Innuos Streamers

Moose68Bash

Anybody have any experience with these products -- especially the "Statement?"

erniejade

The Zenn MKIII. Looks very good. Now i need to get my research on!

erniejade

https://theaudiobeatnik.com/review-innuos-statement-music-server-part-1/?fbclid=IwAR00vdm6P-Z2Fie-zOhgMAaeOPS8eoARfDG_YcG3rMtadtZ30-wxrCDHWPk

Moose68Bash

@erniejade,
Thanks for posting that link to theaudiobeatnik review of the Innuos Statement. It seems to be a "rave" review. I hope his promised review of the Statement system with a PS Audio DirectStream DAC comes out soon. I would be using the Statement, if I were to purchase one, with a DirectStream DAC.
Thank you, again, for this lead.

erniejade

Anytime. They do look very nice. I had a DSJ and I actually preferred not using the Brdge II as a streamer. I thought it sounded better with my lumin going to it.

Clipdat

I just realized the Innuos Statement is nearly $14k. Ouch. Certainly a lot of good options to consider at that price.

erniejade

The mini is reasonably priced

GlennDog

I’d love to roll the Statement into my system, but it’s just too rich for my blood ...

erniejade wrote: »

The mini is reasonably priced

The Lumin Mini Is outstanding at its price point. Especially with the newly released Leedh volume control/processing.
I’m really surprised there hasn’t been any talk about it here on CP
From what I’ve read, most people really like it. I do

Clipdat

Part two of the Audio Beatnik review has now been posted, featuring the Lampizator DAC pairing. Part three with the PS Audio DAC is still forthcoming.

Mike Reeter

This is the model I'm considering when I finally make the move to a dedicated Streamer. Perfect for lazy chaps such as myself

https://innuos.com/en/catalog/go/zenmini-mk3-1tb-lpsu

maxward

That’s the one I’ve been looking at, too, along with the Lumin U1 Mini. I’d like to see a comparison of the two.

Mike Reeter

maxward wrote: »

That’s the one I’ve been looking at, too, along with the Lumin U1 Mini. I’d like to see a comparison of the two.

Exact same two I'm looking at as well. Both get very good reviews and are very similar in price.

Clipdat

Part 3 is up! https://theaudiobeatnik.com/review-ps-audio-windom-directstream-dac-with-the-innuos-statement/

erniejade

Thanks for the link.

erniejade

Sounds crazy but because of the reviews, i want to hear the border patrol se-i dac.

Clipdat

Yeah I've wanted to hear that DAC for a while now too!

BlueBirdMusic

Me too on the Border Patrol.

Moose68Bash

@Clipdat,

Thanks for the link to the review of the Statement with the PS Audio DS DAC w/ Windom firmware.
I read the review (in part) to my wife, who gave me her blessing to buy it. The reviewer’s summary comments hit all of her hot buttons, as well as many of mine.
I just wish the guy had Polk SDA SRS 1.2tls in his system! I suspect my SDAs may have some of the soundstage virtues he “recovered” in his system with the addition of the Statement.
Now, before I plunk down the money to purchase the Statement, I have to see whether I can get one to audition in my system. It’s a pretty big investment without hearing it with all the particulars of my own system.
We’ll see what happens next!

Clipdat

I'd reach out to Mark Sosa mark@wellpleasedav.com and inquire regarding the Innuos in-home demo.

Moose68Bash

Thanks, @Clipdat,
I’ve sent an email to an av dealer in Jersey City, which is more convenient for me. If that doesn’t pan out, I’ll pursue your suggestion in Tyson’s Corner.

Moose68Bash

Yesterday, I picked up and installed in my main system a demo unit of the Innuos Statement. My wife and I have been listening as much as we can since I finished the installation last evening.

