[Louisiana]

Why do you think is Tidal Connect not sounding as good as Tidal through Roon for example. Internal Tidal Connect limitations ?

I'm not dsnyder, but I think it's because of the Tidal app.
When I stream with Audirvana Studio, it's very different than with the app.
I also get MQA in the display of my DAC, and not OFS.

You cannot make any further settings in the app, as you can normally do, as an example, deactivate the MQA unfolding via software.

 

[dsnyder]

Consider that this is a product that works exclusively in the digital domain. Despite all the claims of “active noise cancellation”, “iPurifier” and “Silent Power tech”, sufficient processor noise is appearing on the digital outputs to audibly affect at least some DACs. If there was an optical output there would be no possibility for any electrical noise to be transferred. So a streamer with an optical output might have advantages. There are Raspberry Pi options with high quality optical outputs. So I would start by looking at them.

Optical outputs are notorious for high jitter. 4000ps or more is common. That's not a great solution, even with fairly jitter-resistant DACs.

Why do you suggest alternatives when you've never heard the ZEN Stream with your own DACs? Not everyone wants to build a Raspberry Pi streamer. I've built many with boards and software from HiFiBerry, Allo, NanoPi, Silent Angel, and others. Some have linear power supplies, but none match the sound quality that iFi Audio has achieved with the ZEN Stream in Roon only mode.

You can't learn what the ZEN Stream sounds like by reading this forum.

 

[myshark]

Hi,
I have the ZS now for about 3 weeks and been using it 24/7.
Using the usb output not yet testing the spdif output yet. I am using android and in wired mode only wireless off. Few things that i can confirm.
1. HDD file playe through the ZS is better than auraliti pk90 usb and volumio mini x86 that i owned.
2. Use 12v rather than 9v. When using 9v lps, ZS switch on allright but the SQ suffer a bit.
3. tidal,spotify and dlna/upnp. (jrive/asset upnp)plays without problems. i cant comment on SQ yet without proper critical listening and comparison.
Hope it helps.
Shark/

 

[AndrewOld]

Optical outputs are notorious for high jitter. 4000ps or more is common. That's not a great solution, even with fairly jitter-resistant DACs.

Why do you suggest alternatives when you've never heard the ZEN Stream with your own DACs? Not everyone wants to build a Raspberry Pi streamer. I've built many with boards and software from HiFiBerry, Allo, NanoPi, Silent Angel, and others. Some have linear power supplies, but none match the sound quality that iFi Audio has achieved with the ZEN Stream in Roon only mode.

You can't learn what the ZEN Stream sounds like by reading this forum.

Not all optical outputs are notorious for high jitter. A well engineered one should have jitter way below the level that should trouble a reasonable DAC. On the other hand, we have learned from this thread that the Zen Stream has some kind of electrical noise on its output that definitely troubles some DACs and leads to audible degradation. According to this thread, the Zen Stream‘s processor activity influences sound quality, and as the processor will be running in Roon only mode, it may still have some undesirable influence. There’s no mention of galvanic isolation on any of the outputs. Could that cause problems?

 

[jmimac351]

I enjoy the Keyboard Commandoes parachuting into this thread who don't own the device. Why the pi$$ing contest about optical connections? It's moot. I own one of these things and the only issue I've had is with Apple Music. It's a brand new device and has already had a firmware revision (expected and shows active support), yet we've got non-owners floating trial balloons that there may be a hardware miss, lamenting the fact that it doesn't have an optical connection, and suggesting people look at a Raspberry Pi.

There is definitely some "noise" going on, and it's not helpful.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

I enjoy the Keyboard Commandoes parachuting into this thread who don't own the device. Why the pi$$ing contest about optical connections? It's moot. I own one of these things and the only issue I've had is with Apple Music. It's a brand new device and has already had a firmware revision (expected and shows active support), yet we've got non-owners floating trial balloons that there may be a hardware miss, lamenting the fact that it doesn't have an optical connection, and suggesting people look at a Raspberry Pi.

There is definitely some "noise" going on, and it's not helpful.

I (like you I assume) am way to busy listening to the ZS in many, many different setups and configurations. The one thing that has be taken aback is the fact that so far, I have not found a combo of any of my other streamers that I can say beats it!!

I remain impressed, and have whole heartedly endorsed it to friends, forums, and a few clients. To now nitpick over internals, and processes (while legitimate) seems to take away from the beauty of the ZS.

I agree completely with what you said. Now is the time for listening and enjoying this great new product!!

Cheers!!

 

[Kamil21]

Not all optical outputs are notorious for high jitter. A well engineered one should have jitter way below the level that should trouble a reasonable DAC. On the other hand, we have learned from this thread that the Zen Stream has some kind of electrical noise on its output that definitely troubles some DACs and leads to audible degradation. According to this thread, the Zen Stream‘s processor activity influences sound quality, and as the processor will be running in Roon only mode, it may still have some undesirable influence. There’s no mention of galvanic isolation on any of the outputs. Could that cause problems?

True, here is an example comparison and discussion of jitter between toslink and coax. Performance has improved much in recent years with many running at 192k /24 resolution.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dif-toslink-or-coax-computer-dac.23292/page-2

 

[dukua]

There’s no mention of galvanic isolation on any of the outputs.

RCA spdif has galvanic isolation (transformer). Just take a look at the provided official photos.

 

[stu667]

True, here is an example comparison and discussion of jitter between toslink and coax. Performance has improved much in recent years with many running at 192k /24 resolution.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dif-toslink-or-coax-computer-dac.23292/page-2

Oh lord ! Can we ignore this useless forum.

 

[rudy49]

i just ordered the Zen Stream, but what cable should i order? USB or SPDIF? thanks

 

[AndrewOld]

RCA spdif has galvanic isolation (transformer). Just take a look at the provided official photos.

Could you give me a link to the official photo where that is shown, and tell me how to recognise the transformer? Why don’t they mention it? Does the USB output have galvanic isolation too?

 

[audiobomber]

Volumio has updated native Qobuz support in the last 6 months or so. Works fairly seamlessly without any add-ons. That is what I would like to have.

But don't you also have to subscribe and pay a monthly fee to MyVolumio in order to use Qobuz (or Tidal) with Volumio?

 

[Louisiana]

But don't you also have to subscribe and pay a monthly fee to MyVolumio in order to use Qobuz (or Tidal) with Volumio?

Yes, exactly that.
I like Volumio, and have been using it for over a year now, but I still have to edit my Tidal albums with the Tidal app

 

[dsnyder]

i just ordered the Zen Stream, but what cable should i order? USB or SPDIF? thanks

Congrats. I'd say that really depends on the DAC(s) you plan to pair with it. USB generally supports a broader range of sampling rates and formats, but there are still plenty of DACs out there that sound better over COAX S/PDIF when driven from a good transport.

 

[dsnyder]

True, here is an example comparison and discussion of jitter between toslink and coax. Performance has improved much in recent years with many running at 192k /24 resolution.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dif-toslink-or-coax-computer-dac.23292/page-2

Performance discussed in that thread is pretty terrible with jitter measurements at around 5,000 ps.