[dougms3]

At last, Ares II arrived.

Interesting pairings there.

Didnt know people still used earbuds.

 

[dakchi]

For those who are pairing Bluesound Node with Ares II and are wondering if they can have a better sound by changing the streamer, I just A/B my Node 2i with an Ifi Zen Stream I purchased today: there is a noticeable improvement in sound. It's more open with much stronger bass with the Ifi. However, Bluesound has the best app, so it's a matter of what is important for you: sound or app

 

[simon740]

For those who are pairing Bluesound Node with Ares II and are wondering if they can have a better sound by changing the streamer, I just A/B my Node 2i with an Ifi Zen Stream I purchased today: there is a noticeable improvement in sound. It's more open with much stronger bass with the Ifi. However, Bluesound has the best app, so it's a matter of what is important for you: sound or app

I had Node 2021 and the Zen Stream. For me Zen Stream is way better with Ares II. But sold both, because Node 2021 digital out is meh....and the Zen Stream is so buggy right now. BlueOS is superb.
Still looking for better streamer.

regards,
Simon

 

[Charlyro222]

Interesting pairings there.

Didnt know people still used earbuds.

Buds are a surprising discovery for me this 2021.

I began moving from iems world to earbuds and don´t regret

 

[Djankie]

At last, Ares II arrived.

Nice, hopefully I will be getting mine in 2 weeks or so.

 

[iFi audio]

For those who are pairing Bluesound Node with Ares II and are wondering if they can have a better sound by changing the streamer, I just A/B my Node 2i with an Ifi Zen Stream I purchased today: there is a noticeable improvement in sound. It's more open with much stronger bass with the Ifi. However, Bluesound has the best app, so it's a matter of what is important for you: sound or app

Thanks! ZEN Stream is our relatively new platform, but we'll keep on improving it via firmware updates.

 

[dakchi]

Thanks! ZEN Stream is our relatively new platform, but we'll keep on improving it via firmware updates.

If you improve the software, it will be the perfect budget streamer. There is still a lot to be improved and lot of bugs to be fixed. The software has to be at the same level as the hardware

 

[iFi audio]

If you improve the software, it will be the perfect budget streamer.

That's the goal!

There is still a lot to be improved and lot of bugs to be fixed.

We're always open for suggestions about aspects that need fixing and we're working on making ZEN Stream better. Thanks for your input!

 

[Charlyro222]

Any way on listening apple music on Zen Stream without a Mac or iPhone?

 

[dakchi]

Any way on listening apple music on Zen Stream without a Mac or iPhone?

No, apple music is only available in apple products. However, you can play through airplay, but the quality will not be the same

 

[BenSherman]

Have any of you tried this 'tuning' of your Ares II?

This German distributor swears by it (along with many others in the comments on this YouTube video)!

 

[tmac17]

Maybe for those who are interested:
Denafrips recently made a new MCU firmware update available (unlike some intermediate versions the PCM1536 / DSD1024 support is back again):
V3.12.0 (Current latest version)
- Date 29th Nov 2021
- Compatible with macOS / winOS / Linux
- Improved low level STM MCU32 USB handshake with host
- Supports PCM1536 / DSD1024

Download and guide: https://www.denafrips.com/firmware-update-usb

Just did the update myself on the Ares II without an issue, hopefully the random out-of-sync USB buffer bug will be solved finally, lets see.

Thanks for that info. How did u find out out about the update?

 

[tmac17]

Have any of you tried this 'tuning' of your Ares II?

This German distributor swears by it (along with many others in the comments on this YouTube video)!

One day I'll get around to it.

 

[iFi audio]

No, apple music is only available in apple products. However, you can play through airplay,

That's correct, thanks!

 

[dakchi]

That's correct, thanks!

@iFi audio , I have a question for you. Is there a way to play any song in a folder in a media sever without having to play the whole folder and then select the song we want to play from the playlist? this is very annoying