[iFi audio]

@hiplytragic

As an update to what we discussed earlier...

In total, I had one stoppage when using Tidal Connect and the Tidal app for playback. This was only during a "Tidal created playlist" that I mentioned previously.

I then tested Roon with the same playlist and it played for over 24 hrs without a hitch.

I would again like to point out that I rarely have streaming problems, and it is very tough to determine over the internet what may or may not be causing the hiccup.

Cheers!!

 

[Maxpain]

I used to have problems with zen stream when it was connected through wifi....

it would freeze in regular basis and if I was not playing music through tidal connect for like 1-2 mins it would loose connection and I would have to hard reset the zen stream to establish a connection again. It was almost unusable

But when I tried the wired lan connection to my router not only I got better sound quality but all connection problems went away and know I can leave it all allday long..it doesn't disconnect.

So if someone has problems with dropouts could try the lan cable and see....

Unfortunately this is not the only problem with the zen stream...it also fails to read usb hdd's (external source) and also...and this is so confusing....

it literally power on it self at random times....if I have it plugged in but not powered on....it just powers on without me pressing the power button....

it's a shame because it offer's a very good sound quality....I can live with those problems on a 400 euros device....but this is another story for the 1200 euros neo stream

 

[iFi audio]

I used to have problems with zen stream when it was connected through wifi....

it would freeze in regular basis and if I was not playing music through tidal connect for like 1-2 mins it would loose connection and I would have to hard reset the zen stream to establish a connection again. It was almost unusable

But when I tried the wired lan connection to my router not only I got better sound quality but all connection problems went away and know I can leave it all allday long..it doesn't disconnect.

So if someone has problems with dropouts could try the lan cable and see....

Unfortunately this is not the only problem with the zen stream...it also fails to read usb hdd's (external source) and also...and this is so confusing....

it literally power on it self at random times....if I have it plugged in but not powered on....it just powers on without me pressing the power button....

it's a shame because it offer's a very good sound quality....I can live with those problems on a 400 euros device....but this is another story for the 1200 euros neo stream

Thanks, I remember you pointing out these issues.

I am at a loss myself on the power-off thing, that just seems odd, and probably almost impossible to duplicate even if it's sent in (with it being random)

I completely agree with the sound quality, and I really wish oddities like this didn't happen, so my apologies!

I can't remember but have you tried different power supplies with the Zen or no?

Cheers!!

 

[Maxpain]

Thanks, I remember you pointing out these issues.

I am at a loss myself on the power-off thing, that just seems odd, and probably almost impossible to duplicate even if it's sent in (with it being random)

I completely agree with the sound quality, and I really wish oddities like this didn't happen, so my apologies!

I can't remember but have you tried different power supplies with the Zen or no?

Cheers!!

No because the ps of the zen can and zen dac are 5v and I think that zen stream needs 15v to run. I don't have any other ps around to try.

I guess it has a faulty component or something in its power input circuit...allowing the power to ''get in'' at least that's how I understand the situation...

when its on it doesn't turn off or gives any sign that the power supply is unstable....so I guess its about the power input stage.

 

[iFi audio]

No because the ps of the zen can and zen dac are 5v and I think that zen stream needs 15v to run. I don't have any other ps around to try.

I guess it has a faulty component or something in its power input circuit...allowing the power to ''get in'' at least that's how I understand the situation...

when its on it doesn't turn off or gives any sign that the power supply is unstable....so I guess its about the power input stage.

Yes, the Zen Stream needs anywhere from 9-15v power supply, have you ever contacted support about the issue? If you have send me a PM with your support ticket number when you can.

Cheers!!

 

[Maxpain]

Yes, the Zen Stream needs anywhere from 9-15v power supply, have you ever contacted support about the issue? If you have send me a PM with your support ticket number when you can.

Cheers!!

