If you’ve heard an iFi Zen stream, anything better under $1k?

I don’t know, but I’d think the ProJect Stream Box is also pretty good (Pi based) but also a bit more expensive. Be interesting if anyone’s compared the two. The new Node is supposed to sound better too, ugh. I’m leaning to the iFi for sound quality and price, but I need to do more research too. It’s like shooting at a moving target — things are moving so fast in this area.

Not sure what ProJect can provide outside of any other Pi based setup, not sure though. 

I haven't listened to another streamer though that is above even $600, so I'm not experienced enough here.

Not sure what ProJect can provide outside of any other Pi based setup, not sure though

From what I read they add a lot of tweaks that we could probably do but likely wouldn’t.  Could be wrong, but ProJect knows a helluva lot more than I do so I’d bet they’re adding some pretty significant value.  Just a guess though.  But, and like I tell my wife it’s a big butt, how it compares to the iFi at about half the cost is the big question, at least to me.  Again, I’m strongly leaning to the iFi but am willing to learn as well. 

No one has mentioned the Node yet?

I mentioned the 2i, at least they are doing USB out on the node now but I have never been impressed with their units as streamers only.  If you need a one box dac/streamer then they are good but I would spend more on the Cambridge CXN v2 over a node if I needed a dac too.

In that $$ zone, The Node 3rd Gen. Hands down. The Cambridge CXN (V2, not V1) is a good unit as well, twice the cost of the Node though and not nearly as stable. The Node just works. Easy OS interface, never a connectivity problem or otherwise. Especially for casual listening it’s hard to beat.

geof3

972 posts

02-19-2022 9:16pm

In that $$ zone, The Node 3rd Gen. Hands down. The Cambridge CXN (V2, not V1) is a good unit as well, twice the cost of the Node though and not nearly as stable. The Node just works. Easy OS interface, never a connectivity problem or otherwise. Especially for casual listening it’s hard to beat.

Hands down?  So you've heard the iFi side by side with the node?

You asked which is the best under 1k. You answered your own question. The iFi is known to be “buggy”. The Node overall has the best OS and sonics at its price point. Best isn’t just sound quality, it is usability as well. Buggy is a pain in the a$$. That’s why the Cambridge lost to me. It’s a nice unit, but it crashed often. I’ve only had my Node crash once, and it wasn’t actually a crash, it was an internet issue. The OS, bombproof at least for me so far. 

I'll second geof3's mention of the importance of the OS, the human/machine interface. Both the BlueOS and the Tidal app on my iPad or iPhone are easy to understand and easy to use with my Node 2i. Any interface that you don't have to think about while you're using it is a good interface, and that means no distraction from the enjoyment of the music.

I had the CXN V2 for a while and it was extremely reliable for me with Roon, Spotify connect and optical (TV). I also have 3 PowerNodes and while very reliable I have had a couple of issues switching between inputs that require reboot to get going again.

I also have the ifi zen stream and while it sounds great and is a good value, it is a bit buggy.

Has anyone compared the Zen vs. the Sonore microRendu?

Thanks for the feedback.  I guess I never thought of the OS much because I use Roon exclusively. 

The Magnum Mano Ultra is the one to beat under $1K.

I have several Zen Streams around the house and they worked perfectly out of the box. I have not experienced anything "buggy".

I have a Cambridge cxnv2.  Works great never crashed. Roon works flawless. Upgraded it with the Modwright tube stage. Really sounds good now. The stock Wolson dac was very good also. Looked into the Magnum Mano, but it's not plug and play. Needs to be set up with a computer. Nice unit.

fuzztone

3,815 posts

02-20-2022 8:24am

The Magnum Mano Ultra is the one to beat under $1K.

@fuzztone Can you find that for under $1k? An interesting option for sure.

vinylvalet

436 posts

02-20-2022 3:44pm

I have several Zen Streams around the house and they worked perfectly out of the box. I have not experienced anything "buggy".

@vinylvalet glad to hear, I might try it again. Mine was super buggy and the retailer I got it from had to take a lot of units back.

@blkwrxwgn I'm guessing you got an early one. Probably took a factory software revision or two to stabilize things. That makes sense since all my units arrived last month and each unit came right up perfectly.

Hoping you find the same if you try again. I think it's a great product and good value. I haven't tried to see if it makes a difference sonically but  those with a little extra cash might want to upgrade to the ifi iPower X or iPower Elite power supply at a later time. Buy these from Amazon and if you don't hear a difference, return them. Swapping out the cheap, stock power supply that came with my Roon Nucleus+ for the iPower Elite was a noticeable and cost effective improvement.

@vinylvalet thats one thing I'm bummed about!  The first few hundred they sold came with the upgraded X power supply!  So now if I want to try it again, I'm going to have to spend the extra money to get that power supply because I think that did make a difference in the sound.

@blkwrxwgn Sorry to hear that, I can imagine the frustration. Best of luck moving forward.

@blkwrxwgn 

Can you find that for under $1k? An interesting option for sure.

I got mine delivered DHL for $940

i bought my first Zen Stream back in August and sent it back. bought a second one and the PSU was defective. that and the fact that it kept crashing. could have been my network? bought a 2i a couple of months ago and no problems. although i sent the second ZS back, however  i kept the ifi Ipower supply in hope that ifi would eventually resolve the problems down the road and make it more compatible with all network users. the 2i sounds very very good with an external DAC. the new Node is not available here yet, if i could find something under 1K that sounded as good as the ifi as a streamer only and had the reliability of the 2i i would be very interested. until than i will monitor the forums to see how the Zen Stream is progressing and if a version 2 might be released.

