iFi Zen Streamer arrived yesterday. Total failure. I could not get it through the installation process, it hung every time at another point.
In despair I tried to do a factory reset and now it is bricked (I had to look up the term 'bricked').
I'll give them one more chance with a new unit.
Jan
The funny thing is that people buy the stuff. What surprises me every time is that many don't do the homework before they buy stuff but afterwards.
They fixed the bricking issue:
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They fixed the bricking issue:
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Does not cost much, very flexible, great community support. What more could you want?
I would say 90% of streamers have some form of vendor-supplied app for network audio playback ... but not all support this particular feature - because some streamer products are more focused on internet streaming.
My AudioPro Addon C5 -
C5 - Audio Pro - Play Nice
is a streaming endpoint, and AudioPro has a dedicated app to play audio files from an attached USB flash drive or hard drive, but no direct access to network files.
However, they do support DLNA streaming, so all I need to do is have a DLNA server app running on my NAS (easy if you have a Synology NAS) then a DLNA controller app, such as BubbleUPnP, can play streams from NAS to the AudioPro.
The technical distinction here is that the streaming device (my AudioPro) needs a separate music server application running somewhere on the local network for it to access audio files on that network.
The iFi ZEN, on the other hand, does not need a separate music server app to be running for network audio access ... but the ZEN can act as an endpoint for a separate DLNA server, if you wish to run your setup that way.
I had iFi Zen Streamer at my place for a week on a loan pending purchase. I liked the sound. But, it was buggy. In particular, it's the DSD playback freezing with loud pops that put me off. I settled on NUC11 with linear power supply, JRiver and HQPlayer. I access the NUC from iPads / iPhones. I tried HQPlayer embedded which was a revelation sound-wise, but I settled on Windows OS (functionality) and JRiver playing raw files bit-perfect (closest to a vinyl sound I could get). Shame re iFi bugs... it did sound really good especially when I powered it up with my linear power supply.
$500 for a brick with poor support.
$50 for a RPi with with great community support and huge choice of software and hardware options.
You forget the absolute need to add several HATs to the RPI to make it perform good.
Kicking in an open door: RPI was not developed for audio at all and has some serious drawbacks that need to be solved for good performance comparable to devices that have been developed for audio. Any comparison of an unmodified RPI without any HAT and with the original PSU with devices that have been developed for audio is not in favor of the RPI.
Now the OP seems to like esthetically approved stuff and he apparently has a thing against any simple cable connection. Now look at the picture....
Kicking in an open door: RPI was not developed for audio at all and has some serious drawbacks that need to be solved for good performance comparable to devices that have been developed for audio. Any comparison of an unmodified RPI without any HAT and with the original PSU with devices that have been developed for audio is not in favor of the RPI.
Now the OP seems to like esthetically approved stuff and he apparently has a thing against any simple cable connection. Now look at the picture....
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I understand that there is a whole ecosystem around the Pi dedicated to audio. But it takes a serious effort to dive in, get up to speed, starting to figure out what all the terms mean up to all the intricacies of the various hardware and software configuration. Only after that you can start to think of what you want and how to get there. I am not prepared to invest that time and effort, I admit that.
Jan
Jan
I am currently using a "Raumfeld Connector Streaming Client", manufactured by the German "Teufel" audio company.
I bought it 5 years ago; its price has been 110€ at that time.
I am currently working on a new power-supply (modified CapMultiplier, my own layout/design) to replace the standard
low-cost wall-power supply.
My requirements regarding a streaming device are very small: it shall be able to play all formats of "ripped" CDs, stored
on a USB-stick (I have about 4GB of ripped CDs), USB-disk, NAS, ...
The sound of the "Raumfeld Connector": not bad at all.
The only drawback so far: from time to time the "Raumfeld Connector" does not connect to my WLAN (the device is operated
by a Teufel ANDROID app via WLAN) when powered on, and I have to switch power On and off and try again.
Best regards - Rudi_Ratlos
I bought it 5 years ago; its price has been 110€ at that time.
I am currently working on a new power-supply (modified CapMultiplier, my own layout/design) to replace the standard
low-cost wall-power supply.
My requirements regarding a streaming device are very small: it shall be able to play all formats of "ripped" CDs, stored
on a USB-stick (I have about 4GB of ripped CDs), USB-disk, NAS, ...