I haven't because in the end I would have to send the unit to the dealer and since it operates without a problem when it is turned on I don't really need to....it is also out of the warranty period and I suspect that buying a new one would be more simple....

Thanks for the consideration though

Cheers

 

[iFi audio]

I haven't because in the end I would have to send the unit to the dealer and since it operates without a problem when it is turned on I don't really need to....it is also out of the warranty period and I suspect that buying a new one would be more simple....

Thanks for the consideration though

Cheers

No worries, glad to try and help!

Cheers!!

 

[hiplytragic]

I used to have problems with zen stream when it was connected through wifi....

it would freeze in regular basis and if I was not playing music through tidal connect for like 1-2 mins it would loose connection and I would have to hard reset the zen stream to establish a connection again. It was almost unusable

But when I tried the wired lan connection to my router not only I got better sound quality but all connection problems went away and know I can leave it all allday long..it doesn't disconnect.

So if someone has problems with dropouts could try the lan cable and see....

Unfortunately this is not the only problem with the zen stream...it also fails to read usb hdd's (external source) and also...and this is so confusing....

it literally power on it self at random times....if I have it plugged in but not powered on....it just powers on without me pressing the power button....

it's a shame because it offer's a very good sound quality....I can live with those problems on a 400 euros device....but this is another story for the 1200 euros neo stream

I tried an Ethernet cable but that didn’t yield positive results for me.

I have noted that when playing an album there is no interruption and ZS will maintain the Tidal Connect link without issue.

I created an adhoc playlist that had only mqa tracks and it disconnected somewhere along the way. That may be neither here nor there as I didn’t pay attention to the bit rates themselves.

 

[hiplytragic]

@hiplytragic

As an update to what we discussed earlier...

In total, I had one stoppage when using Tidal Connect and the Tidal app for playback. This was only during a "Tidal created playlist" that I mentioned previously.

I then tested Roon with the same playlist and it played for over 24 hrs without a hitch.

I would again like to point out that I rarely have streaming problems, and it is very tough to determine over the internet what may or may not be causing the hiccup.

Cheers!!

I really think Ifi should fix the current Zen Stream before moving to a next generation streamer:

1. Stop random freezes during playback
2. Keep WiFI off after restarting so that we don't have to resort to SSH every time
3. Support Chromecast (regardless of how long it takes to convince Google to cooperate)
4. Upgrade to Volumio 3

This will really be a failure of a product for its price tag if its manufacturer abandons it in favor of a successor.

I agree. I’ve had more frustration on under-delivered features and instability with Tidal Connect than enjoyment of this device.

 

[hiplytragic]

@hiplytragic

As an update to what we discussed earlier...

In total, I had one stoppage when using Tidal Connect and the Tidal app for playback. This was only during a "Tidal created playlist" that I mentioned previously.

I then tested Roon with the same playlist and it played for over 24 hrs without a hitch.

I would again like to point out that I rarely have streaming problems, and it is very tough to determine over the internet what may or may not be causing the hiccup.

Cheers!!

Hi. So what’s the next step then?

Are there any logs that can be captured and sent back to ifi for analysis to determine what’s causing this?

Being in IT and building large scale systems for public use myself, the last thing I expect to hear is the old “well it works ok on my end” so it must be your fault.

I don’t use Roon and have no interest in it so mentioning it does nothing for me. That’s a whole different world of architecture.

Right now, my assessment is that playing an album works completely fine but playlists don’t. You’ve experienced it yourself. This leads me to conclude there’s a ZS firmware bug at play.

 

[hiplytragic]

@hiplytragic

As an update I started the Tidal playlist called Encore: New in Classical at 8 am this morning, it has been running perfectly (Knock on wood) with ZS connected via USB to My SMSL DO200 MKII, so it is switching between MQA PCM.

I have it on repeat and will see what happens here...

Cheers!!

How did this end up on your end? I started that same playlist this AM and it played for about an hour and then stopped.

 

[iFi audio]

Hi. So what’s the next step then?

