The iFi Bridge allows any UPnP / DLNA device (Universal Plug and Play / Digital Living Network Alliance) to become a playback option on Roon. For devices that are also MQA compatible such as the iDSD Pro, the iFi Bridge allows for MQA and Gapless over a network which was previously unachievable.
How does it work?
The application connects with UPnP / DLNA devices found on your network and acts as a bridge between the Roon application and your device. It disguises each device as a ‘Logitech Squeezebox device’ which is compatible with Roon allowing audio playback over network successfully.
Please note, we are unable to shed any light for Mac or Linux users - Also we have created this with our own findings, if you have any problems please report them to us, however, we will try our best to resolve any issues but can not guarantee due to many combinations/variations of customers computer setups etc.
What is MQA?
MQA Stands for Master Quality Authenticated – it is a method of delivering large hi-res recorded music into a small file size so that everyone can stream it. It allows for hi-res audio without the need for super-fast internet and large amounts of storage. To ‘unfold’ MQA you will need a Core decoder (with software such as Tidal) and an MQA renderer (with hardware such as Zen DAC, xDSD, iOne etc.) or you can use an MQA Full decoder such as the iDSD Pro which handles all stages of the unfolding process for the best sound quality.
No I haven’t. Windows-only apparently and I am Mac-only. I’ll just use AirPlay until Devialet implements RAAT. I’m liking DOS 2 however. Seems stable, remote is working and I am delighted to be rid of the Dialog. Feels like it’s given my Phantoms a new lease of life.
Plus this software is Windows based, so it would require a Windows platform to be powered-on to provide the UPnP Bridge. I don’t want a noisy Windows machine in the playback path.
IMO this type of software is better running on a dedicated appliance or part of the server infrastructure. Given I use a NUC running Roon’s ROCK with my library on a NAS, a server based implementation is not possible, so dedicated appliance it is - which for me is a UltraRendu with UltraCap LPS 1 to run the SonoreUPnP Bridge to feed my Naim NDS network player.
I have the option with an XMOS U8 USB to S/PDIF convertor into the Digital input of the NDS, but frankly it does perform as well as the SonoreUPnP bridge path.
But if you remember, I only added this playback route when the SonoreUPnP Bridge was not operating well enough to be my primary Roon route - now that I have the SonoreUPnP Bridge working perfectly, and without any issue, the XMOS U8 convertor is not used, and there is no need to invest in a
replacement.
Yes I understand. If any part of your comment was about sound quality then the direct input should be better than that specific converter. If any part of your comment was about functionality both perform the same function via different inputs.
I’ve managed to successfully get ifi bridge working with roon and my devialet phantom reactors. Roon now sees them as squeezeboxes…but audio tops out @ 24bit / 48 max. No options in the advanced options for higher resolution. Strange as the phantoms support 24 / 192. Any thoughts??