Streamer creates a Wow experience

i had the ifi Zen Stream for 3 months and could not get it to work without disconnection errors. returned 3 of them. at the time i was using a NAD D1050 DAC. finally i bought the Bluesound 2i and it just worked flawlessly. it could have been incompatibility issue with my network or the NAD? another problem could have been that Tidal is only available in my area? there have been problems reported with Tidal users and the Zen Stream.  and yes it does deliver great SQ and thats why i put up with it. my understanding is that a new version of the IFI Zen Stream is soon to be released which could be more universally compatible? i have since upgraded my DAC to a Denafrips DAC and would like to see if the IFI play better with the Denafrips. like to upgrade from the Bluesound.

Recently acquired the Aurender N20 to replace the A10.

HUGE improvement over an already great sounding unit.

Getting the best quality streamer you can afford is definitely 

worth your money IMO. 

@arafiq I agree 1000% with you about the Innuos Sense sounding better than Roon.  The difference is not subtle.

You forgot to mention unlike Roon there is no fee, you just need to own an Innuos Streamer.

If you can't live without Roon the Innuos does have their "Experimental Mode" that sounds better than Roon but not as good as Innuos Sense.

I also bought the ifi Zen Stream to try streaming.  I was able to take advantage of the DAC in my Marantz SA10 SACD player, which is not a DAC per se but works in a proprietary way, but only accepts 75 ohm coax SPIDF.  I invested in a true coax cable from Canare for not much.  So far have enjoyed the free streaming but it's not quite as good as CD through the Marantz.  If I sample something I absolutely love, I'll just buy the CD.  Since my ifi Zen Stream is plugged into my Shunyata Hydra Delta power conditioner, would I even benefit from a LPS, since as I understand it the LPS is designed to diminish power line noise?  Or is the ifi's standard power supply itself adding noise back into the Stream?  If anyone knows, I'd appreciate your insights.  Thanks.

@eisen0169 The power supply still makes a difference (my Zen Stream is plugged into an Audience power conditioner). I’d highly recommend picking up a used IFi iPowerX from B&H for only $75 — that’s what I did. I’d also highly recommend doing a free trial of Qobuz. Through the Zen Stream it sounds significantly better in my system than spinning CDs, and obviously it’s hugely more convenient with a near endless world of music at your fingertips, much of it in hi res. No harm in trying.

Thanks.  I did realize that after I posted that it is the power supply itself that can be noisy.  I did see that iPowerX online.  I then checked out some of the LPS mentioned in this thread and saw how much they cost.  I also found the iPower Elite from iFi and was wondering if anyone compared it to the iPowerX.  It is $300, which might be overkill I guess.  Or it might not in my compact reference system, which includes a Luxman 590AXii amp, which itself is pretty quiet.  I am thinking when I hear less "quality" when playing the same music streaming (although so far just Spotify) than with the same music via cd what I'm hearing from streaming is actually noise.  I've had it so good with my system in terms of noise, I'm not sure what real noise is supposed to sound like I guess.  Does seem like there's some kind of "graininess" when streaming so I guess that is noise.

Congrats on your setup! I’ve heard the zen stream, sounds really great. Personally considering the Pegasus as my next dac purchase, and your relating your experience with it is confirming what I’ve read. I almost got a zen stream, but instead went with a Pi2design Mercury Streamer. Just a bit more in price, but INSANELY good for $600. It acts as both a ddc and transport with multiple and simultaneous digital outputs. So clean that it pretty well get beyond the need for a separate ddc. The pinout for its I2s is also compatible with the Musicain audio pinout. Just thought it worth mentioning, but your rig already seems to be hitting it out of the park 👌🏼👍🏼

@eisen0169 - I agree with @soix in that upgrading the zen PS improves sound quality & is worth pursuing. Haven't tried the "elite" so can't comment on it's performance. I do have three iPowerX PS's in my system & they are better than the standard wall wart you are currently using.     

@riccitone The Mercury Streamer looks really interesting kinda like getting a Zen Stream with DDC capability for only another $200.  Bargain!

I have to say one of my favorite aspects of the Pegasus is that although it provides the typical benefits of R2R it doesn’t roll off the upper treble as some R2R DACs seem to do. 

