iFi ZEN Stream

[Pim]

As mentioned here it’s quite sad actually to see that a device like the ZS improves considerably the audio performance as exactly that is expected to be provided by the CI / streaming module inside the Expert.
The thing that wonders me and I guess many is the reason behind this an inferior software by Devialet or any other reason?

I have found USB over my MIT cable to sound so good, there’s no need for ‘improvement’. I wonder how much of these boxes actually improve the sound and how many just change it.

[Vivialet]

The reason that the Zen sounds better than CI can have multiple reasons. One is of course the software. Which unix version is used ? How is it optimized for audio ? Does it correctly handle the audio data ?
The other is the hardware itself. Does an active CI board have an impact on the other parts of the amp ? How sensitive is it with an imperfect ethernet signal (I think very sensitive) ?

Fact is the Zen sounds very clearly better, and it is not introducing any sounding (frequency response is the same as with CI).
I guess one reason is the very good signal quality:
https://goldensound.audio/2021/07/22/ifi...surements/

Interesting is that jitter and noise is significally better than with a Mutec MC3-USB. I had 2 of them with a REF10 and was never really satisfied with the results.

btw., I found out how to get USB working with the Roon exclusive mode. You can change the output setting in Roon itself. In the audio settings you can find a link named "Device Info". If you click on that you can again click on "Configure Device".
This opens a webpage where you can select the output mode. Or you add port :3100 to the ip address of the ifi which opens the same configuration page.
This could have been mentioned in the ifi manual somewhere...

[hardcore]

I think one cause of sound degradation on the CI board is if you connect an Ethernet cable to the Devialet. The cable introduces noise from your network equipment. Playing to the CI board using UPNP/Air over WiFi sounds pretty good.

But I too find using AES or optical input from an external device can sound better if the external device has better isolation and clocks.

Friend of mine recently got the ifi Zen Stream, using it to replace a Roon Nucleus connected over USB to a Singxer SU-6 DDU and PS Audio Perfectwave DAC and is having great results.

[Vivialet]

I'm using an optimized Ethernet connection (Sonore Optical Module with LPS) which sounds MUCH better than Wifi.
Still the Zen (using the same ethernet connection) sounds better, and not only marginally better...I think the software that Devialet has implemented on the CI board is not really perfect or the CI board itself has some design issues.

[Delija]

What exactly sounds better? Could you describe the differences?

[Vivialet]

Ethernet sounds better with both, CI and Zen. But only if ethernet is optimized, e.g. a good switch with clean power. If you simply put a cheap cable between PC and Zen or CI then Wifi could be better.

[Delija]

Let me rephrase...

What are the differences in sound between Zen Stream znd CI UPnP? What elements of sound are better with Zen Stream?

[hardcore]

@Vivialet are you using USB to connect the Zen Stream to the Devialet? Have you tried using the SPDIF outputs to compare?

Many people find the AES/XLR input on the Devialet is the best sounding input. Since the ZS does not have an AES output, you could try connecting the RCA SPDIF output to the AES input of the Devialet using a custom cable or adapter.

I find that lifting the XLR ground pin on the Devialet AES input side makes things sound more open and clear as well. You can do this using an XLR ground lift adapter or custom cable. It's a similar idea to galvanic isolation to break ground loops, using optical ethernet switches, toslink or an optical USB cable.

Among the streamer and USB experiments I've tried, one of the best finds was the Fibbr Alpha optical USB cable.

[Vivialet]

I'm having some issues with SPDIF. I use Roon for upsampling. As long as I do not exceed 96Khz everything is fine. If I upsample to 192 KHz I get some dropout. Also if I start playback after the initial start of the Zen I get no music, I have to stop and start again. I'm using the latest beta software. For this reason I'm not using SPDIF.
I have such a cable (my old link cable) and tried it already. I did not hear a difference, maybe the cable quality is not good enough. My SPDIF cable is of better quality (WireWorld Gold).

[Vivialet]

Let me rephrase...

What are the differences in sound between Zen Stream znd CI UPnP? What elements of sound are better with Zen Stream?

I'm not using uPnP but RAAT. The difference is like with each better digital source, it sounds less digital (not digital at all with Zen).
More space, more details, more control.