How to maximise my Innuos Zenith?

Something has changed (LMS workaround that Innuos will activate over a remote session) and will be changing more (when they implement it fully. There is a good chance that the SPDIF conversion will not improve things. It all depends on when Charles gets to audition, but this is certainly worth bearing in mind.

Oh thanks, that’s interesting, would prefer a simpler chain.

1 Like

Michael, Your thread has confirmed to me that the big change Innuos have made is to make their hardware do as little as possible once the music is playing. Even with the Audiophilleo + PurePower into nDAC/555DR the change has been seizmic. Not just the digital but the vinyl. There had been a gradual deterioration I couldn’t account for in their preparations for Sense. They recovered the lost ground and more. I put up with the App going to sleep at times. All is well when it is closed and restarted.

They tried to persuade me to buy a PhoenixUSB when it came out, but I could not see the point as the AP was enough or so I thought. In a sense I’m glad I didn’t but I might consider it now. I’m still cautious about moving to 2.06 when everything sounds so wonderful.

So @Charles64 has a dilemma. It’s a crazy hobby. I’ll stick for the moment and twist another day maybe!

Phil

1 Like

Indeed Phil, indeed.

I’m having a frustrating evening of comparing accessing music from the Zenith (via either the AP with Sense or UPnP turned on and using the Naim app) vs one of my transports.

And to complicate matters further, here’s another permutation, I’m using the DC-1 usually connecting my AP to my Nova to instead connect my Denon to the Nova via digital out.
The latter sounds particularly stunning. Just CD vs CD rip, I’ve not brought any SACD into the fray. Yet.

Bring on the PN. . . maybe. . . one day. . . quite soon!?!?

1 Like

But to use the memory playback for network playback the ongoing system also needs to have some support for it or you get issues like you get with Roon experimental mode which isn’t the smoothest experience. For their own player it’s not an issue as they control it and it expects the buffer a Naim UPnP device won’t as it will be wanting to add its own smaller buffer internally . I feel this side of things may cause them some headaches as it needs the other side to change or perhaps they won’t implement their buffer for playback to other devices.

I’m finding the current LMS workaround reasonably stable providing I always stop a track that’s playing before starting something else or if the phone rings, and equally not to stop play using the Naim remote. You can tell it’s buffering because of the time lapse when you start something new. The SQ is certainly better than UPNP controlled by the Naim server, which itself sounds quite a bit better than Roon.

1 Like

I have recently traded my Naim Core, ND5XS2 and Chord Mscaler/TT2 Dac in to fund new speakers (Kharma DB7’s) .
Essentially I am starting from scratch with my source. Currently using my Laptop with all my stored music on an external drive plugged into it. I have a good USB cable (Nordost Heimdall 2) going from the Laptop to my budget Dac ( Musical Fidelity MX Dac).
I am wondering if the first thing I should get might be the Innous Phoenix USB, to get the best out of my Laptop source for now?
Later I will add a server/streamer and better Dac as money allows me to upgrade. Any sense to a Phoenix USB on a Laptop?
I use Jriver to play my local music, and have the Tidal desktop player on the Laptop.

Those are issues that would niggle me too much. They are issues i have always had with this UPnP bridge to. I currently use it for the odd endpoint into LMS when I used it and now into Roon and it’s always been flakey to use, looses connection, slow to start playback, gapless is hit and miss per device even though they support it, you can’t use the devices remote etc. It’s just not consistent and I have never got it to work with my Arcam AV amp. I hope they manage to improve on it. If they do then it becomes a contender for me as multiroom and a smooth experience is important to me as I have multiple different devices that all need to work in a consistent manner or the family will revolt as would I it’s why Roon has stuck.

I think you’d really need to take your laptop and drive into a good dealer who can set up a similar system for you to compare PhoenixNet vs. a similarly priced DAC which would of course be a “tide you over” solution until funds permit a better DAC of a quality merited by the speakers.
In terms of making the most effective long-term use of the funds, a PhoenixNet makes more sense, possibly even if the dealer has some used bargains (because you won’t be selling or p/x-ing later to upgrade), but only your ears can tell you if that will be the most satisfying route.

1 Like

I can understand that. I don’t have a multi-room setup, but will probably continue to use Roon for casual listening until Innuos implement their own versions of Roon Radio and Discover. But for “serious” listening I find Sense worth the occasional minor problem even as things stand and just hope that Innuos don’t take too long to implement a full solution of their own.

1 Like

Thanks for the sensible reply Michael, but I live in Canada, and demo’s are not as easily had over here. I think I will just keep on working the OT, and keep saving up.By the way, I was inquiring about the Phoenix USB, not the Net.

Ah, sorry: caffeine not yet worked its way into the the grey cells!

If you’re sure you’ll end up with a USB DAC it could make sense. Maybe with something like an AudioQuest Dragonfly as an interim solution.

Not sure why I would get a dragonfly? As I said in my post above, I am currently using USB between my Laptop and Musical Fidelity MX Dac.
I use a Nordost USB cable.

Had a similar push to ditch the AP from Innuos, instead the PhoenixUSB and a Hi2Face to convert ???

1 Like

Sorry. For some reason I thought you were using the internal DAC in your PC. I should have woken up before posting :dizzy_face:

The long and short of it: I agree that the P USB could be a good idea if you aim to keep the MX for some time while waiting to save for something very much more expensive :flushed:

Will you be going down the Chord route again or elsewhere?

Enjoy the new speakers!

2 Likes

I am thinking about a Dave this time with an Innous or Antipodes front end, but may explore other options. The all in one Bartok would keep the box count low. Who knows what will emerge by the time i have the funds.

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.