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
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_7f78b964ce5f4c6c9fb9a7183e33a054~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_40,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_7f78b964ce5f4c6c9fb9a7183e33a054~mv2.png)
Name - Provide a unique name for the streamer
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_3e0f119494fd4c48be9215eb052d8daf~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_22,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_3e0f119494fd4c48be9215eb052d8daf~mv2.png)
Output - If the DAC is connected to the streamer via USB, you may select the USB Audio Output
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_56e965f68e904634a925c5afa79ace66~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_18,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_56e965f68e904634a925c5afa79ace66~mv2.png)
Experience - We recommend to select full set of options so that we can have more options to parameterise the streamer
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_2b1f7f24fa3b4adb92d8a06ebb03a4a5~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_23,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_2b1f7f24fa3b4adb92d8a06ebb03a4a5~mv2.png)
Network - Connect the streamer via Wifi
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_61c36b8bbec6446eacd3dee10abd32ed~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_27,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_61c36b8bbec6446eacd3dee10abd32ed~mv2.png)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_f51627f05d824851a051ed70a2362cb2~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_18,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_f51627f05d824851a051ed70a2362cb2~mv2.png)
Music - Setup music library (USB/NAS) where the streamer will index the music files and allow it to playback
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_ef79460f7f0343ada0a81255fbc70ec2~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_26,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_ef79460f7f0343ada0a81255fbc70ec2~mv2.png)
Done - Setup completed
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_2afa7d18d9fd4f7faabe26fec109b7ce~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_18,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_2afa7d18d9fd4f7faabe26fec109b7ce~mv2.png)
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.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_afcf0256aea941488fb1805223fc2bee~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_40,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_afcf0256aea941488fb1805223fc2bee~mv2.png)
Settings
Click on the 'Settings' on the left panel, a list of available settings menu will be available on the placeholder:
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_b45ac5035fd34293a0586fdba8fac8ef~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_30,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_b45ac5035fd34293a0586fdba8fac8ef~mv2.png)
Sources - Configure NAS/Streaming Services (i.e. Spotify/Tidal Connect etc)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_df942fe8bd3144918c64ae00f57ed11a~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_34,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_df942fe8bd3144918c64ae00f57ed11a~mv2.png)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_0c74f7fd0772496889975c7b17a228fb~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_34,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_0c74f7fd0772496889975c7b17a228fb~mv2.png)
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
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_8dcc29b66d23440194847080fe355dd1~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_34,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_8dcc29b66d23440194847080fe355dd1~mv2.png)
System Diagram:
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b933e_3ed4d5dcad654a97bab60c6d4ac5e83c~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_28,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4b933e_3ed4d5dcad654a97bab60c6d4ac5e83c~mv2.png)
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