iFi audio ZEN Stream - The Official Thread

[AMR / iFi audio]

@Porteri
A few suggestions that might help.
1. Bring the Zen Stream to the latest firmware update in the Ethernet mode if Wi-Fi connection is unstable.
2. Try to avoid high-interference products in the room.
3. Watch our YT video describing how to connect the Zen Stream.
Let me know if it helped.

 

[SpaceKook]

I could really use an app to control the Stream from my Mac when pulling files from Qobuz. Still using the Logitech Media Server plug-in but its not ideal. Has anyone found a DLNA Mac app that sees and controls the Stream and works with Qobuz?

 

[MRJAZZ]

If I intend on just using the Ethernet connection, do I have to go into settings to turn off WI FI?
I will be using the ZEN as a Roon End Point.

 

[Jag1]

i was advised to go into ifi settings and disable Wireless when connection is via Ethernet cable. i did.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

ZEN Stream and MQA

As you now know, the ZEN Stream was always meant to be a Bit-Perfect machine, a passthrough device as transparent as possible with the best possible sound. Also, being a passthrough device meant all MQA data will be passed through the ZEN Stream transparently.

Due to a bug in the ZEN Stream, it performed the 1st unfold of MQA. In fact, it forced this whether you wanted it or not.

For example, if you are already using a full MQA decoder, eg Pro iDSD, you may not want the ZEN Stream to perform an unfold at all. With the previous firmware, you had no choice but to receive an unfolded signal from the ZEN Stream.

We removed this bug with the latest firmware update (and updated the Tidal library to the latest version) BUT we have seen and heard your concerns about us removing this functionality.

So, as you now know, we are working closely with MQA to add this function back into the ZEN Stream.

And we are going to go one step further by adding a dedicated setting to the ZEN Stream to give you the freedom to choose whether the ZEN Stream performs the first unfold or not. You will be able to choose between Auto, On or Off.


If you enable the BETA in the ZEN Stream, you should be able to access and test this functionality. We would love to hear your feedback.

We are terribly sorry for the confusion and inconvenience caused in the past few weeks. This bug should not have been present from the start. A big thank you to you and the community for supporting us, providing valuable feedback, and helping us to straighten this out.

 

[Gregadd]

Perfect. Will cirremt owmers benefit automatically or will they have to upgrade their soft ware?

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Thanks for asking. It would have to be manually update should one decide to introduce a change.

 

[PoCkoBG]

I have a Zen Stream connected via LAN for a while now and I quite like the sound quality gain coming from PC. Tried the coax and USB but prefer the coax sound! Have some questions now:
1. If i use Spotify Connect i have to use software volume control option to get sound when using USB. Is that normal? On Coax I can use it on NONE.
2. After a while on v2.25 I've decided upgrading to 2.29.9. So afterwards when using Spotify Connect i did get massive lag when changing songs\seek. Can this be improved?
3. When I change the name of the streamer the iFi mobile app on Android becomes unusable. It doesn't connect no more. I can only access it over the "http://new name\local".
4. On the output page there is 2 options for my NAD C510 DAC when USB. One is "NAD C510" and the other is "NAD C510.1". How does the 2 options differ?

Can someone help me on these?

 

[CJmJcB]

When the fimware wich support DSD256 will be available ?

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Hey, here are some replies to your questions.

USB DAC output. Simple mode runs up to DSD64.
Expert mode, volume options - mixer type set to hardware/none, and DSD settings DSD direct connection, up to DSD256.
The ZS display is reading the data stream, you are most likely connected to the DAC active down-conversion processing. The DAC you are connected to is likely actively down-converting. Try direct ifi UI playback to see if it still downsamples?

Spotify search/switch track delay should be related to the network or Spotify backend. We suggest you also try playing local tracks.

Spotify does not support exclusive sound card playback, and the ZS automatically blocks hardware volume.

Name change. It can be solved by setting a static IP, but the operation needs to be done carefully. If you reset the Zen Stream the wrong way then it will be a problematic situation. Therefore, it is recommended not to try to modify the name, or reduce the frequency of the changes.

 

[CJmJcB]

I’ve opened a ticket in décember. This si the support’s responsed :

There is a new Zen Stream FW that's currently in the BETA test phase. However, I am happy to share it with you.

Please go to the link attached and install the FW - http://ifi.local/dev or http://ifi/dev

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Is your post a question or a statement?

Our goal is to improve the sound quality and user experience as well as we aim to stay up-to-date with all the software updates of all the programmes we partner, so we have a dedicated team that works on software and firmware updates of different devices all the time. There is always at least a few updates that the team will be working on.

 

[CJmJcB]

My first post was a question.
My second post was additional informations
My DAC is an amplifier Denon PMA-2500NE wich play up to DSD256.
It play music in DSD256 with Ron on PC’sUSB output, but only up to DSD128 with the Zem Stream.
The ifi’s support explain that a new firmware will solve this issue but it is currently in beta.
I don’t want to use this beta channel.So, I prefer to wait the new official firmware.
my question is : when this firmware will be available to solve this issue?

 

[PoCkoBG]

Hey, here are some replies to your questions.

