[werryslow]

Don't blame yourself, blame the application's user interface.

Thank you for this tip on the USB/SPDIF selection menu.
Greetings Kai

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Has anyone else experienced a small speed-up in a song being streamed on Tidal Connect with their ZS? It’s like the song is fast-forwarding for about a half a second and then it’s back to normal. This happens randomly now. It just started happening happening as of about a week ago. I wonder if it’s a WiFi issue, like there isn’t enough buffer and then it catches up. Nothing has changed with my internet or headphone setup recently.

I think I have solved my issue. I updated the Tidal App on my iPhone and haven't experienced the problem since. I assumed apps updated automatically, but it appears I was mistaken. Anyway, the good news is it seems to have done the trick. I guess I will periodically check for updates moving forward.

 

[srkbear]

I think I have solved my issue. I updated the Tidal App on my iPhone and haven't experienced the problem since. I assumed apps updated automatically, but it appears I was mistaken. Anyway, the good news is it seems to have done the trick. I guess I will periodically check for updates moving forward.

I cannot tell you how many times updating the Tidal app has solved problems. Glad things worked out for you!

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

SPDIF works juts fine but need to discover where is my usb signal to my DAC)...it was lost somewhere. Mode 2.



but it is available in mode 1



and it turns back to SPDIF only when you switch it to mode 2.

So there is no USB signal in mode 2. It exists in mode 1 only.

It looks like the same issue was in beta version.

This is very true. Since the Roon Ready upgrade, Roon only works for the ZS with S/PDIF connections. I previously detailed the other persisting bugs earlier in this thread. But none of them affect performance when on AIO mode.

I only have SPDIF in mode 2, but USB again in mode 1. It sounds to fall in love with in mode 1 USB.
I hope this will be implemented for mode 2.
The wait was worth it for me now roon essentials works fantastically.
Thanks to all of you and to IFI...
Kai

Aaaaannd…they went ahead and upgraded the 2.31.7 to production release without fixing the issues. USB still not working in Roon Exclusive mode, there is still a runtime bug in the DSD settings where both the selections 512 and “error” persist, and it’s still offering 5.1 and 7.1 channel layouts despite the fact that the ZS doesn’t support this.

But as I’ve mentioned previously, if you keep the device in AIO mode and select “256” for the max DSD sampling rate, everything is working fine.

Would not be surprised if his upgrade was a snafu on ifi’s part; they’ve released production releases still in beta by mistake before. We’ll surely see…

I have forwarded the feedback and bug reports on these SPDIF/USB issues to our development team - hopefully, they will be fixed soon!

can ifi zen stream read ntfs 4tb hard drive?

Yes, it should be able to.

The problem with usb in mode 2 is solved:

1. Click "DEVICE INFO" and go to "Configure device"



then just choose the output source you need, DONE!

I didn’t know that “Device info” was clickable! I feel ridiculous, but grateful!

Don't blame yourself, blame the application's user interface.

Thanks, y'all - appreciate you helping each other out here.

Sound quality unreal in Roon mode via USB... This little thing is a gem!

Thank you so much!

I think I have solved my issue. I updated the Tidal App on my iPhone and haven't experienced the problem since. I assumed apps updated automatically, but it appears I was mistaken. Anyway, the good news is it seems to have done the trick. I guess I will periodically check for updates moving forward.

I cannot tell you how many times updating the Tidal app has solved problems. Glad things worked out for you!

Glad to hear updating the Tidal app fixed what you were experiencing - it's always our first recommendation/course of action!

 

[srkbear]

I have forwarded the feedback and bug reports on these SPDIF/USB issues to our development team - hopefully, they will be fixed soon!



Yes, it should be able to.







Thanks, y'all - appreciate you helping each other out here.



Thank you so much!





Glad to hear updating the Tidal app fixed what you were experiencing - it's always our first recommendation/course of action!

Sebastian, I’m thrilled that a peer here helped me figure out the solution you guys came up with, and although I think some folks are disappointed that they can’t run both the USB and S/PDIF outputs concurrently, I’m pretty thrilled with how my ZS is integrating with Roon now.

Is there any forum where you guys offer release notes and instructions for the ZS so we can get a heads up and have more guidance on how to keep up with these changes? I’ve spent a serious amount of time troubleshooting your latest firmware on multiple forums, that could have been avoided with a simple explanation—you guys have made major changes to the ZS of late, and they haven’t been intuitive. I own a lot of your gear, and this device is the only one that doesn’t have firmware and instructions to access on your website. Thanks!

 

[mikedemunck]

I guess it’s time Ifi updates the manuals for the Zen stream now that the meaning of the led colors have changed… And they could add a paragraph about how to change the output settings while in Roon exclusive mode…

Roon ready in Roon exclusive mode does work pretty flawless on usb now, so I’m happy. Sound quality is awesome in combination with my mojo2.

