iFi Zen Stream: Setup, Tips, Tricks...

[Vitor Goncalves]

Are you referring to the Visual representation inside the Stream-iFi app or to the Roon display inside of its settings?

I will try to get some pics for you, but if within Roon under the gear icon where you would get to the configuration stage. If you see an ip address then it has switched bak in Roon even though the app for the ZS says Spdif.

I will attempt to get a visual reference for you. This is one of those cases that all those that were pounding the table for Roon "Ready" may have been happier without it, lol

Cheers!!

Ok, I've checked it out again. It doesn't matter where I have access to the settings because when use the Roon App route, it opens up the IFI App anyway. I'm not sure where I should see the IP address you're referring to. By the way, I have to say again that I only own one SPDIF DAC - the internal of the Hegel H120. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, it is doing something similar with the USB connection to the H120. When I power cycle the Zen (in USB mode) there's a very low sound coming out of the speakers. This is fixed if I go back to settings and click on save again in USB out. The only difference to the SPDIF issue is that in this case there's no sound at all after power cycling the ZEn. So, maybe this is an issue with the Zen, Hegel (and others DACs) and Roon? This doesn't happen when I use the Zen Signature V2 DAC connected to the Zen Stream via USB. Well, never mind, I feel that I'm talking to much about it in this thread. At least I have the V2 to keep using the Stream without any issue at all. Thanks anyway.

 

[yoghurtlidlicker]

I just checked my ZS with USB and only Spdif connected to my DAC, and no matter what I do, same as you, Spdif must be selected and saved before playback audio can be heard.

Why this is I do not know, I believe I remember Spdif actually being the default setting, and USB had to be selected.

Perhaps @iFi audio could give some clarification as if there has been a change in the default setting. I can not comment on whether the Stream-ifi interface itself changed in light of the NEO using the same system, however, I do not remember having to select Spdif every time the ZS was powered on, USB sometimes yes, but not the other way around.

So until we have an answer the obvious fix is when you open the app just make selecting the output your first order of business and you'll be good to go.

Cheers!!

Thanks a lot for trying it out!
It's not a massive issue it's just annoying sometimes.
Let's hope that ifi Audio keep improving ZS.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Ok, I've checked it out again. It doesn't matter where I have access to the settings because when use the Roon App route, it opens up the IFI App anyway. I'm not sure where I should see the IP address you're referring to. By the way, I have to say again that I only own one SPDIF DAC - the internal of the Hegel H120. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, it is doing something similar with the USB connection to the H120. When I power cycle the Zen (in USB mode) there's a very low sound coming out of the speakers. This is fixed if I go back to settings and click on save again in USB out. The only difference to the SPDIF issue is that in this case there's no sound at all after power cycling the ZEn. So, maybe this is an issue with the Zen, Hegel (and others DACs) and Roon? This doesn't happen when I use the Zen Signature V2 DAC connected to the Zen Stream via USB. Well, never mind, I feel that I'm talking to much about it in this thread. At least I have the V2 to keep using the Stream without any issue at all. Thanks anyway.

Yes I must admit I am a bit puzzled myself as to what changed if anything lol

I know there have been quite a bit of change with Roon, especially after the new update and the addition of Roon ARC, the ZS, on the other hand, has not had any firmware "official" update, but the ifi.local or stream-ifi app now is doing double duty for both the ZS and the NEO stream, so if that app has a new version I am trying to find that out, to see if maybe that has changed some functionality.

Take the @yoghurtlidlicker case as an example. I did not know this was happening because I am using Roon or some other streaming service and rarely ever listen to any attached SSD with the ZS. I came to find out with this, that even though I have no USB anything attached to the ZS, I must select and save Spdif as the output every time. My assumption is now that the selection of a particular output must be done every time.

While we wait to see what has changed, if anything, or what needs to be addressed, I think the safe bet is to just verify output selection from the ZS UI first. Now, this is assuming you run in AIO #1 Mode as this menu is not accessible in other modes, and I will have to check other services to see what is happening.

