You do make an excellent point!
Ifi Zen Streamer plus upgraded power supply - the streamer to beat??
Hi Fellow Audiophile nerds,
I know everyone likes to put a plug in for whatever products they happen to have in their system. I'm no better. But, I thought it would be worth sharing my experience with the ifi Zen Stream paired with an upgraded linear power supply, because it sounds great and seems like a really good value for what you get.
The ifi Zen stream is a small device, purpose built, with USB output. It cost me $400 USD on Amazon. Has been favorably reviewed by many including Absolute Sound, Audio Excellence Canada, and others. Some reviewers mentioned issues connecting to wifi, but I haven't had any problems. Ifi claims the product downloads firmware updates automatically. Streaming via Tidal Connect has been rock solid for me thus far.
I added a linear power supply from a British company called McRU - recommended by the British Audiophile. McRU makes a power supply for the Zen Stream and it costs around $350.
So, with this $750 combination, it seems I have a streamer with most of the features that you would find in high-end streamers from Auralic or Aurendor, and they retail from something like $3500 and way up. What I don't yet have is I2S output and a really good internal clock to reduce jitter before going into my DAC. But, Denafrips offers 3 digital to digital units, with their entry level Iris going for about $550 USD. So that's another option for those wanting to improve performance further.
How does it all sound? Going from a Bluesound Node 2i using coaxial output into a Denafrips Ares II, to the Zen stream with upgraded power supply USB output into the Denafrips Ares II the upgrade was very significant. More clarity, darker (less noisy) background, better instrument separation, and overall the sound seems to have a bit more weight to it.
Just thought I'd share this, and would love to hear others' opinions and experiences.
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@soix - I gave MConnect HD a try today with a Qobuz free trial and my personal view is that: 1. I can't hear a difference between Qobuz Hi-Fi and Tidal Hi-Fi (I am old so my hearing is maybe not able to discern the finer points between the two formats). 2. The MConnect HD UX and UI is awful compared to the native Apple and Windows Tidal app. I'm not paying for something that utterly terrible so I've requested a refund from the Apple Store. 3. The Qobux app itself also lags behind the Tidal app in terms of ease of use, navigation and the way it presents search results. The algorithms in Tidal are spot on. I'm switching to a Denafrips Ares II so I'm leaving MQA in the rear-view mirror (partly, the Zen Stream will still unfold MQA) but Tidal Hi-Fi is pretty good and one day I hope Spotify comes to the Hi-Res party! Obviously, this is just my opinion based on what ticks my boxes! It's wonderful that we have all these options and choices though isn't it? |
The only comparisons I’ve seen are of stock Zen Stream and Node, an in those comparisons the ZS was preferred, so I assume adding a better PS to either would prefer the ZS. But that’s just a guess. I will say that the ZS puts all its $$$ to being a streamer while Node also is a DAC, which probably makes a difference. |
- 33 posts total