So far my observations, as well as some of my wife's, are that:
1) the Innuos increases the richness and presence of the music.
2) High frequency sounds are clear and distinct without being too bright for my wife's ears.
3) Bass is tight, strong and well defined -- we not only hear and feel the bass, we hear distinctly the timbre of the instrument playing it.
4) Vocals are extraordinary. We listened to Alison Krauss's "A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection" from start to finish, switching back and forth -- sometimes in mid-track -- to compare the output from the streamer with the output from my NAS. [I started the tracks from the two sources simultaneously, and could easily switch bace and forth by changing the source on my DirecStream DAC.) The SQ improvement from the Innuos Statement was undeniable and significant.
5) While the soundstage was not appreciably expanded, the distinctness of the instruments and vocalists, as well as their separation, was greatly improved.
6) Rendering of large-scale orchestral music was the best I have heard. The definition and separation of the sections of the orchestra as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played Beethoven's "Eroica" was remarkable. There was no "muddle in the middle." For the first time my wife really enjoyed this symphony as rendered by our system.
7) Piano solos -- e.g., Maria Joao Pires's performance of Chopin's nocturnes -- create the clear illusion of a live piano performance int he room.

Above all, the music is engaging. It is easy to lose yourself in it and forget all the critical thinking about SQ. You just want to kick back and enjoy! While my wife does not typically like technically precise and accurate renderings of music, she had no complaints about the precision of the rendering using the Innuos Statement, and she enjoys the music at a higher volume level than ever before, which is frequently a bone of contention between us.

Clipdat

Moose68Bash wrote: »

she enjoys the music at a higher volume level than ever before, which is frequently a bone of contention between us.

Worth the price alone just for this.

Moose68Bash

Clipdat wrote: »

Moose68Bash wrote: »

she enjoys the music at a higher volume level than ever before, which is frequently a bone of contention between us.

Worth the price alone just for this.

Definitely!

Moose68Bash

I have been listening to all my music from the Innuos Statement since I installed it a bit over two months ago.

My initial observations in an earlier post about improvements it has made in our system continue to be substantiated by many hours of listening. A couple of additional observations:

1. The rendering of older CDs and CDs remastered from vinyl LPs is considerably improved. At a reasonable volume level, it is largely impossible to distinguish their SQ from the SQ of contemporary CDs.
2. As I gain familiarity with Roon, the ease of use of the set up is greatly improved from my Synology DSM set up. It is easy to create playlists, to find and select music to play, etc.
3. The Innuos operating system make it very easy to rip additional CDs into storage. Ripping is fast. Roon identifies cover art and metadata and adds it to the albums. Even as good as Roon is, however, ripping and storing classical music requires some manual work, but nothing like what I had to do routinely when I was relying on iTunes and Synology DSM.
4. Finally, Roon and the Innuos Statement support multiple zones that easily can be used to play music together simultaneously or separately.
   
   Overall, I am quite happy with my investment in the Innuos Statement and Roon.

JayCee

Nice follow-up on the Innuos. Glad to see this is working for you and improved your SQ.

I left my DSM in the dust for Roon several years ago and haven't regretted it a bit. I have quite a bit of classical music but don't get into the weeds w/respect to cataloging, however, know it's one of the biggest critiques from the classical Roon crowd and what you describe. Did you get Roon w/the lifetime subscription before they changed the price structure?

Kind of a tangent and have been meaning to ask you...and, if this will muck up your intent for this thread I apologize, we can move to another...

Have you followed the DirectSteam modding thread on PSA's board?

There's a guy that's replaced the transformers w/the same manufacturer but model above what was used in the DS. Fifty dollars for 2 and $25 shipping (ouch, for something so small). Drop in replacement and the guy's claiming positive results. Also, Ted Smith is contributing to the conversation and is providing positive guidance. Pretty cool to have him accessible and open to helping the DIY crowd. Long thread but what I've referenced starts here if you haven't seen it: https://forum.psaudio.com/t/modding-the-directstream-dac/2680/161?u=jaycee

My DS's out of warranty, so I ordered a pair. Lead time is like 6-8 weeks and $77.04 shipped. I'm comfortable with my soldering skills but for someone that doesn't want to it's fairly easy to take out the board and have a competent tech de-solder/re-solder a few leads.

