Welcome to another episode of Streamer X DAC Project!
Streamer X DAC Project is an initiative of Vinshine Audio where Vinshine Audio acquire several popular streamers on the market, test them extensively with DENAFRIPS DAC, get accustomed and have the first-hand experience of these streamers in order to be able to make recommendations what are the parameter settings, interface (SPDIF/i2s/USB) work best with DENAFRIPS DAC.
List of streamers on-hand:
iFi Zen Stream [This episode!]
Lumin U2 Mini
Volumio RIVO
pi2Design pi2AES
pi2Design Mercury V1 [Discontinued]
Wanted list of streamers:
pi2Design Mercury V2 [In production]
HifiRose RS150B
... suggestion welcome! Leave a comment on Youtube :)
Streamer to Discuss: iFi Zen Stream
Once the iFi Zen Stream is connected to the Wifi/LAN network, you may key in the IP address of the streamer (192.xxx.xxx.xxx) on the browser (Safari/Chrome/ie/etc) to view the following pages:
Configuration Wizard
Language - Select your preferred language
Name - Provide a unique name for the streamer
Output - If the DAC is connected to the streamer via USB, you may select the USB Audio Output
Experience - We recommend to select full set of options so that we can have more options to parameterise the streamer
Network - Connect the streamer via Wifi
Music - Setup music library (USB/NAS) where the streamer will index the music files and allow it to playback
Done - Setup completed
Main Interface (On web-browser)
You may access the streamer by using a PC/Table/Smartphone. For Tablet/Smartphone, please download the iFi Zen Stream app on Playstore / App Store.
Settings
Click on the 'Settings' on the left panel, a list of available settings menu will be available on the placeholder:
Sources - Configure NAS/Streaming Services (i.e. Spotify/Tidal Connect etc)
General Playback Options - We recommend USB Audio Output. Please use USB connection to DENAFRIPS DAC.
Note: DENAFRIPS USB Audio V3.12 is the latest USB MCU Firmware
System Diagram:
Note
Preamp: For best sound quality, we highly recommend to use a preamp (DENAFRIPS Hestia Preamp in this example) to attenuate the volume.
LPS: It is highly recommended to use a LPS (Linear Power Supply). You may consider iFi LPS / LHY Audio LPS25VA
TEAM VINSHINE AUDIO