Are there any logs that can be captured and sent back to ifi for analysis to determine what’s causing this?

Being in IT and building large scale systems for public use myself, the last thing I expect to hear is the old “well it works ok on my end” so it must be your fault.

I don’t use Roon and have no interest in it so mentioning it does nothing for me. That’s a whole different world of architecture.

Right now, my assessment is that playing an album works completely fine but playlists don’t. You’ve experienced it yourself. This leads me to conclude there’s a ZS firmware bug at play.

How did this end up on your end? I started that same playlist this AM and it played for about an hour and then stopped.

If you believe it to be a "bug" within the Zen Stream itself then your best bet is to open a ticket here and let support work through this issue, I am not part of tech support and was only trying to duplicate things you said. I had the playlist stop once, other than that I have had it play through for hours just fine.

https://support.ifi-audio.com/

I only used Roon as an example to see if a playlist (something I don't normally listen to) would also give an issue or whether it would not.

No one has concluded that it is on your end my guess would be that it is more than likely a Tidal Connect" issue first, and possibly a Zen Stream issue second. That judgment is personal and not iFi's based on the years of hearing about the same type of issue with many other streamers and "Tidal Connect"

See Here...

As you can see it is not just the Zen but many, many manufacturers affected by the same types of connection or dropping issue. Even the simplest solutions involve all kinds of clearing of caches installing the newest versions, and so forth.

You could also try a simple test to narrow down where this is coming from. Download Mconnect for your device and try streaming the same "playlists" from there to the Zen Stream and see what your result is. This has been done by many folks who have had issues with "TC".

I would also reach out to Tidal and see if they can answer anything for you as well as our support.

Good Luck, and let us know how it turns out here, please.

Cheers!!

 

[hiplytragic]

If you believe it to be a "bug" within the Zen Stream itself then your best bet is to open a ticket here and let support work through this issue, I am not part of tech support and was only trying to duplicate things you said. I had the playlist stop once, other than that I have had it play through for hours just fine.

https://support.ifi-audio.com/

I only used Roon as an example to see if a playlist (something I don't normally listen to) would also give an issue or whether it would not.

No one has concluded that it is on your end my guess would be that it is more than likely a Tidal Connect" issue first, and possibly a Zen Stream issue second. That judgment is personal and not iFi's based on the years of hearing about the same type of issue with many other streamers and "Tidal Connect"

See Here...

As you can see it is not just the Zen but many, many manufacturers affected by the same types of connection or dropping issue. Even the simplest solutions involve all kinds of clearing of caches installing the newest versions, and so forth.

You could also try a simple test to narrow down where this is coming from. Download Mconnect for your device and try streaming the same "playlists" from there to the Zen Stream and see what your result is. This has been done by many folks who have had issues with "TC".

I would also reach out to Tidal and see if they can answer anything for you as well as our support.

Good Luck, and let us know how it turns out here, please.

Cheers!!

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve downloaded mconnect and giving it a try.

What sucks here is that there’s no real way for the end consumer to determine where the issue resides as the many posts the search link you gave demonstrates.

I don’t understand the suggestion then to have that consumer try to take it up with Tidal. I’ve done that in past to no avail.

Given this is part of the Zen Stream’s value proposition and negatively impacts the CX of ifi’s (and other manufacturers) customers, I would think ifi has a vested interest in resolving these directly with Tidal.

On my side I’ve not any real leverage with Tidal.

I’ll post my findings about mconnect later on.

 

[ArtBoy]

I have a similar issue of drop outs with playlists on Qobuz. Using mconnect and WiFi. Once in awhile, it will stop mid song. After a minute or so (never timed it) it will then continue with the next song on its own. If I remember correctly, it does not drop out when streaming directly through Qobuz but lose HiRes.

 

[FooFighter]

Most stable and with best features still stays Roon for Qobuz and Tidal but it comes at a cost of subscription