I was in position to purchase the Zen Stream after considering the New Node. I have a good DAC. Based on this thread I believe I will also monitor the progress with the Zen. 

Thanks to the OP and all.

i have had a zen stream for a few months like... i use it only wired with ethernet, with add'l lps, and in roon endpoint mode

sonically i find it to be really excellent, i think due to the many levels of signal filtering and isolation built in (and the lps)

it is very close to the sonore optical rendu set up, which i think is among the very best setups for purity of signal and sound

that said, there have been reports of wifi issues with the zenstream, which i hope have now been addressed by running firmware updates since the introduction of the unit last fall

Hi. Think we must have posted on this topic at the exact same time, but your posting has 22 comments and mine has none :(

haha. In any case, I think the Zen stream plus an upgraded power supply is a fantastic combo, and if you paired it with a digital to digital device like the Denafrips Iris, that outputs I2S and has a great clock, I don't really see how it wouldn't be the equal or better of much more expensive streamers. But, in fairness, I've never heard an Auralic or Aurender or any of those other $$$ streamers. I have heard the Zen Stream fed by an upgraded linear power supply from McRU ($350) into a Denafrips Ares II via USB, and streaming Tidal, and it sounds great to my ears.

I have a streamer that is not well known but which I believe is a great value for a little over 1000 new.  The Metrum Acoustics ambre streamer.  It is only a streamer and has to be connected via ethernet.  From what I know it is a pi based streamer with upgraded clocks, linear power supply and better parts in one unit.  It has digital outputs for usb, rca, aes/ebu and an optional I2s board can be purchased.  the I2s board is really only compatible with a few DACs including Metrum which I own.

I've tried both Roon and Volumio as the software and prefer the sound of Volumio so that's what I use for Tidal and Qobuz listening.

I owned the original Node 2i, using it ONLY as a streamer into my PSAudio DSD DAC. I upgraded to the new Node Gen 3, modded with an external LPS. New Node was incrementally cleaner, clearer than original. I then moved to the iFi Zen Stream with an iPower external SMPS.  Noticeably better audio here than Node. Lower noise floor, tighter bass and more midrange clarity. To me anyway, hard to beat for anything in the $1000 price range.

@thegm what cable(s) are you using and USB or Coax? I'm a/b testing my current node (N130) with a new zen stream now and I cannot hear the difference. I was expecting the Zen Stream to be just a tiny bit better based on reviews.

However, it did not ship with a better power supply. I also had zero setup issues with the Zen was very easy, just not hearing the sonic benefits yet. Tried both USB and COAX and put it in Roon Dedicated mode. Going to try the Tidal mode any feedback is appreciated and thank you!

zenstream definitely benefits from an lps (a true lps is better than ifi’s own filtered wall wart ’upgrade’ ps) - ideally fed at 12 v dc input

even better, additionally, is to feed the zs with a filtered ethernet signal via an etherregen or similar device

@blkwrxwgn im a/b testing the latest zen stream with the node 130 I already owned, I cannot tell the difference between the two. I was hoping there was but I can’t tell using mcintosh power DA1 dac.

I have the Node 2i with PD Creative power supply upgrade.  I felt this was a nice improvement.  Bass, soundstage, transients, etc all better.  Are some of you saying the ifi sounds better than an upgrade Node of any generation?

My experience with the ifi Zen was with the original release when they would send the upgraded power supply, I think that's a BIG part of the sound and would for sure suggest upgrading as a must.

So, the question now is, how does the new Node compare with the iFi Zen Streamer with their dedicated power supply on both price and performance.  Anyone?

@soix

i have both here but have not had the time (nor motivation recently) to carefully set up a comparison... i was planning to a few months back but then started messing with roon and sonore opticalrendu and related power supplies

i did not feel it fair to compare the node 3 stock vs the zs with the nice lps i am using, as i don’t have a way to use a better ps to drive the node - as i said earlier the zs definitely sounds more relaxed more natural with a nice 12v lps driving it

will come back to this sometime in the next little while

I have the newest Node with LPS and external Dac too. Surprising to read about loose bass and high noise floor.  My system easily shows faults like those.  Not present.

has anyone compared the Node 2i after the PD Creative psu mod to that of the Zen Stream?  both measurements can be found on the PD website and on the GoldenSound website.  

my take, my understanding (second hand from reading/thinking, not from my own ears as i have never had a node w lps upgrade) is that the power supply mod addresses only one aspect of the node’s (necessary) cost engineering, which is the cheap and noisy internal smps

the node also has a fairly inexpensive analog driver stage, rudimentary digital noise management, timing clock and dac chip - these are not addressed by the polish lps mod

the zen stream is a different animal - there is no dac inside, it just streams, built for that express purpose, it has a better clock, better noise management in several aspects (ifi is expert at this, galvanic isolation, active noise cancellation and so on) ... i would think within its specified purpose the zen (also powered by a similar grade lps) should still handily outperform the node with lps as streamer

@blkwrxwgn 

I’d try a pre-owned Auralic Aries. They can be had in the $600-$800 range.