Network Audio Players/Servers

Digital only – the AirLens offers wired/wireless network control/streaming inputs, and a USB-A port for firmware updates. Outputs are on coaxial (192kHz/24-bit and DSD256 via DoP) and as I2S on HDMI (384kHz/32-bit and DSD256 natively)

High Priest
Ideally a network streamer/bridge will have no ‘sound’ of its own and will simply pass the digital audio data in as clean a state as possible, letting the connected DAC get to work. Any subjective audition of the AirLens is therefore a ‘group effort’ with the partnering DAC which, in all likelihood, will be one of PS Audio’s own. To that end, the AirLens combined with the DirectStream DAC MK2 delivered a sound that was both engaging and insightful, confirming the streamer as an obvious add-on and making for an impressive two-box set-up for a price of around £10k all in.

‘The Serpent And The King’, from Judas Priest’s superb new album Invincible Shield [Columbia; 48kHz/24-bit], is a fine example of the British band’s latter-day period – buzzing with guitar energy, pounding drums and the high-pitched vocals of Rob Halford, who you wouldn’t guess was now 72 years old. But while the heavy metal vibes are present and correct, it’s a clean, modern-sounding production, something the AirLens/DS DAC MK2 conveyed effortlessly. There was no muddiness or murk to the instrumentation, with every detail coming through.

Turning back the clock to Heart’s 1977 hit ‘Barracuda’ [Little Queen, Epic; 192kHz/24-bit], the difference in tone and production styles was obvious, this track being more rough and ready, and warmer sounding. Yet the PS Audio pairing still revealed plenty, including the harmonic flourishes to the slightly phased guitar riff and the vibrato of Ann Wilson’s singing. The sense of rhythmic flow was great too, the song driving along atop a focused, punchy drum track. A more expansive, dynamic sound was provided by Supertramp’s ‘Goodbye Stranger’ [Breakfast In America; 2010 remaster, A&M], here played easily via Tidal Connect rather than Roon. The AirLens and DirectStream DAC MK2 presented an ordered soundstage with excellent separation of the instruments, but now it was much broader, reflecting the ’Tramp’s typically epic approach to their arrangements. And neither did PS Audio’s streamer soften the impact of the bass, cymbals and keyboard surges that bookmark the song’s opening verse.