If this is the case, then this must be changed immediately, and an institute of "last" settings must be adopted. There is absolutely no reason to be going into any app and select output each time a piece of gear is powered off. Now on the other hand if you have multiple pieces of gear and there is an "auto" sensing criteria, then this would fall completely on the user to verify the source and output before starting playback.

I wanted to post some screenshots for you, but this morning no matter I do I am stuck on an Update Roon setting, even though I have done it 5 times it keeps coming back, lol...

Nothing is perfect, I will check back when I can with any updates.

Cheers!!

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Thanks a lot for trying it out!
It's not a massive issue it's just annoying sometimes.
Let's hope that ifi Audio keep improving ZS.

I do my best, lol

It is annoying, my thought is when need a "last" settings type thing instituted, if possible!

Cheers!!

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

Yes I must admit I am a bit puzzled myself as to what changed if anything lol

I know there have been quite a bit of change with Roon, especially after the new update and the addition of Roon ARC, the ZS, on the other hand, has not had any firmware "official" update, but the ifi.local or stream-ifi app now is doing double duty for both the ZS and the NEO stream, so if that app has a new version I am trying to find that out, to see if maybe that has changed some functionality.

Take the @yoghurtlidlicker case as an example. I did not know this was happening because I am using Roon or some other streaming service and rarely ever listen to any attached SSD with the ZS. I came to find out with this, that even though I have no USB anything attached to the ZS, I must select and save Spdif as the output every time. My assumption is now that the selection of a particular output must be done every time.

While we wait to see what has changed, if anything, or what needs to be addressed, I think the safe bet is to just verify output selection from the ZS UI first. Now, this is assuming you run in AIO #1 Mode as this menu is not accessible in other modes, and I will have to check other services to see what is happening.

If this is the case, then this must be changed immediately, and an institute of "last" settings must be adopted. There is absolutely no reason to be going into any app and select output each time a piece of gear is powered off. Now on the other hand if you have multiple pieces of gear and there is an "auto" sensing criteria, then this would fall completely on the user to verify the source and output before starting playback.

I wanted to post some screenshots for you, but this morning no matter I do I am stuck on an Update Roon setting, even though I have done it 5 times it keeps coming back, lol...

Nothing is perfect, I will check back when I can with any updates.


Cheers!!

Thank you so much for taking your time to deal with this. I was just about to correct my previous post and say that this issue is not Roon related. I just tried with Tidal Connect and the same thing happens. Again, I must stress that when I have the Zen Stream connected to the Signature V2 this does not happen, maybe because it's a USB DAC only. With this rig i just have it in Roon Mode and forget about it, I can power it on and off, it never loses connection to the DAC and is rock solid without a single glitch.

After trying SPIDF and USB out directly to the Hegel DAC I decided to stick to the V2 as an external DAC because it's more convenient. Soundwise, it's very similar, just a tad more relaxed (some would probably call it more laid back), which suits my taste. This is interesting given that we're talking about two different DACs with different chips (BB in the V2 and AKM in the Hegel). I'm one of those rare creatures that, based on my ears only, find differences in sound to be more pronounced when I change the transport device (be it Streamer or CD player) as opposed to changing the DAC, at least with approximate price points, and that's why I fear that upgrading the V2 in my rig may cost a lot of money and wouldn't make such a big difference. But I digress here.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Thank you so much for taking your time to deal with this. I was just about to correct my previous post and say that this issue is not Roon related. I just tried with Tidal Connect and the same thing happens. Again, I must stress that when I have the Zen Stream connected to the Signature V2 this does not happen, maybe because it's a USB DAC only. With this rig i just have it in Roon Mode and forget about it, I can power it on and off, it never loses connection to the DAC and is rock solid without a single glitch.

