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switched over to the analog output. Even matching the playback level between the digital and analog outputs, I heard more dynamics, felt more impact in the bass, and much preferred the music’s increased depth of soundstage and dimensionality from the digital output. With some CDs, the SoundBridge’s digital output feeding the Bryston sounded almost as good as that of my Krell CD player. But despite its superiority to its analog output, even the SoundBridge’s digital output was troubled by a subtle noise that I couldn’t get rid of by repositioning the SoundBridge in relation to other equipment. I heard this when, at top volume, I played the first 30 seconds of digitally recorded silence in Samuel Barber’s “Heaven-Haven (A Nun Takes the Veil)”—track 18 of Cantus’ …Against the Dying of the Light (CD, Cantus CTS-1202). The silence was perturbed by a slight background noise not evident when the same passage was played over the Squeezebox. Comparison listening to the same selections through the Squeezebox was revealing. I preferred the Squeezebox’s analog output to that of the Roku. The SoundBridge’s DAC seemed to collapse and flatten the musical soundfield, turning the upper-midrange tones harsh and bright, and dimming the music’s transparency and sheen. With levels matched, the SoundBridge’s analog outputs had less bass extension, narrower soundstage depth, and less transparency than did the Squeezebox’s. What about the digital output? Even though the Roku’s digital output was superior to its analog, it wasn’t as sweet, open, transparent, or free of hardness as the Squeezebox’s, again feeding the Bryston. Though Patricia Barber’s voice on “Too Rich for My Blood,” from her Café Blue (CD, Premonition/Blue Note 5 21810 2) was well-defined and stood out from the background, the SoundBridge added brightness and extra dynamics. The timbre of Barber’s voice was definitely brighter and cooler when the SoundBridge fed its digital streaming file to the Bryston DAC. Emmylou Harris’ thin, delicate, translucent soprano in “Calling My Children Back Home,” from Spyboy (CD, Eminent EM-25001-2), had more dynamics and snap than I recalled hearing before playing it through the SoundBridge. And in “A Gaelic Blessing,” from John Rutter’s The Lord is My Light and My Salvation (CD, Reference RR- 57CD), although the different voices in the chorus were well defined, there was ROKU SOUNDBRIDGE M1001 an edge to the male voices. Somehow in these selections, the Squeezebox’s digital output was more relaxed than the Roku, its timbre smoother. The SoundBridge fared better with other musical selections, particularly those that were primarily instrumental. I was particularly delighted with the quality of the digital file I’d downloaded of Keith Jarrett’s “True Blues” piano solo from The Carnegie Hall Concert, which sounded most open, involving, and lyrical when it was sourced from the digital output of either the SoundBridge or the Squeezebox. Conclusions The Roku SoundBridge M1001’s low price ($199.99), large display, and ability to play DRM-protected files are all positive factors for an inexpensive network music player. It is less expensive than the Sonos ZP80 system ($999), and betters Slim Devices’ Squeezebox in that it can play DRM-wrapped files downloaded from Napster. Roku’s manual and website discourage telephone support, so the user must rely on a frustrating web-based fill-in sheet to get tech support, which responds within 24 hours. However, I was left with some nagging concerns about this otherwise promising network music player. First, while I strongly preferred the Sound- Bridge’s digital output fed to an external DAC over its analog outputs, which improved the dynamics and soundstage depth for orchestra music, I felt that the omnipresent low-level noise lent subtle colorations to vocal recordings. Second, running the SoundBridge with Windows Media Connect 2.0 required too much maintenance from me. Not only did I have to kick-start the music server by moving all of my music files out of, and then back into, my music subdirectory, but WMC 2.0 intermittently slowed and stopped until after I’d shut down all other software running in the background on my laptop. Finally, I couldn’t persuade the Windows XP firewall to make an exception for the SoundBridge, so the firewall had to be shut down as well before I could listen to music. Roku’s SoundBridge M1001 will appeal to those who buy most of their recordings from online music stores— such as Napster and Rhapsody—that wrap their files in Microsoft DRM protection. With some caveats, I recommend the Roku SoundBridge M1001, using its digital outputs, as a cost-effective network music player for casual listening. ■■ EXPERIENCED IMªGINªTIºN... JPS n. 1. A power of the wise which allows for reality from fantasy, perceptions from air, emotions from absentees, art from science 2. A fine tool used for the creation of JPS Labs’ unique AC power, speaker, digital, and interconnect cables. Listen, Clearly, Always TM TM The World’s Finest Cables Wired with Alumiloy© Tel 716-656-0810 Email info@JPSLabs.com www.JPSLabs.com ©2006 JPS Labs LLC www.Stereophile.com, May <strong>2007</strong> 75 3
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home entertainment 2007

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