Spotify search/switch track delay should be related to the network or Spotify backend. We suggest you also try playing local tracks.

Thank you for you reply but ..... If this is correct why on V2.25 there is no such problem? It takes 5min to update the firmware and it becomes slow. So factory reset followed (again about 5min ) and I got back to v2.25, again the Spotify connect was working lightning fast. That leads me to thinking it is not network related but I will test it on WiFi and maybe a different router.

Spotify does not support exclusive sound card playback, and the ZS automatically blocks hardware volume.

Yes, no exclusive sound card playback but as I come to find from other forums it was working on older firmwares. Now i activated the beta and on 2.30.5 it is working on NONE again. So it's good to know it is getting sorted out.

Name change. It can be solved by setting a static IP, but the operation needs to be done carefully. If you reset the Zen Stream the wrong way then it will be a problematic situation. Therefore, it is recommended not to try to modify the name, or reduce the frequency of the changes.

Not that big of a deal, but annoying. If it is not recommended to change the name ....why put such option in the first place?

Also on my box i have iPower sticker but inside there is some chinese little charging adapter instead. Is this normal? Or I have to complain to the webshop that i purchased it?

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

My first post was a question.
My second post was additional informations
My DAC is an amplifier Denon PMA-2500NE wich play up to DSD256.
It play music in DSD256 with Ron on PC’sUSB output, but only up to DSD128 with the Zem Stream.
The ifi’s support explain that a new firmware will solve this issue but it is currently in beta.
I don’t want to use this beta channel.So, I prefer to wait the new official firmware.
my question is : when this firmware will be available to solve this issue?

Can you PM me your ticket number?

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Thank you for you reply but ..... If this is correct why on V2.25 there is no such problem? It takes 5min to update the firmware and it becomes slow. So factory reset followed (again about 5min ) and I got back to v2.25, again the Spotify connect was working lightning fast. That leads me to thinking it is not network related but I will test it on WiFi and maybe a different router.


Yes, no exclusive sound card playback but as I come to find from other forums it was working on older firmwares. Now i activated the beta and on 2.30.5 it is working on NONE again. So it's good to know it is getting sorted out.



Not that big of a deal, but annoying. If it is not recommended to change the name ....why put such option in the first place?

Also on my box i have iPower sticker but inside there is some chinese little charging adapter instead. Is this normal? Or I have to complain to the webshop that i purchased it?

Some good findings here. Let me know once you find out more.

The Zen Stream comes with a regular SMPS (it is also selected closely from a long list of competitors). The first x thousand units depending on a country were also bundled with our Silent Power Supply. If you have a sticker on your box, but no clean power supply, then we should look into it. Send me a message with with more details about your purchase.

 

[CJmJcB]

My ticket number : #13146

 

[ifi-denafrips-MF]

I saw that some people have issues with the source that came with this streamer (strong noises, etc) that in some cases were solved by changing the power source. Below is my experience and how I solved it.

First: my streamer came with the cheap chinese power source and not the Ifi one.
I had some occasional noises that I associated initially with the USB cable (from streamer to the DAC). These were like interference noises appearing out of the sudden. In order to get rid of them I had to either change the input source on the DAC (from the input selector) and then back to streamer or remove and reconnect the USB cable, or streamer reset etc. Any of this worked. The noises could appear after 1 hour of audition or after several hours / the next day. It was random.

After reading many posts and different forums I decided to upgrade the chinese source to a IFI Ipower 2 (12V) + IFI iPurifier 2. After connecting these the noise appeared instantly (which was quite strange because I expected the oposite). Sometimes If I changed the input on the DAC or above mentioned tricks the noise disappeared but only for a short time. I decided to return the IFI Ipower 2 (12V) & IFI iPurifier 2 and stick with the chinese source that came in the box of the streamer. At least the problem was less frequent.

Then I thought that all my equipment has ground connections (coming via the power cable) apart from the streamer. The streamer has no ground connection because the power source (the chinese one and the IFI Ipower 2) have no ground connection. I linked the case of the DAC to the case of the streamer with a cable and since then I have no noises / interferences (almost one week later everything is fine).

The IFI Ipower elite or a linear Farad source have ground connection so probably with them you get rid of these interferences without the extra connection to the DAC or amplifier.

Another note: When I tried the IFI Ipower 2 + IFI Ipurifier 2 (for about 1 hour without the extra interferences) I could hear no difference between this source and the OEM chinese one. The updated source may help with a DAC or something else but I don't think it makes any difference for a streamer. I believe that a digital siganal is either getting to the other end or not but to make a bigger stage or hear better the instruments you need a different signal or better DAC etc. If you want to test this for yourself: hook the Streamer to a 12V battery which is cleaner in signal than a powered source --> See if you hear any difference.

Hope this helps.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

@ifi-denafrips-MF these are some good tips. The type of problems you are describing does sound like a grounding problem. A ground loop must have been the cause behind this issue. It is a bit odd as ground loops are usually pretty persistent and do not take a few hours off. Anyhow, I am happy you managed to solve it.

Perhaps, it would have been better to give the IFI iPower MK 2 (12V) and IFI iPurifier 2 a try without the ground loop.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

My ticket number : #13146

ok, will look into it.