iFi audio ZEN Stream - The Official Thread

[AMR / iFi audio]

Thanks for the help. I’ve returned the Zen Stream and went back to my previous setup.

Sorry to hear that. Was it only about the volume control?

 

[Phil Underdown]

Yes

Sorry to hear that. Was it only about the volume control?

Yes, I was never actually able to listen to it.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Yes

Yes, I was never actually able to listen to it.

Sorry to hear that. Would you consider it in the future knowing the fix?

 

[Phil Underdown]

Sorry to hear that. Would you consider it in the future knowing the fix?

Possibly, if I read on various forums including the Roon community forum that it was working with roon’s dsp volume I might give it another go. For now I’ve moved on, thanks for the help.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Possibly, if I read on various forums including the Roon community forum that it was working with roon’s dsp volume I might give it another go. For now I’ve moved on, thanks for the help.

That's fair I'll see what I can do about that on my side of the fence.

In the meantime, I'd like to mention our new streamer: the NEO Stream, which has some really nice functionality, including an isolated ethernet connection. When I get my sample, I'll see if it works with DSP volume on Roon immediately.

 

[BShaw]

Hello, this is my first post here. I've owned a Zen Stream for 8 months, and it's been mostly fantastic - excellent SQ and simple interface with Tidal Connect, however connectivity has always been an issue, where about 20% of the time it just refuses to connect (wifi which is very strong and in clear line of sight). Today I tried for the first time to connect via ethernet, using a 10m Supra Cat8 cable, and following the instructions to the "T", and I have a yellow network light and zero sound, though I'm connected with the app and Tidal is playing along, silently. Can anyone help me fix this bug?
Thank you,
Bryan

 

[gonga]

Just an update on my situation, I returned the unit where I bought it, they checked it and turns out it was a faulty unit

The replacement is on its way to me, hope that everything will be ok this time.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Hello, this is my first post here. I've owned a Zen Stream for 8 months, and it's been mostly fantastic - excellent SQ and simple interface with Tidal Connect, however connectivity has always been an issue, where about 20% of the time it just refuses to connect (wifi which is very strong and in clear line of sight). Today I tried for the first time to connect via ethernet, using a 10m Supra Cat8 cable, and following the instructions to the "T", and I have a yellow network light and zero sound, though I'm connected with the app and Tidal is playing along, silently. Can anyone help me fix this bug?
Thank you,
Bryan

Dear @BShaw
We kindly ask you to check the settings of the Zen Stream. There is an option to set the Internet connection to ethernet (cable) manually. After doing that, please reboot the device.

Just an update on my situation, I returned the unit where I bought it, they checked it and turns out it was a faulty unit

The replacement is on its way to me, hope that everything will be ok this time.

We are very sorry to hear that. Hopefully your new device will arrive shortly, and you'll be able to enjoy music again. Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

[RiDeC58]

Has there been any movement on the Chromecast front or is this a dead issue at this point?

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Has there been any movement on the Chromecast front or is this a dead issue at this point?

Nothing for now. The issue is not on our side of the playing field. We are still pushing for it, and we are not dropping it.

 

[kwayde]

Noob here, 1st post.
Just spent many hours getting my Zen streamer working. It's currently playing Tidal via wifi on a notebook but I want it on my other notebook. I tried shutting down Tidal on the working unit, then tried setting up the Zen on the other one. All seemed to go smooth except it isn't recognizing the streamer. I've been at this for about nine or so hours now. Latest update was for version 2.29.2
Another thing is the volume is very loud at just two notches on my preamp volume control. Thinking the volume control at the setup page isn't for the signal to my system.
Frustrated isn't how I'm feeling right now, it's much worse than frustration.

Well, it's nearly midnight and I've not progressed a bit. I hate this thing being so user unfriendly. I've put about 14 hours into the attempt but I give up. The left LED is white, then goes green for around 10-15 seconds, then back to white. The right LED is white. If I push the LED/Hotspot switch they both go off. If I press it again, they both come back. If I press & hold it they both go out. I wait and the left LED comes on green then white, then green, etc. Nothing happens on the right.

