[ali4ek]

so the zen / stock psu at $400 remains the best bang for the buck reccomended streamer in my system

Well that's exactly it. Upgrading stock PSU leads to higher SQ, but lower value. Hence iPower X may be a very good choice. Value with stock PSU vs. iPower X? Not sure.
Would need to compare the increase in price with the increase in SQ+personal satisfaction

 

[ali4ek]

Well, in the 700 dollar range anyway

In Canada here, so $1K CAD. Yes $700 USD.

 

[ES_EF]

all MQA files are running fine on my Holo Audio Spring 3 non-MQA DAC.
Tidal is doing first unfold.
No problems ever so far...

such clean setup, love the way colors coordinate

 

[Andron182]

Hello everyone, tell me which ZS connection is preferable when connecting to a DAC (usb coaxial)? Connected to Hegel H95 for USB

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

Hello everyone, tell me which ZS connection is preferable when connecting to a DAC (usb coaxial)? Connected to Hegel H95 for USB

Hi, I have the Zen Stream connected to the H95 via Coax and it works very well, no interruptions and very good sound. I only use the Stream for Tidal Connect, in which case I can't use USB out to the Hegel because Tidal Connect requires a bit-perfect DAC downstream, which is not the case of the H95. I have no idea as to whether other music sources would work fine via USB out. Hope this helps

 

[simon740]

Hello,

I had Zen Stream a few months ago, but I sent it back after 14 days because it had a lot of problems. When it worked, it sounded great. In combination with Ares II dac.
I’m thinking a little bit about buying it again. I am especially interested in how Tidal Connect works? Without problems? At the time, it also had trouble reading music from the HDD.

regards,
Simon

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

Hello everyone, tell me which ZS connection is preferable when connecting to a DAC (usb coaxial)? Connected to Hegel H95 for USB

BTW, I'm using ethernet (wifi is disabled) only and it's rock solid for Tidal Connect. Sounds good via coax and no dropouts (as many people seems to report).

 

[Andron182]

Tidal is stable, what coax are you using? I am looking at this
Oyaide ftvs - 510 5N, what do you say?

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

Tidal is stable, what coax are you using? I am looking at this
Oyaide ftvs - 510 5N, what do you say?

I'm using a very good coax cable made by an hifi small company (Sunrise Labs) in Sao Paulo (Brazil). So, not available in the international market. Anyway, I suppose a good quality cable is worth it thought I wouldn't know how much and what particular brand. You should be fine with Oyaide, given that it is known for making very good quality audio gear.

 

[jhopki]

I am seriously considering the Zen Stream, so this is good to know about Tidal. A related question: through the Zen, is mconnect still the preferred method of accessing Qobuz? Is it hi-res, gapless, easy and reliable? (I’m iOS by the way.) Or should I bite the bullet and try Roon. It seems like overkill because besides vinyl, all I do is stream Tidal and Qobuz. No audio files or storage. Thanks

 

[FooFighter]

I am seriously considering the Zen Stream, so this is good to know about Tidal. A related question: through the Zen, is mconnect still the preferred method of accessing Qobuz? Is it hi-res, gapless, easy and reliable? (I’m iOS by the way.) Or should I bite the bullet and try Roon. It seems like overkill because besides vinyl, all I do is stream Tidal and Qobuz. No audio files or storage. Thanks

Loudspeaker or headphone?
If headphone, won't a direct USB connection with some ipad suffice?
Mconnect should work though at least in my setup, alternatives are the mentioned Roon or Audirvana

 

[jhopki]

Loudspeaker or headphone?
If headphone, won't a direct USB connection with some ipad suffice?
Mconnect should work though at least in my setup, alternatives are the mentioned Roon or Audirvana

Loudspeakers only. I am also upgrading my DAC. I have followed this thread for quite a while and find it highly informative. But it is a bit of a moving target: the technology is changing so quickly. Yet my streaming needs are very simple.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

I am seriously considering the Zen Stream, so this is good to know about Tidal. A related question: through the Zen, is mconnect still the preferred method of accessing Qobuz? Is it hi-res, gapless, easy and reliable? (I’m iOS by the way.) Or should I bite the bullet and try Roon. It seems like overkill because besides vinyl, all I do is stream Tidal and Qobuz. No audio files or storage. Thanks

Before using the Zen Stream (which I bought mostly for using Tidal Connect) I was streaming Tidal via Mconnect from the Hegel H95. It is gapless and to my ears the sound was very good. However, the layout is even less informative than Tidal's own App and I was having volume playback issues, though I couldn't figure out if this was due to MConnect or H95's fault. I believe MConnect is the way to stream Qobuz from the Stream, but can't say more because I don't use it myself.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Loudspeakers only. I am also upgrading my DAC. I have followed this thread for quite a while and find it highly informative. But it is a bit of a moving target: the technology is changing so quickly. Yet my streaming needs are very simple.

I myself use monitors at my main desk. One thing that isn't spoken of much is how simple it is to move, or take the ZS to another room or area where you would like to stream your music! I now have a separate desk for Headphone listening, as well as a small setup in my bedroom if I would like to just listen to some music late night.

In the realm of streamers, especially at this price point that are simply not a lot of options that sound as good as the ZS. There's a ton of this one does this or this one does that, for sure. But they don't sound as good as the ZS, and they also have their little quirks....

Cheers!!

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Hello,

I had Zen Stream a few months ago, but I sent it back after 14 days because it had a lot of problems. When it worked, it sounded great. In combination with Ares II dac.
I’m thinking a little bit about buying it again. I am especially interested in how Tidal Connect works? Without problems? At the time, it also had trouble reading music from the HDD.

regards,
Simon

@simon740 If you do get the ZS again, check out my simple setup procedure in the thread in my Sig.

If you do it like that I'm 97% positive you'll have a good result!

Cheers!!