There's also talk of building a beefed up power supply. I'm waiting until they have a monkey see, monkey do road map and proven success for this.

Again, don't mean to muck up your thread but in the interest of moving forward and improving your sound, thought I'd mention it. Oh, and, isn't it time for Ted/PSA to release another mountaintop?

P.S. Your signature needs to be updated w/the new component.

Moose68Bash

Thanks, @JayCee,

I started with Roon on the one-year subscription because I wanted to make sure I could deal with its problems in tagging classical music, as well as sets of CDs. I have a lot of both categories of potential problems for Roon. So far, I think I can manage, but I have a number classical sets to rip -- e.g. a set of recording by the Amadeus Quartet ("The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon") and Itzhak Perlman ("The Complete Warner Recording"). I'm anxious to see how Roon handles them. It did not do as well as I would have liked with a set of six Segovia CDs with which I tested it during my demo of the Statement.

I doubt I could have gotten in for a "bargain" price on the lifetime subscription. The lifetime subscription seemed pretty pricey to me at the time. The lifetime subscription's high price was one reason I chose the one-year subscription. It would have taken a few years to get a return on the initial capital outlay. However, I don't know what the price was before the change in price structure.

I appreciate Ted Smith's attitude toward development, modifications and customer service and satisfaction, not to mention the things he has achieved with the firmware upgrades for the DSD. However, one of my two DSDs is still under warranty. I won't touch that one for now. I am also not terribly skilled in soldering. I can do the basics, but from what I have read, desoldering and reinstalling the transformer upgrade requires some skill and experience. I have some old PCBs in the basement, with which I shall do some experimentation before I open up either DSD and begin fiddling with it. I'll go for higher end fuses first!

I have upgraded the power cords on my PS Audio equipment with noticeable improvements in SQ, as confirmed by my wife's ears, which I trust more than mine. I have not purchased high-end power cords, but have chosen to fabricate my own from good components.

A power supply upgrade would be interesting. One of the claims of the Innuos developers is that they have a superior power supply and topology for power handling. I don't know enough to have an opinion, other than the opinions about the improved SQ the Statement has brought to my two systems. How the power handling figures in that improvement, I don't know.

Don't worry about adding a related topic to this thread. I try not to be OCD about such matters because I like to think of my threads as conversation for which participants do not have to be physically present. In a house with three women -- my wife and two daughters -- I'm accustomed to conversations that wander from my starting points!

With respect to updating my signature, I'll try to get to that soon!

Cheers!

JayCee

I paid $499 for Roon lifetime after a year of using it. Not only for the DS but to integrate w/multiple sources. If I were to bet, and I'm not much of a $ gambler, i'd take the odds that Roon will keep moving forward on the classical/multidisc front and get you closer to your goal.

I have 2 Squeezbox Touch's and 2 Chromecast devices. I also bet on Roon having a good chance to succeed and be compatible w/many devices moving forward. TBH, the bells and whistles, ie. album/group info, smart suggestions, etc. don't really hold my attention, I'm capable of doing a search if I want, but the seamless integration has been the selling point.

I'm a PC guy w/tech background so setting up networks and the like aren't an issue. I rip on a PC and use Roon Rock on a NUC with great success. Also, added a EtherREGEN to great affect on the DSD.

Goes to show there are many ways to skin this cat. Again, glad you've found a very satisfying solution and always appreciate different approaches for reference at a later date.

Moose68Bash

@JayCee,

You have much greater knowledge of this stuff than I. You are lucky!

My late father used say to me, "Phil, there are a hundred ways to skin a cat, and they are all bad for the cat!"

Your comment brought back some fond memories!

JayCee

I like your dad!

invalid

What happened with room non certified devices, do they all still work with room?

invalid

Spell check, roon certified devices