[Vangelis]

Several years ago, the folks at Transparent Audio mentioned that their Cat 5 looses resolution after 50ft and recommended that I do not coil the cable so I was wondering if that was contributing to the issue. 50 feet is still the longest Ethernet cable they offer.

 

[mab1376]

Several years ago, the folks at Transparent Audio mentioned that their Cat 5 looses resolution after 50ft and recommended that I do not coil the cable so I was wondering if that was contributing to the issue. 50 feet is still the longest Ethernet cable they offer.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...cable-gets-a-marginal-pass-on-the-test-bench/

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

I‘m helping a friend set up his new ZS. The sound is flat and compressed. In this system both the Oppo CD player and Mac both sound clearly better. Even steaming any resolution level from Radio Paradise via his Mac sounds far more dynamic and extended on both frequency extremes when comparing with the same USB cable . Temporally, we are using a 150ft run of cheap Cat 6 that is only covering a required 40ft span, so the excess 100ft is rolled up. The plan upgrade the 40ft run with a Supra 8 Ethernet cable. We using Mconnect HD for the iPad OS.
I don’t know if the 150ft long Ethernet cable is the culprit here or could it be a setting within the IF or McontrolHD that might be causing such lifeless sound. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

That is indeed a different issue. I think I have yet to encounter anyone having an issue with length of ethernet causing sound issues, so please report back to this thread.

Is there any difference in sound quality using wifi?

Is it possible to test directly from the ZS using perhaps a USB with Flac files on it?

Please let us know!

Cheers!!

 

[iFi audio]

I‘m helping a friend set up his new ZS. The sound is flat and compressed. In this system both the Oppo CD player and Mac both sound clearly better. Even steaming any resolution level from Radio Paradise via his Mac sounds far more dynamic and extended on both frequency extremes when comparing with the same USB cable . Temporally, we are using a 150ft run of cheap Cat 6 that is only covering a required 40ft span, so the excess 100ft is rolled up. The plan upgrade the 40ft run with a Supra 8 Ethernet cable. We using Mconnect HD for the iPad OS.
I don’t know if the 150ft long Ethernet cable is the culprit here or could it be a setting within the IF or McontrolHD that might be causing such lifeless sound. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

That's odd. Is there a way you could try a shorter cable and see whether anything changes? Thanks!

 

[zeiv]

Hi,

Does anyone know if there is a size limit to external disk attached to USB on ZS? Does it need to be Fat32 or can it be Ntfs? Do I need to have different PSU, rather than original? Is it going to play smoothly or is it better to have NAS?

Tnx

 

[AnotherBrick]

Hi,

Does anyone know if there is a size limit to external disk attached to USB on ZS? Does it need to be Fat32 or can it be Ntfs? Do I need to have different PSU, rather than original? Is it going to play smoothly or is it better to have NAS?

Tnx

I have a 3TB WD Passport (I think USB 2.0) that is formatted as NTFS that's working fine for FLAC and DSD files. I've only the stock power so can't comment on the upgraded power.

Edit: It's actually 3TB not 2.

 

[iFi audio]

Do I need to have different PSU, rather than original?

Any PSU that's within the correct spec (the range of DC 9V/1.8A-15V/0.8A) will work fine with ZEN Stream, thanks!

 

[Vangelis]

That is indeed a different issue. I think I have yet to encounter anyone having an issue with length of ethernet causing sound issues, so please report back to this thread.

Is there any difference in sound quality using wifi?

Is it possible to test directly from the ZS using perhaps a USB with Flac files on it?

Please let us know!

Cheers!!

If hooked / ran FLAC music files via USB into the ZS it might well sound better than streaming, this has been my normal experience with other steamers that except DLNA sources. I all ready know that the MAC mini streaming Radio Paradise sounds significantly better than the ZS. My issue is the sound of streaming with the ZS. I was hoping somebody would know if I there’s a common settings issue I’m missing on either Mcontrol HD or with the Ifi software that is flattening the sound and dynamics?

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

If hooked / ran FLAC music files via USB into the ZS it might well sound better than streaming, this has been my normal experience with other steamers that except DLNA sources. I all ready know that the MAC mini streaming Radio Paradise sounds significantly better than the ZS. My issue is the sound of streaming with the ZS. I was hoping somebody would know if I there’s a common settings issue I’m missing on either Mcontrol HD or with the Ifi software that is flattening the sound and dynamics?

As far s as your settings go, I doubt anyone Is on a more “common” settings than I use

I rarely if ever have charged any settings other than firmware on the unit, and for the most part it has stayed in AIO mode since the beginning.

I agree on the Flac on USB probably sounding a bit better than say Qubuz, but was just curious if the dynamics improved more to what you expected.

In terms of sound quality over other streamers/Computer most everyone reports improved streaming quality.

Have you posted this issue in the main thread? Maybe more eyes can help you out!

Cheers!!

 

[iFi audio]

If hooked / ran FLAC music files via USB into the ZS it might well sound better than streaming, this has been my normal experience with other steamers that except DLNA sources. I all ready know that the MAC mini streaming Radio Paradise sounds significantly better than the ZS. My issue is the sound of streaming with the ZS. I was hoping somebody would know if I there’s a common settings issue I’m missing on either Mcontrol HD or with the Ifi software that is flattening the sound and dynamics?

