NAS, summary

I have Qnap Nas with Twonky and use this now with the Directstream with Bridge2 but initially started with PWD2 and Bridge 1 and have upgraded step by step in recent years. The lack of of a decent controller for me has always been the weakest link and still lets the PS Audio brand down compared to my friends who have Linn and Naim setups. The majority of third party controllers out there can do the job of playing an album straightoff but I look for more. E.g creating a playlist on the fly when you have a party on the go or simply passing the IPad round the dinner table to have easy ability to play next track instantly or queue at end or start random play etc. I have yet to find the perfect controller but give some thoughts on what works below: McConnect – good for playing an album straight off but poor at creating playlists. Plugplayer – not sexy but was the most reliable with Bridge 1 but with Bridge 2 keeps skipping tracks in playlist so have retired that one now. Creation5 – lovely user interface does most things well, volume control bit fiddly and clearing playlist needs app reboot. Songbook HD – bit pricy but closest to perfection at moment, user interface with album artwork very good. When playing random playlist it has habit of cutting last few seconds off track but otherwise very stable. Songbook lite – loses connection regularly and can lose playlist entirely. Linn kinksy – I know it well as my brother has Linn Accurate system. Doesn’t work with Bridge 1 or Bridge 2 In that it doesn’t move to next track in playlist automatically. 8 player – like Mconnect only good for playing an album and user interface is basic in extreme. When you have a high end system having to tolerate these limitations is ridiculous. Using Paul’s analogy it is like taking delivery of your new Ferrari but they didn’t include the steering wheel. The Elyric app, previously supported by PS, was as good as things got but to drop it with no replacement was a poor decision in my mind. I see Meridian have outsourced their Sooloos controller to Roon and PS Audio have suggested a similar hook up in these page. The sooner you achieve this the better, to give the PS Audio brand full credibility and to deliver a user experience your brand should be setting out to achieve.