iFi audio ZEN Stream - Streaming elevated to a higher plane

[qsk78]

Roon integration for Tidal VS Tidal connect?

Yes.
But I personally almost completely moved to Qobuz, this month is my last month for Tidal subscription. I prefer Qobuz.
I run my ZS in mode 2 only, so everything goes through Roon.

P.S. Streaming was/is always for me just to familiarize myself with the new content. If I really like something then I try to find it offline on bandcamp, etc. Actually bandcamp remains my main source for music.

 

[DBB1]

I've discovered that my ZS seems to down sample all files I play from my server above 48kHz (including DSD) to 48kHz. I discovered this when I noticed the display on my DAC. Is there a way to correct this?

 

[applesnowleo]

The zen stream has a pretty good sound, connected an audioquest Diamond usb and added an IFi power elite and it sounds wonderful, at least in roon.

The downside is that sometimes it simply crashes and need a forced reboot. Stability is not perfect and now is the only streamer that sometimes gives me problems.

I hope the roon ready comes sooner than later and stability can be worked out with a future firmware update.

 

[Currawong]

Have you tried updating it via the web interface? The one I have here is Roon Ready and has been rock-solid from day 1.

 

[applesnowleo]

I use it in roon ready only and is updated in the about page of roon. Also from time to time I switch to all mode to look for updates.
in the last 15 days I had the unit blocking all communications and a power off did resolve the issue.

 

[rudy49]

I use it in roon ready only and is updated in the about page of roon. Also from time to time I switch to all mode to look for updates.
in the last 15 days I had the unit blocking all communications and a power off did resolve the issue.

how new is your Zen Stream, was it purchased recently? i have had 2 defective units that i had to send back to TREO in Singapore. still waiting for a refund. had issues similar to yours. just wondering how stable the newer ones are? thanks

 

[applesnowleo]

At least in roon its working good, the 15w power supply in the box is good, but the ipower elite gives the zen stream a good lift in the sound. I brought my recently and I only use it for roon exclusively,

Ifi software is nothing to brag about and I can not report on that in a solid way, but the hardware sounds very superior to my node 2i it replaces. But the node is a more stable and has a very solid software. I have never had a issue with the node attacking an external dac and is solid as a rock in this objective. But the sound of the zen stream e much better even without the ipower elite.

And I expect IFi upgrade the software in a regular basis and resolve any possible bugs that exist. Also that they get the roon ready certification that announced coming soon and not the roon tested that we received. Because the two certifications are different things by roon rules.

Otherwise is a great product, let’s only hope that the marketing on the roon ready is not only a false statement to drive sales.

 

[myshark]

I've discovered that my ZS seems to down sample all files I play from my server above 48kHz (including DSD) to 48kHz. I discovered this when I noticed the display on my DAC. Is there a way to correct this?

This is strange. ZS only streams whatever files serve to it up to its limit. You should check your player/ source settings. Also your dac.
Mine fon have this problem.

 

[myshark]

At least in roon its working good, the 15w power supply in the box is good, but the ipower elite gives the zen stream a good lift in the sound. I brought my recently and I only use it for roon exclusively,

Ifi software is nothing to brag about and I can not report on that in a solid way, but the hardware sounds very superior to my node 2i it replaces. But the node is a more stable and has a very solid software. I have never had a issue with the node attacking an external dac and is solid as a rock in this objective. But the sound of the zen stream e much better even without the ipower elite.

And I expect IFi upgrade the software in a regular basis and resolve any possible bugs that exist. Also that they get the roon ready certification that announced coming soon and not the roon tested that we received. Because the two certifications are different things by roon rules.

Otherwise is a great product, let’s only hope that the marketing on the roon ready is not only a false statement to drive sales.

Maybe there is stability problem if you use 15v. I use 9v or 12v and it should be stable. Maybe 15v is too hot for the capacitors.

 

[applesnowleo]

The ipower elite I have is 12v, the power suply that the ifi came is 15v, I am waiting for an ipower elite of 15v but for my pro idsd.

Do not give the instability problems too much importance, I think ifi is aware of some and with time correct one by one, my ndx 2 from time to time also have his issues, and the naim software is not on par with the bluesound provided soft or a dedicated player app.

 

[simon740]

Hello,

today I receive Zen Stream :-D
4 days from the Netherlands to Slovenia Now I'm waiting for it to stabilize ... because of the temperature difference.
And I received a 9V iPower power supply. I was hoping it would be 12V


regards,
Simon


For now Tidal connect works and sounds very good. ZS is in the AIO mode. I didn’t update ZS. Its on 2.25 version. It only very slowly scans my music from a directly connected 2.5 "500 hdd. It will be necessary to purchase a power supply for the disk or SSD.

Edit: Tidal connect works for 3 hours flawlessy but now 2x lost connectio. Restart and now working. Hmm...

 

[germe]

I've discovered that my ZS seems to down sample all files I play from my server above 48kHz (including DSD) to 48kHz. I discovered this when I noticed the display on my DAC. Is there a way to correct this?

This is really weird. What did the player say?

 

[rudy49]

has anyone had stability issues with the Lumin streamers?

 

[myshark]

has anyone had stability issues with the Lumin streamers?

You better ask this question in the lumin forum.

 

[DBB1]

This is really weird. What did the player say?

The DAC says 48kHz. When its a native dsd file there is a delay as if the DAC needs time to convert to 48 kHz in PCM. No such problems when I play direct from the computer via usb.