Press and hold the right button the left goes red and the small led by the switch blinks. I wait and wait and wait....

I've tried every possible thing multiple times with bad results. It's going back for a refund. The setup for this is terrible. What I feel is the worst part is having to wait and wait for each operation to do it's thing with no confirmation of operations being successful or not. I'm tired and going to bed.

Last edit. This user unfriendly thing is going back for a refund. The lack of good, complete instructions is the worst, along with the wait times.

 

[jmendes]

Hi kwayde,

I am new to this forum and the Zen Stream too (got it last week, but only had one tiny problem that was resolved, so I know it's a good device that does work), but here is what I find based on your notes (I am assuming that since you were able to stream via Tidal to your Zen Stream, then you successfully configured wifi)

1 - not sure what you mean by I tried shutting down Tidal on the working unit, then tried setting up the Zen on the other one - once the Zen Stream is configured, you can use steaming apps like Tidal or Roon or Audirvana, etc. to stream to it from any device (laptop, phone, desktop, etc). Note that you can only stream via Tidal from one device at a time (that's a Tidal restriction, not a Zen Stream restriction). I have run into this issue while streaming Roon in an upstairs system (and Roon plays a song via Tidal) and then using Tidal Connect on the Zen Stream on a different system - in the Tidal app you'll get an error message stating that you are already streaming from Tidal on another device.

2 - I show 2.31.7 as the current system version. If you ensure your System mode selector is on (1) - for All in one, you can access the setup menu via your browser by going to ifi.local, or simply typing in the IP address for your Zen Stream into your browser. Go to System Settings, scroll down, and click on Check Updates - you should have an update.

3 - Short pressing the LED/Hotspot switch is supposed to turn off (and on) the LED status indicators - the short press just toggles between turning the LEDs on and off in case you don't to see them

4 - Long pressing the LED/Hotspot button puts your Zen Stream back into a Hotspot mode (i.e., it's broadcasting it's own wifi SID) - so you are basically telling your Zen Stream to reconfigure wifi - so you would need to configure that again via your phone if you don't have a wired Ethernet connection to your Zen Stream. The Network status LED goes Red in this situation because you don't have an active network connection since you are in a mode to set it up

5 - I find that using a wired connection works best, although I have been impressed with the wifi and hi-res streams. No troubles at 192k.

6 - When you are configuring your Zen Stream, and you make changes, be sure to press the Save button. You'll see a popup message in the top right of your browser to confirm this action

7 - Remember that you can only access the web configuration page when the System mode selector is on (1) for All in one. All other settings are exclusive to a specific mode. For example (3) is Tidal only so you can set that mode, open Tidal and select your Zen Stream.

I may not have gotten all this correct since I have only had my Zen Stream for a week, but I can say it works and sounds great once you get used to configuring the unit.

Jim

 

[christoph]

Noob here, 1st post.
Just spent many hours getting my Zen streamer working. It's currently playing Tidal via wifi on a notebook but I want it on my other notebook. I tried shutting down Tidal on the working unit, then tried setting up the Zen on the other one. All seemed to go smooth except it isn't recognizing the streamer. I've been at this for about nine or so hours now. Latest update was for version 2.29.2
Another thing is the volume is very loud at just two notches on my preamp volume control. Thinking the volume control at the setup page isn't for the signal to my system.
Frustrated isn't how I'm feeling right now, it's much worse than frustration.

Well, it's nearly midnight and I've not progressed a bit. I hate this thing being so user unfriendly. I've put about 14 hours into the attempt but I give up. The left LED is white, then goes green for around 10-15 seconds, then back to white. The right LED is white. If I push the LED/Hotspot switch they both go off. If I press it again, they both come back. If I press & hold it they both go out. I wait and the left LED comes on green then white, then green, etc. Nothing happens on the right.

Press and hold the right button the left goes red and the small led by the switch blinks. I wait and wait and wait....

I've tried every possible thing multiple times with bad results. It's going back for a refund. The setup for this is terrible. What I feel is the worst part is having to wait and wait for each operation to do it's thing with no confirmation of operations being successful or not. I'm tired and going to bed.