@soix Thats it..I think you’ve hit it on the head. That’s been my concern with moving to a Denafrips in the comparable range of offerings (at least with the way my system is going). However or whatever it is that renders a more subdued high frequency detail or shimmer, seems many who finally get the Pegasus say what you’re indicating here. I don’t know if I can justify getting into the Aquarius price range, but the Pegasus seems a remarkable value proposition. I’ve also been curious about the new Ladder Schumann, also compares favorably against the Pegasus. But don’t know if the I2s pinout configs would match up with the Mercury. 

Nonetheless, very cool of you for sharing your insights. Helps many of us here feel better about embracing the latest streaming possibilities. 

Your journey to separate Streamer mirrors my own.

I was an early user of the ZEN Stream, and was impressed by this little unit. I have a DAC that offers I2S and I really wanted that, so I bought the Matrix X-SPDIF 2 USB Interface with I2S. I used that between the ZEN Stream and my DAC and got another level of clarity with that.

I have now moved on to the Musica Pristina A Capella III which is a dedicated Streamer with native I2S outputs. Astonishing upgrade! Everything improved, including lower noise floor, crystal clarity and certified Roon Ready support.

Talk to Kevin a Musica Pristina. He is easy to work with, and incredibly knowledgeable.

Wow is right.  I just splurged based on this thread and everyone's advice and some more googling and got the iPower Elite.  I had just ordered the Japanese SHM version of The Police Greatest Hits but hadn't listened.  The first cut, Roxanne, is well known and the sequence of play was the Zen Stream with its standard power supply, then the CD.  Obviously the CD was much better in every way.  These play through a Canare coax cable into the "DAC" of a Marantz SA10, then into a Luxman 590AXii (Class A) integrated and then into Yamaha NS-5000 speakers, so I consider that setup a "compact reference system".  So then I switched the power supply to the iPower Elite.  Heard it right away.  All streaming just wirelessly from free Spotify from my Macbook Air laptop.  Now as recommended will try a trial of Quobuz.  It does seem like overkill to spend almost as much on the power supply as the streamer, but in this case, where the system is pretty much higher end I guess anything that's a weak link like the standard Zen Stream power supply shows up as such.

You can’t really assess streaming seriously with Spotify.  Report back after you get Qobuz. 

+1 @eisen0169. Enjoy!

Thanks, I will.

Soix... thanks for the BH link, I just bought one of the $75 15v power supplies for my ifi Zen Stream.  Should be here Thursday.

@tubeguy76 Great!  If you could let me know what improvements you hear.  I never used the original power supply and don’t currently have access to it to do a comparison so I’d be interested in what you find.  All I know is it sounds damn good with the iPowerX. 

@soix I received the new power supply today and so far everything sounds very nice.  I can tell that things are a bit smoother and just overall "better".  Certainly haven't noticed any worse performance.  I guess one thing to consider it I'm running the Zen Stream at 15v now vs 12v in addition to the upgraded supply so I'm sure that has an impact.  Anyway, so far so good, I'd say it's well worth the $75.

By the way, do you still like the Pegasus DAC?  I'm looking to replace my SMSL DO200.  Was looking at a Chord Qutest or a Denafrips Pontus II... maybe the Ares II if I want to save a few bucks. 

@tubeguy76 Thanks for the update and glad it seems to be working out. Yeah I’m very happy with the Pegasus in my HeadFi system, and I get my McCormack amp back from SMcAudio soon with full mods so I’ll definitely have more to say once I get that up and running in my home system. I’d recommend reading the reviews on soundnews.net as I generally agree with his assessments and he writes quality reviews. He’s reviewed the Pegasus and I believe he’s reviewed the Pontus ll and at maybe even the Aries, and whichever meets your preferred sound profile best would be the one I’d go with. One thing I will say is the Draco seems to sound almost identical to the Pegasus as per soundnews.net and costs like $300 less, so that might be worth exploring as well.

One thing I really like about the Pegasus is that it does not seem to roll of the upper treble that some R2R DACs seem to do, so if that’s also a concern of yours that would be something to focus on.  I’m really liking the R2R performance so far.

I read the reviews on the Pegasus and the Draco and I would likely go for the Pegasus.  One thing I noted was the Draco was best used with the balanced outputs (XLR) and I only have single ended equipment.  I'd be using this with my 45SE tube monos so I can't use XLR.  I'll have to ask him about the Pegasus single ended outputs and if they're better than the Draco.  Probably not a huge deal but I don't want to be limited and not being able to do much about it.