 

[germe]

can anyone explain the meaning of led colors with MQA passthrough and the latest firmware? thanks

 

[srkbear]

can anyone explain the meaning of led colors with MQA passthrough and the latest firmware? thanks

YELLOW PCM 44/48
WHITE PCM 88/96/176/192/352/384
CYAN DSD 64/128
RED DSD 256
GREEN MQA
BLUE MQA Studio
MAGENTA MQB/OFS

Is that what you were asking?

 

[dsnyder]

With some apprehension, I updated my ZEN Stream to v2.31.7 this morning. As the public documentation has not been updated, I'm glad that I made a copy of the release notes, including the new LED colors legend:

Roon Ready certified, added MQA authenticator, optimised USB DAC hotplug detection, added system Auto Update switch, optimised ssl verification of internet radio, changed Format/Freq LED colors so as to be compliant with MQA's UI indication: Yellow 44/48kHz, White 88/96/176/192/352/384kHz, Cyan DSD64/128, Red DSD256, Green MQA, Blue MQA Studio, Magenta Original Sample Rate(OFS).

Thanks to feedback in this group, I had no problems finding the option to configure output while the ZEN Stream is in Mode 2. Just click on "DEVICE INFO" from the Audio tab of Roon's settings:

I'm a little sad that there's now a web server running on the device in the background in Mode 2. This was not the case with the previous firmware, but I suppose if it's not doing anything, it won't keep the CPU busy.

As others have pointed out, I did have to manually set the Max sample rate for DSD to DSD256, but I imagine @iFi audio will fix this in a future update. That or (better), get the ZEN Stream to support DSD512 and PCM 768 kHz.

So far, things seem to be working well. My only minor disappointment is that the signal path in Roon is still incomplete when streaming MQA. The ZEN Stream shows nothing past "RAAT" in the signal path while my VitOS for RPi 4 endpoints show downstream MQA processing, including MQA Rendering.

I was hoping that by implementing Roon Labs' SDK, this functionality would somehow be added, but perhaps a new Kernel or driver is required to make this work.

My summary is that the ZEN Stream was already, in my view, the most recommendable output device for Roon, and it's even more so with this update. Really, after the DSD512 thing is fixed, I'll be able to recommend the ZEN Stream to all of my non-technical Roon Subscribers. I've already been recommending it without reservation otherwise. Congrats!

Update: CPU Usage seems to be well-managed. I'm streaming a 32-bit, 352.8 kHz DXD recording now, and CPU usage by Roon is staying under 10%.

CPU Usage when playing Redbook content is around 2%, which is great.

 

[zolom]

Listening to some smooth jazz on tidal hifi, via roon (ZS, Hugo2, iFi iCan pro, Focal Stellia). Shuffling between Usb and SPDIF on the ZS (see iFi web ui screen). Roon DSP set to maximum OS, for both (DSD64 for SPDIF, DSD128 for Usb). It seems to me that SPDIF option sounds smoother and more refined.

Using ROON TIDAL HIFI with roon oversampling. See above.
ZS is connected via ethernet cable to a node in my mesh network.

When streaming via SPDIF (DSD64) the processing speed is much higher than streaming via USB (DSD128). I get frequent audio disconnections via SPDIF, seems like network issues, even when setting the ZS audio buffer to 64mb and the initial buffer to 50%. Also rebooted and optimized my tplink m5 mesh network.
Streming via USB is flawless, even though the bandwidth is higher.

I prefer SPDIF.
What can I do to overcome those frequent hic-ups?

Thanks

 

[pspentax]

Using ROON TIDAL HIFI with roon oversampling. See above.
ZS is connected via ethernet cable to a node in my mesh network.

When streaming via SPDIF (DSD64) the processing speed is much higher than streaming via USB (DSD128). I get frequent audio disconnections via SPDIF, seems like network issues, even when setting the ZS audio buffer to 64mb and the initial buffer to 50%. Also rebooted and optimized my tplink m5 mesh network.
Streming via USB is flawless, even though the bandwidth is higher.

I prefer SPDIF.
What can I do to overcome those frequent hic-ups?

Thanks

I had similar problem in normal HIFI Tidal connected by coaxial.
After 2/3 minutes the digital coaxial turn of.
The problem was only in ethernet cable connection.
In WIFI i have no problem, play all day long without disconect.

 

[dsnyder]

Using ROON TIDAL HIFI with roon oversampling. See above.
ZS is connected via ethernet cable to a node in my mesh network.

When streaming via SPDIF (DSD64) the processing speed is much higher than streaming via USB (DSD128). I get frequent audio disconnections via SPDIF, seems like network issues, even when setting the ZS audio buffer to 64mb and the initial buffer to 50%. Also rebooted and optimized my tplink m5 mesh network.
Streming via USB is flawless, even though the bandwidth is higher.

I prefer SPDIF.
What can I do to overcome those frequent hic-ups?

Thanks

I recall having similar problems too, but switching to a different COAX S/PDIF cable solved the issue. Which cable are you using? I've had good luck with this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00287BNKE/

 

[chaotic_angel]

Always getting this message when trying to update my ZS, what should I do?

 

[dakchi]

Nice update

 

[qsk78]

Always getting this message when trying to update my ZS, what should I do?

Try to restart the ZS. I had the same issue in the beginning.