Another post about a streamer upgrade

@dz13 that is some great feedback and fruit for thought. 

I do think the OP's feelings about which brands to upgrade to are good thinking. After doing a little research and listening to a couple I feel an Innous will be my next step up. I've only been into digital streaming maybe 2 1/2 to 3 years now. I came into this media thinking all digital transports would sound the same. Seemed logical at the time, it's only transferring a digital signal and any jitter should be easily dealt with by any newer decent dac. Yet in my personal subjective opinion this doesn't hold true. I've tried upwards of 10 different "budget" streamers searching for the best SQ on the cheap. Most of them in that range do sound similar to me when used as a transport only..but there are differences in my opinion. Either in sound quality, darkness of background, or soundstage and imaging. Subtle differences in the budget category. 

I'm familiar with the OP's Zen Stream. I've owned it twice now, both times giving it the boot due to the laggy and shaky software. The reason I went back to it a second time is I feel it has good SQ.. especially for the money. With LPS I liked it better than more expensive streamers I've tried. One streamer I've liked just as much or actually more is the Primare Prisma. I picked one up second hand and have been very happy with it. 5volt power supply that can be upgraded. I prefer Quboz as well and use Chromecast. I've used Chromecast in the past with my Cambridge CXN2, Arcam Sa30 & later with the ST60. I preferred the sound of the Prisma when using CC. Just my personal preference though, could be different for everyone. 

I only mention this because if it is just the software of the Zen Stream you would like to change then a Primare can help in that regard with Quboz, but also keep the type of sound quality you are use to. Maybe a side move with subtle differences but I do like using CC now. Prisma has set backs though like everything. No USB. Chromecast is topped at 24/96khz. I found that to be no issue. Actually instead of going bit perfect native I upsample everything to 24/176 with the Prisma. Just sounds better to me..I dk why. No software issues though. 

I've never tried an Eversolo or the Halo Red..a couple of the "budget/mid level" types that seem to get good reviews. I also think stepping up to the likes of Aurender or Innous, just to name a couple, will give you the upgrade that you are looking for. Or switching to Roon might be something you would like as well. Better functionality it seems...better than using the Zen Stream native app I'm sure. One thing that was already mentioned..make sure your Dac is up to par before buying a big dollar streamer. Unless you are looking at one with built-in dac. Good luck.  

As the conversation continues about quality streamers and whether it’s advisable, logical to upgrade it’s fair to ask how many dealers are posting because of the chance of a big sale. Let’s face it- many here can get stuck on the idea they have to upgrade, spend more money and the first salesman in line can get that sale.

I find the streamer can make a very big difference if you also have a great dac and overall system. I own the Tron Atlantic Sig dac and after hearing several streamers in my system priced from $1200 to $7900 I can confidently say streamers matter in high end systems. The improvement in sound quality does not take a back seat to any other upgrades I have made over the years. Again, my comments are based on having all pieces in your Hifi system of high quality including all cabling.

Even upgrading from an Innuos Zenith 3 to Pulsar was a very obvious increase in sound quality and overall system performance.  

Here’s another site that seems to do a decent job of evaluating streamers more objectively.  

To be clear, I’m not a pure objectivist by any stretch - after all , I’m primarily a tube and vinyl guy! - but I do think that in the digital realm, particularly before the conversion to analog, objective measures can tell you an awful lot about what’s going on.  

Full disclosure: I am highly skeptical of the claims made by the high $ server/streamer /DAC combos out there in the marketplace.  Which is why I’ve gone the following route:  (1) Roon with Quobuz; (2) Roon server: Small Green Computer w/4tb drive for burned CD collection; (3) Gold Note DS10 as streamer/dac in system #1; (4) Pro-ject S2 Ultra as streamer feeding Topping E70 in system#2; (5) Okto DAC8 w/RPi installed as streamer/DAC in system #3; and (6) iFi Zen Stream feeding iFi Zen Signature v.2 DAC in system #4.  I also use a Bluesound Node and Sonos Amp in two other non-audiophile systems.  The point is they all work seamlessly with Roon thru my home network; in all but one case, I’m using wifi without any problems.  Last point I’ll make is that I’ve seen alot of negative comments regarding the iFi app, but if you’re using Roon, you bypass that potential weakness.  

@mdalton yes nothing beats roon from the UI / UX and features standpoints.
However, one important note - with some streamers their proprietary UI/software forces the streamed files to take a certain path that involves extra processing such as caching (not buffering) and other tasks that might result in better sound compared to using the streamer as a Roon end point.
One example is Auralic Aries streamers. The Auralic Lightning DS sounded significantly better to me than Roon and I actually ended up pausing my Roon subscription. I had renewed it when I switched over to Lumin where I heard virtually no difference and the Lumin app was driving me crazy.

There are a lot of variables. The unfortunate truth in this hobby is that everything matters and as you go up the ladder it matters even more. Synergy is key though, so trying and listening for yourself to see what works in your system the best approach.