After trying SPIDF and USB out directly to the Hegel DAC I decided to stick to the V2 as an external DAC because it's more convenient. Soundwise, it's very similar, just a tad more relaxed (some would probably call it more laid back), which suits my taste. This is interesting given that we're talking about two different DACs with different chips (BB in the V2 and AKM in the Hegel). I'm one of those rare creatures that, based on my ears only, find differences in sound to be more pronounced when I change the transport device (be it Streamer or CD player) as opposed to changing the DAC, at least with approximate price points, and that's why I fear that upgrading the V2 in my rig may cost a lot of money and wouldn't make such a big difference. But I digress here.

You are very welcome, I would rather look at these issues than ignore them, as the ZS is a fantastic piece of gear for the money, and simple sometimes "possibly" overlooked issues like this can cause great heartaches for those of us that have many pieces of gear or like different DACs for different things. Yes, you can put me in the "rare" category as well, I hear differences! (Spoken like "the sixth sense" )

So if you are willing to play along, here is what I did that seems to have "temporarily" eliminated the issue prior to yours and may help you as well. I am not having the issue with Spdif selection since I did this, and I am in AIO mode for @yoghurtlidlicker issue with USB drive connection, but it did help with my Spdif connection to my "Completely Non-Conforming AD1865 NOS R2R Spdif only Chi-Fi Wonder DAC", so hopefully it will help you out.

From inside the Stream-ifi app or ifi.local, either is fine, do a soft factory reset, wait until it is completely finished, and then update to the current firmware!

Once this is done and functional (test anything you'd like) update to the latest Beta 2.31.10 and see if your issue is resolved.

If this does not help, you can always go back to the current firmware if it gives you any grief.

Quickly on the subject of the Signature V2 working better, this is not one bit surprising to me as it should, in fact, I have never had a piece of iFi gear that didn't work hand in hand with another. It's a great big world of tech out there and obviously, ifi has access to their own gear, and not every other manufacturer. In that case it takes folks like us to point out what is and is not working "hand-in-hand".

Cheers!!

A pic of my Nonconforming DAC, lol

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

You are very welcome, I would rather look at these issues than ignore them, as the ZS is a fantastic piece of gear for the money, and simple sometimes "possibly" overlooked issues like this can cause great heartaches for those of us that have many pieces of gear or like different DACs for different things. Yes, you can put me in the "rare" category as well, I hear differences! (Spoken like "the sixth sense" )

So if you are willing to play along, here is what I did that seems to have "temporarily" eliminated the issue prior to yours and may help you as well. I am not having the issue with Spdif selection since I did this, and I am in AIO mode for @yoghurtlidlicker issue with USB drive connection, but it did help with my Spdif connection to my "Completely Non-Conforming AD1865 NOS R2R Spdif only Chi-Fi Wonder DAC", so hopefully it will help you out.

From inside the Stream-ifi app or ifi.local, either is fine, do a soft factory reset, wait until it is completely finished, and then update to the current firmware!

Once this is done and functional (test anything you'd like) update to the latest Beta 2.31.10 and see if your issue is resolved.

If this does not help, you can always go back to the current firmware if it gives you any grief.

Quickly on the subject of the Signature V2 working better, this is not one bit surprising to me as it should, in fact, I have never had a piece of iFi gear that didn't work hand in hand with another. It's a great big world of tech out there and obviously, ifi has access to their own gear, and not every other manufacturer. In that case it takes folks like us to point out what is and is not working "hand-in-hand".

Cheers!!

A pic of my Nonconforming DAC, lol

Thank you again. I did the factory reset. Then went to if.local/dev and tried the upgrade but there was an error message. So, I went back to the IFi App and upgraded to the latest firmware (2.31.7) and went back to ifi.local to try the beta upgrade but nothing happens. It sticks to 2.31.7. I must be doing something wrong.

 

[yoghurtlidlicker]

Thank you again. I did the factory reset. Then went to if.local/dev and tried the upgrade but there was an error message. So, I went back to the IFi App and upgraded to the latest firmware (2.31.7) and went back to ifi.local to try the beta upgrade but nothing happens. It sticks to 2.31.7. I must be doing something wrong.

you gotta enable it first here: http://ifi.local/dev/

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

you gotta enable it first here: http://ifi.local/dev/

I know. I did it, as I’ve done several times, but didn’t work this time

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

you gotta enable it first here: http://ifi.local/dev/

Thanks anyway

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

I know. I did it, as I’ve done several times, but didn’t work this time

Are you doing the whole process inside a browser window? You can do the reset with the app but the beta update should be done with a browser.