Last edit. This user unfriendly thing is going back for a refund. The lack of good, complete instructions is the worst, along with the wait times.

Hello kwayde

Welcome to the What's Best Forums.

Looks like Jim is already helping you.

Cheers,
Christoph

 

[kwayde]

Hi kwayde,

I am new to this forum and the Zen Stream too (got it last week, but only had one tiny problem that was resolved, so I know it's a good device that does work), but here is what I find based on your notes (I am assuming that since you were able to stream via Tidal to your Zen Stream, then you successfully configured wifi)

1 - not sure what you mean by I tried shutting down Tidal on the working unit, then tried setting up the Zen on the other one - once the Zen Stream is configured, you can use steaming apps like Tidal or Roon or Audirvana, etc. to stream to it from any device (laptop, phone, desktop, etc). Note that you can only stream via Tidal from one device at a time (that's a Tidal restriction, not a Zen Stream restriction). I have run into this issue while streaming Roon in an upstairs system (and Roon plays a song via Tidal) and then using Tidal Connect on the Zen Stream on a different system - in the Tidal app you'll get an error message stating that you are already streaming from Tidal on another device.

2 - I show 2.31.7 as the current system version. If you ensure your System mode selector is on (1) - for All in one, you can access the setup menu via your browser by going to ifi.local, or simply typing in the IP address for your Zen Stream into your browser. Go to System Settings, scroll down, and click on Check Updates - you should have an update.

3 - Short pressing the LED/Hotspot switch is supposed to turn off (and on) the LED status indicators - the short press just toggles between turning the LEDs on and off in case you don't to see them

4 - Long pressing the LED/Hotspot button puts your Zen Stream back into a Hotspot mode (i.e., it's broadcasting it's own wifi SID) - so you are basically telling your Zen Stream to reconfigure wifi - so you would need to configure that again via your phone if you don't have a wired Ethernet connection to your Zen Stream. The Network status LED goes Red in this situation because you don't have an active network connection since you are in a mode to set it up

5 - I find that using a wired connection works best, although I have been impressed with the wifi and hi-res streams. No troubles at 192k.

6 - When you are configuring your Zen Stream, and you make changes, be sure to press the Save button. You'll see a popup message in the top right of your browser to confirm this action

7 - Remember that you can only access the web configuration page when the System mode selector is on (1) for All in one. All other settings are exclusive to a specific mode. For example (3) is Tidal only so you can set that mode, open Tidal and select your Zen Stream.

I may not have gotten all this correct since I have only had my Zen Stream for a week, but I can say it works and sounds great once you get used to configuring the unit.

Jim

Thanks Jim, but I sent it back. My post may have sounded like I had no clue, but after attempting for 14 hrs. I know I tried every conceivable thing to make it work, and my post reflected the multitude of attempts in a scattered way. The volume problem was a big factor too. When I did get it to work the two times the volume was way too loud. Couldn't do anything about that either.
I've never used a product that has such a lack of setup instructions. It's too bad as I was hoping for something special.

Just got the Wiim Mini in the mail and it took about 5 minutes to get going. That says a lot about things.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

@kwayde We are sorry to hear about your troubles. It's a shame I wasn't quick enough to help you with your issues. @jmendes did a great job of explaining the issue, kudos to you!
About the volume, the Zen Stream usually doesn't influence it, so it goes 100% from the source. However, sometimes, people want to use additional volume control and Zen Stream can be configured in that manner. It's available in its setup menu in the section "Volume control".

 

[kwayde]

@kwayde We are sorry to hear about your troubles. It's a shame I wasn't quick enough to help you with your issues. @jmendes did a great job of explaining the issue, kudos to you!
About the volume, the Zen Stream usually doesn't influence it, so it goes 100% from the source. However, sometimes, people want to use additional volume control and Zen Stream can be configured in that manner. It's available in its setup menu in the section "Volume control".