The sound of the "Raumfeld Connector": not bad at all.
The only drawback so far: from time to time the "Raumfeld Connector" does not connect to my WLAN (the device is operated
by a Teufel ANDROID app via WLAN) when powered on, and I have to switch power On and off and try again.
Best regards - Rudi_Ratlos
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That looks like a brother/sister of Elac DS-S101-G. Remarkable! Same engineering company? You can see that the "system on a module" PCB has pads for a wireless IC but it has been omitted.
The Elac does not need to be switched off and on and has no Android and no wireless so all is blessed and good. A bit of luck really as it does not even have a power switch.
The Elac does not need to be switched off and on and has no Android and no wireless so all is blessed and good. A bit of luck really as it does not even have a power switch.
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I know what you mean -- once I went through that I realised it's actually a lot easier than I thought. I'd say it's less effort than reading this thread from the start, ordering an iFi, fight with the iFi, and cope with the frustration.
Nope, I did not forget that. It depends what you need: streamer with USB connection to external DAC? Or with built-in high-end DAC? The RPi will connect to any USB DAC out of the box. Adding a dedicated high-end DAC on top of the RPi board is trivial (just plug it in, same as with a USB connection).
I have to say that I did not even think that anyone would use the crappy on-board analog output for HiFi. The idea of the RPi is to use its digital outputs (USB or I2S) to feed a proper DAC unit. The RPi I2S will need some sort of reclocking, which is usually comes with the DAC these days.
Just like Apple stuff the Pi gets a quite fanatical group of followers
Ouch. What makes you say this?
The RPi couldn't be more different than any Apple product. The RPi is about making stuff your way, it's about freedom (like in free speech), and it does not cost a lot. Apple will first take your money, then tell you what to do with their products, and they will control how you do it (taking more money from you).
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Not usually! That is more the exception than the rule. Assumptions....One just knows that connecting an RPI without all the added stuff that is needed for normal playback is a disappointment. So one MUST buy at least 1 HAT and/or have a DAC with reclocking as added feature.
OP has stated not to want to invest time in RPI so any advice involving DIY, "free" etc stuff is futile. See first post, he wants a ready made device under 1000 Euro. He likes issues so he wants wireless as a feature He bought the iFi ZEN stream and has both wireless and issues so all is solved (pun intended) I am curious how the replacement ZEN stream will perform. Seems well designed hardware but the software is a tad unsatisfying I understood.
BTW I have had several RPI, not against them or something like that. There are just better more effective choices. After much time and costs RPI can behave excellent but all the effort may lead to tunnel vision.
OP has stated not to want to invest time in RPI so any advice involving DIY, "free" etc stuff is futile. See first post, he wants a ready made device under 1000 Euro. He likes issues so he wants wireless as a feature
He bought the iFi ZEN stream and has both wireless and issues so all is solved (pun intended) I am curious how the replacement ZEN stream will perform. Seems well designed hardware but the software is a tad unsatisfying I understood. BTW I have had several RPI, not against them or something like that. There are just better more effective choices. After much time and costs RPI can behave excellent but all the effort may lead to tunnel vision.
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Yes, the Raspberry Pi may be considered technically "ugly" from an audio perspective, but no less so than a Windows or Mac computer. Sure, many people go to lengths to add good quality DAC-hats, and add isolation/re-clocking boards to deal with the Pi's jitter and noise - heck, I did the same thing with a BeagleBone Black I built up in 2014 (and it's still in everyday use)
... but modern thinking is to allow the computer side of a digital playback system to remain "dirty" and just buy an external DAC with a good quality USB interface. Jan's ADI-2 Pro is an eminent example of such a DAC.
When coupled with a good USB DAC, the Pi is hard to beat as a music server and/or endpoint.
That's true for many Pi operating system options, but there are a few Pi distributions which involve minimal setup, and that setup is from a web-based gui - Moode, Volumio, and Rune. These are great options for those who don't wish to learn any Linux commands.
But wait, my praise for the Pi is limited! The Pi relies on open source software - and for playback of local network audio files this works great - possibly better than the commercial streamers can do.
But the music streaming companies are wary of releasing their code to the open source community - so streaming on the Pi can be patchy, unless you use a helper app such as Roon.
That's where the commercial streamers come into their own - their compatibility with various streaming services is usually very good - because they are using the official licensed code.