The easiest way is after hitting the enable button, just hit your browser back button after that, then you should see the beta.

Cheers!!

EDIT: If you aren't seeing the Beta update after doing this, when in the /dev screen hit the enable button twice, then use your back button to return to the ifi.local main screen.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

Are you doing the whole process inside a browser window? You can do the reset with the app but the beta update should be done with a browser.

The easiest way is after hitting the enable button, just hit your browser back button after that, then you should see the beta.

Cheers!!

EDIT: If you aren't seeing the Beta update after doing this, when in the /dev screen hit the enable button twice, then use your back button to return to the ifi.local main screen.

Yes, I'm doing it in the browser, but when I hit the back button it goes back to the previous web page.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

Are you doing the whole process inside a browser window? You can do the reset with the app but the beta update should be done with a browser.

The easiest way is after hitting the enable button, just hit your browser back button after that, then you should see the beta.

Cheers!!

EDIT: If you aren't seeing the Beta update after doing this, when in the /dev screen hit the enable button twice, then use your back button to return to the ifi.local main screen.

Sorry, it worked now, so I'll see if it fixed the problem. Thanks

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

You are very welcome, I would rather look at these issues than ignore them, as the ZS is a fantastic piece of gear for the money, and simple sometimes "possibly" overlooked issues like this can cause great heartaches for those of us that have many pieces of gear or like different DACs for different things. Yes, you can put me in the "rare" category as well, I hear differences! (Spoken like "the sixth sense" )

So if you are willing to play along, here is what I did that seems to have "temporarily" eliminated the issue prior to yours and may help you as well. I am not having the issue with Spdif selection since I did this, and I am in AIO mode for @yoghurtlidlicker issue with USB drive connection, but it did help with my Spdif connection to my "Completely Non-Conforming AD1865 NOS R2R Spdif only Chi-Fi Wonder DAC", so hopefully it will help you out.

From inside the Stream-ifi app or ifi.local, either is fine, do a soft factory reset, wait until it is completely finished, and then update to the current firmware!

Once this is done and functional (test anything you'd like) update to the latest Beta 2.31.10 and see if your issue is resolved.

If this does not help, you can always go back to the current firmware if it gives you any grief.

Quickly on the subject of the Signature V2 working better, this is not one bit surprising to me as it should, in fact, I have never had a piece of iFi gear that didn't work hand in hand with another. It's a great big world of tech out there and obviously, ifi has access to their own gear, and not every other manufacturer. In that case it takes folks like us to point out what is and is not working "hand-in-hand".

Cheers!!

A pic of my Nonconforming DAC, lol

I've managed to install the beta 2.31.10, as per your instructions. Unfortunately, the issue remains the same. I have to save again the SPDIF output after power cycling the Zen stream in order to get any sound. It was worth trying anyway. Thanks

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

I've managed to install the beta 2.31.10, as per your instructions. Unfortunately, the issue remains the same. I have to save again the SPDIF output after power cycling the Zen stream in order to get any sound. It was worth trying anyway. Thanks

I wonder why that didn't work for you, I don't understand why it won't just stay on Spdif for you. I checked mine several times today and every time it functioned properly, even if I only used the iFi app for Flac files.

The only other things I could suggest are making sure your DAC is powered on first before powering the ZS on, and not powering it off until after the ZS.

Possibly checking if the behavior is the same using a different Power supply, and coaxial cable, I know silly, but stranger things I have seen, lol

I would definitely report this behavior to iFi support, perhaps they have seen something similar and can advise you further.

Again I will say this is strange, I always remember the ZS default being the Coaxial output, and the USB was "auto-sensing" and did cause some issues long ago, but the coaxial was a constant.

Cheers!!