I had the volume down on Tidal, plus my laptop volume was low as well. I tried multiple times with the app to get the volume lower and nothing worked. The app's volume control changed nothing. With Tidal's volume nearly off my preamp was very loud at just a couple clicks of the control.
When I hooked up the Wiim Mini everything was great. The Zen was just not working right. But that's something I don't have to mess with any longer.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

I had the volume down on Tidal, plus my laptop volume was low as well. I tried multiple times with the app to get the volume lower and nothing worked. The app's volume control changed nothing. With Tidal's volume nearly off my preamp was very loud at just a couple clicks of the control.
When I hooked up the Wiim Mini everything was great. The Zen was just not working right. But that's something I don't have to mess with any longer.

With standard setting, yes it works exactly like you said. It bypasses the software volume controls to deliver the bit-perfect audio stream. It can be switched to work with software volume controls in settings, and then it would work as you want it to.

 

[kwayde]

With standard setting, yes it works exactly like you said. It bypasses the software volume controls to deliver the bit-perfect audio stream. It can be switched to work with software volume controls in settings, and then it would work as you want it to.

Not the one I had.

 

[jmendes]

Hi - is the USB on the Zen Stream self sensing? I may be using the Zen Stream in an odd use case, more just to learn about the functionality - I normally have just USB off of the Zen Stream into the Zen One Signature DAC - but for fun, I hooked the USB out from the Zen Stream to a Hegel H95 (it has an internal DAC), then I hooked the coax out from the Zen Stream into the Zen One Signature DAC and have the RCA out of the DAC into another amp.

In the web client, I choose SPDIF for my output and, while still in AIO mode, I stream to the Zen Stream from both Roon and Tidal. Everything works great. I then switch to mode 2 (Roon exclusive) and the output from the Zen Stream is no longer going out of the coax - it has switched to USB and is now playing on the Hegel amp.

I tried to same thing with Tidal Connect - I switched back to mode (1) AIO and selected SPDIF. I stream to the Zen Stream (still in AIO) and it outputs over SPDIF. I switch over to mode (3) Tidal Connect and again output from the Zen Stream is back to USB.

On another thread I posted somebody informed me that (for at least) the Roon exclusive mode, we can choose the output by accessing port 3100 (type in the IP address of your Zen Stream followed by :3100) Are other ports open for the other exclusive modes for those of us who are comfortable selecting an output that way?

Finally, I realize this may not be how most of us use our streamers - normally I use just USB but I was curious if I could feed two systems from the Zen Stream and then choose USB or coax as the output to go between them.

Just curious if this is expected behavior (and fine with that if it is).

Thanks,
Jim

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Hi - is the USB on the Zen Stream self sensing? I may be using the Zen Stream in an odd use case, more just to learn about the functionality - I normally have just USB off of the Zen Stream into the Zen One Signature DAC - but for fun, I hooked the USB out from the Zen Stream to a Hegel H95 (it has an internal DAC), then I hooked the coax out from the Zen Stream into the Zen One Signature DAC and have the RCA out of the DAC into another amp.

In the web client, I choose SPDIF for my output and, while still in AIO mode, I stream to the Zen Stream from both Roon and Tidal. Everything works great. I then switch to mode 2 (Roon exclusive) and the output from the Zen Stream is no longer going out of the coax - it has switched to USB and is now playing on the Hegel amp.

I tried to same thing with Tidal Connect - I switched back to mode (1) AIO and selected SPDIF. I stream to the Zen Stream (still in AIO) and it outputs over SPDIF. I switch over to mode (3) Tidal Connect and again output from the Zen Stream is back to USB.

On another thread I posted somebody informed me that (for at least) the Roon exclusive mode, we can choose the output by accessing port 3100 (type in the IP address of your Zen Stream followed by :3100) Are other ports open for the other exclusive modes for those of us who are comfortable selecting an output that way?

Finally, I realize this may not be how most of us use our streamers - normally I use just USB but I was curious if I could feed two systems from the Zen Stream and then choose USB or coax as the output to go between them.

Just curious if this is expected behavior (and fine with that if it is).

Thanks,
Jim

Well, I'm aware that there is a way to use the :3100 port to change the outputs, but I'm not familiar with that solution enough to advise. I need to get some info from engineering before I say anything more.

The USB input is the main output, and it will be preferred by the Zen Stream when the receiver is detected. The device is optimised to work with one USB DAC at a time.