethernet connection on a network fed from the same wireless router or a wireless connection from this router.
If you wish to connect the PerfectWave Bridge to the network through wireless means, you will need a wireless Ethernet Bridge. We recommend the WET610N wireless Ethernet Bridge from Cisco-Linksys for this task. http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/adapters/linksys- WET610N_stcVVproductId65221232VVcatId543809VVviewprod.htm?icid=home_linksys_brid ge_all&src2=home_linksys_bridge_all Here is a PS Audio How To guide to help you with setup if you need. http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-setup-a-linksys-610-ethernet-bridge/ Connection to the internet It is not essential that your router be connected to the Internet for the PerfectWave system to operate successfully. However, it is highly recommended as many of the features of the PerfectWave system are unavailable without the benefit of an Internet connection. With the Internet connected to the network router, you can: Download media Play internet radio including PS Audio s own etracks radio Get artist s biographical information for just about anything you are playing Cover art Upgrades to the PerfectWave system when available Storage formats acceptable to the PerfectWave system There are three ways to store your music on the hard drive of your NAS: raw, lossless or lossy. The PerfectWave system handles sample rates up to 192kHz and bit depth of 32 bits for any format. We recommend lossless for storing your library. The PerfectWave is designed to produce bit perfect performance for any of the three lossless formats available. Raw storage formats available for the PerfectWave system are: Waveform Audio File Format (WAV) Audio Interchange Format (AIFF) Lossless storage formats available for the Bridge include: Apple Lossless (ALAC) Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
The PS Audio PerfectWave system also supports a number of lossy formats as well, such as MP3, Ogg, etc. These do not provide bit perfect results and are not recommended for music storage. Storage today is cheap and there s no reason we can think of to degrade the performance of your library by storing in a lossy format. Using a UPnP based router There are a growing number of UPnP based wireless routers that can accommodate the addition of a USB hard drive, forming a perfect storage and server setup. The advantages are: No computer required The device is dedicated to music serving and storage Low cost Large libraries easily accommodated Easy to use with no extra programs or software required Can be placed anywhere on the network, available even remotely over the internet No computer skills or knowledge required The disadvantages are: Added expense to that of the computer you may already own Sometimes complicated to setup initially No choice of server software Usually limited to only 1 drive Need an external USB hard drive Limits to the library size, typically 20,000 tracks or fewer You will need: A UPnP based router and USB storage device. Network connection to a wireless router and home network Connection to the internet (if you want artist s bio information, cover art, Bridge updates, internet radio)
Our recommendations for a UPnP based router In our opinion, and of this writing, there is only one really good choice, the Netgear WNDR7000. We have tried many of these and so far, only the Netgear has lived up to our standards for a server. The downside is library size. This device will only support fewer than 20,000 tracks. If your library is larger than that or if you plan to go larger, we would recommend switching over to a NAS. The information for the Netgear router is available here: http://www.netgear.com/products/home/wirelessouters/high-performance/wndr3700.aspx The external USB hard drive One of the advantages of going with a UPnP based router is the ability to connect an external USB hard drive. These hard drives are available in many sizes and are generally extremely low cost. You can purchase any USB external hard drive from manufacturers such as Seagate, Western Digital, Iomega, or Toshiba. Our preference is Western Digital as they seem to have the lowest failure rate we ve seen. You can also take any SATA hard drive you have around the house and convert it into a USB hard drive. A number of low cost USB enclosures are available for this purpose. If you wish to use an existing SATA hard drive and adapt it to the USB standard, we would recommend Vantec s line of enclosures. http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/index/21 Make sure the enclosure fits the size hard drive you wish to include. Network connection to the home network Your UPnP based wireless router must form the basis of your network to communicate with the wireless controller for the PS PerfectWave system as well as the PerfectWave Bridge. The recommended controller is a mobile device that runs our ipod, iphone, ipad application, tagnplay, available on the Apple itunes store for download to your Apple mobile device. You can read more about the controller (and other options) in the section labeled Controller. The PS Audio PerfectWave Bridge must also be connected to the same network as the NAS, either through an Ethernet connection on a network fed from the same wireless router or a wireless connection from this router. If you wish to connect the PerfectWave Bridge to the network through wireless means, you will need either an approved USB wireless dongle from PS Audio or an Ethernet wireless Bridge. available from any number of manufacturers. Connection to the Internet
It is not essential that your UPnP based router be connected to the internet for the PerfectWave system to operate successfully. However, it is highly recommended as many of the features of the PerfectWave system are unavailable without the benefit of an Internet connection. With the Internet connected to the UPnP network router, you can: Download media Play Internet radio including PS Audio s own etracks radio Get artist s biographical information for just about anything you are playing Cover art Upgrades to the PerfectWave system when available Storage formats acceptable to the PerfectWave system There are three ways to store your music on your external USB hard drive: raw, lossless or lossy. The PerfectWave system handles sample rates up to 192kHz and bit depth of 32 bits for any format. We recommend lossless for storing your library. The PerfectWave is designed to produce bit perfect performance for any of the three lossless formats available. Raw storage formats available for the PerfectWave system are: Waveform Audio File Format (WAV) Audio Interchange Format (AIFF) Lossless storage formats available for the Bridge include: Apple Lossless (ALAC) Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) The PS Audio PerfectWave system also supports a number of lossy formats as well, such as MP3, Ogg, etc. These do not provide bit perfect results and are not recommended for music storage. Storage today is cheap and there s no reason we can think of to degrade the performance of your library by storing in a lossy format.