If I may ask, is your ZEN Stream brand new? If I were you I'd leave it engaged for some two days or so and after that time I'd switch to a different streaming device to track any changes.

 

[sam0227]

I haven't seen too many articles on how these things work so my knowledge could be limited. For my purpose, I'd like to play music on my iPhone. Currently, the setup is going through Bluetooth which my understanding is compressed. I saw the Zen Streamer could do AirPlay which will give lossless quality. Would that be a decent improvement?

 

[Vangelis]

Thing have improved. Don’t know if it was just new and a breakin was required, but it sounds more robust and fleshed out now after a few hundred hours. Now we just need to address the Ethernet cable and power supply. So have anyone ever compared the ZS to a UltraRendu?

 

[Mark200]

Thanks a lot for the info M usicguy.
Therefore, I will stop searching and will return to the AIO setting (position 1) once in a while to check updates.
On my side, I did not make an exhaustive sound comparaison yet but at first glance, the difference between 1 and 3 seems minimal... if any. Perhaps it is because I put 'off' all non-Tidal toggles in the app...and if it is, perhaps we can leave it in AIO setting to have access to the IFI app. À suivre...

Regarding the SBooster, did you try all three settings (12V-13V & 13.5V) and if you did, does it sound better with the higher voltage (13.5V)?

In a previous post in this thread you mentioned that you could not connect to the ZS when in Tidal dedicated mode (switch position 3). I have the same problem. But above in your latest post, you "seem" to have gotten it to connect in Tidal dedicated mode (3) after the initial setup. Am I correct? How did you do that?

Also, to even get my Apple iPhone to connect to my ifi Zen Stream and allow Tidal to stream to it, I have to turn on the ifi app first (iOS app on my iPhone) and wait for it to connect when the ZS is in AIO position 1. This is consistent with what M usicguy posted about the ifi app (iOS) only working when the switch is in AIO (position 1). If I switch it back to position 3 (Tidal dedicated) after initial configuration and reboot, my iphone and Tidal app will not connect to the ZS.

Note that my Router DHCP assigned ip address 192.168.1.100 to my ZS, and not the one mentioned in some of documentation (192.168.211.1). I don't know if it would help to hardcode that ip address and not use DHCP.

I am using:

• ifi Zen Stream (updated to latest firmware) wired via local 1GB ethernet connection directly to local AT&T fiber router/Wi-Fi, and 375Mbps out to internet via fiber.
• ifi Zen DAC Signature V2 connected to streamer via USB.
• iPhone SE2 running Tidal Connect with HiFi Plus, with iOS Wi-Fi connection to local AT&T fiber router/WiFi (same router as mentioned above). ifi app also installed on iPhone.

 

[Mark200]

What I find cool about the ifs streamer is that it lets you upgrade your power if you like or you can just use the stock.
1 ifs power x. Was an upgrade from stock PS.
2 Uptone lps1.2 power supply. 12 volt. big jump is bass and warmth
3 Sbooster 12 volt. More open sound. Bass was much better defined and bigger sound stage.
4 Sbooster 13.5 volts. More detail, more timbre, Sound stage move forward but more depth. Bass was tighter

Yes, more, more, more. My utility company has 50,000 Volt A/C transformer close to the front of my house. If I tap into that, I should be able to convert that to 31,800 Volts DC, using this formula I found (DC = AC * 0.636).

 

[GuyM]

In a previous post in this thread you mentioned that you could not connect to the ZS when in Tidal dedicated mode (switch position 3). I have the same problem. But above in your latest post, you "seem" to have gotten it to connect in Tidal dedicated mode (3) after the initial setup. Am I correct? How did you do that?

Also, to even get my Apple iPhone to connect to my ifi Zen Stream and allow Tidal to stream to it, I have to turn on the ifi app first (iOS app on my iPhone) and wait for it to connect when the ZS is in AIO position 1. This is consistent with what M usicguy posted about the ifi app (iOS) only working when the switch is in AIO (position 1). If I switch it back to position 3 (Tidal dedicated) after initial configuration and reboot, my iphone and Tidal app will not connect to the ZS.

Note that my Router DHCP assigned ip address 192.168.1.100 to my ZS, and not the one mentioned in some of documentation (192.168.211.1). I don't know if it would help to hardcode that ip address and not use DHCP.

I am using:

• ifi Zen Stream (updated to latest firmware) wired via local 1GB ethernet connection directly to local AT&T fiber router/Wi-Fi, and 375Mbps out to internet via fiber.
• ifi Zen DAC Signature V2 connected to streamer via USB.
• iPhone SE2 running Tidal Connect with HiFi Plus, with iOS Wi-Fi connection to local AT&T fiber router/WiFi (same router as mentioned above). ifi app also installed on iPhone.

Sorry, seems I was not clear enough (English is not my first language). We can't connect to the IFI app in Tidal mode (3). However, Mr IFI told me (after he checked with IFI engineers) that if we put all toggles off (except Tidal of course) in the IFI app and use AIO mode (1), it is the exact same thing than using the mode 3 and we still have access to the app. So this is what I did.