Innuos Statement Next Generation Power Supply

Hi-Fi Corner
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Starting a new thread just for this now since the old one is locked and it may in any case be helpful to have a dedicated one on the upgrade journey.

I’m posting now because I can never keep track of time and I boxed up my Statement to drop off at the dealer today, so we can all see how long it takes to come back.

The Statement’s only been gone for a few hours and I am already missing it, listening to the Roon Nucleus+ now. The latter’s no slouch with the PhoenixNet but the loss of bottom end, textural detail, air, micro-contrast delicacy. integrated complexity and general palpability is readily apparent…

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Interested in hearing what improvement it will bring, does it have to go back to Portugal for the work ?

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Following with interest - could be a good excuse for a drive across to Portugal…

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Yes, though first to Innuos UK.

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I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread too.

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Well, the Statement’s been away for 12 days now and I’ve been missing it like hell, I have to say, listening instead to my Roon Nucleus+ via PhoenixNet, which is hardly a SQ disaster with the ND555, but still a much more digital hi-fi than organic music experience, but also less detailed, clear and dynamic, so less of a hi-fi experience too.

The background to the upgrade is none at all, but I thought I’d just fill it in. It’s a bit like when I did the DR upgrades for the Naim 500 kit: I basically did them on trust, which is something I never usually do with Hi-Fi. So it says something about how I feel about both Naim and Innuos.

That said, I have heard lots of positive things about the difference the new Next Generation power supply and other upgrades make to the Statement, both from Innuos and from those who have attended Hi-Fi show and shop demos of the new old and Statements side by side. What really hooked me in were not so much the comments on dynamics, noise floor and soundstage as those on instrumental and vocal texture. So that’s what I’ll be listening for.

The obvious elephant in the room is that my impressions will be from memory… so unless I report hearing wonders that I never even knew were present on recording x or y by performer z, anyone reading will need to sprinkle the proverbial pinch of salt. And even then…

That’s of course assuming I don’t hate the change, which is the worry I had unnecessarily about the 500 to 500DR in particular.

Well, let’s see what I think we when it arrives and then as it it burns it. I have no idea for the time being about when it’s going to come home.

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Well, I’ve just heard from Paul at Audio-T Brighton that it’s come back today. Not a bad turnaround at all, considering it’s been to Portugal and back.

So I am as happy as a pig in muck. It’ll be home in an hour or so. Very relieved. Listening through Roon on the Nucleus has really reminded me how much of a difference the Statement makes. There’s not only less detail (and a lot less texture), but what remains of the details sounds like it’s coming through a cheese grater by comparison…

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Hi Michael.
Glad to hear you are still gripped and we are still coming to the same conclusions.
Cant wait to hear what you think. I must try the innuos statement next. Sean or Dr Sean Jacobs is doing some great things.
I am having my Dc4 upgraded next week.
All the best
Rich

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Hi Rich! Yes, Sean’s doing some great stuff, which is what got me interested in Innuos in the first place. I’ve been extremely pleased with the Statement and PhoenixNet in my system.

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Well the Statement’s unpacked and plugged in. Even stony cold and with no burn-in, the differences are readily apparent on even old recordings from the thirties, never mind hi-def audiophile stuff from this year. Everything is more out of the speaker and more defined. Dynamics are a notch up. I can hear details that were unnoticed or much less noticeable before without this involving any “artificial details on a plinth/in relief” effects. Textures are beautifully richer and more defined. The soundstage is also enhanced, above all in depth and height. There’s more space and air in there.

The sound is also more open - almost as if it’s more relaxed and slower, partly because the increased texture and details make everything more expressive.

Anyway, it’s very early days, but all positives and no negatives so far. I’m a very happy bunny. God alone knows how I will be waxing lyrical once it’s properly warmed up and burnt in. I dare say you lot will be sending round a hit squad to shut me up… Very glad I went for this.

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Hi Michael
Whats the latest?

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We sent the hit squad in on a pre-emptive strike😉

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Sorry for the radio silence - work has been barmy this week.

Well, this beastie has kept gradually maturing as it burns in, especially in the midrange, thankfully, which initially sounded a little cold and recessed on some pieces compared with the original Statement, accentuated by the increased detail and dynamism across the range. I say initially: it still does but it keeps improving. This has been my only doubt so far. There’s been just a little lack of texture, delicacy and depth there.

Other observations - all positive - are that the new PS makes a nice difference even on old recordings like the 1953-4 Schwarzkopf Strauss last songs (really showing the difference between the rather poor Qobuz FLAC download and my CD rip), Furtwangler Beethoven 7th or early seventies Boult, bringing added clarity that opening out the interplay between different sections/instruments of the orchestra (and the singer).

So far, so subtle, but the new Statement really astonishes on good modern recordings: the new The Gift by Paul Berner and Michael Moore, Al de Meola et al in Friday Night in San Francisco, Forcione’s Talking Hands, Ted Sirota’s Geronimo’s Free, where there’s much more detail and definition, a greater presence of the instruments and of course what the musicians are up to with them. Improved flow and PRaT, too.

All sorts of instrumental textures benefit, also, drums and brass especially, but piano very much, too, from guttural bass to bell-like upper registers. The Moravec Chopin Nocturnes respond well.

All this applies to big orchestral works, too, (just listening to Gorecki Symphony 3) but also wonderfully loonie stuff like Cocteau Twins’ Musette and Drums, for the latter partly because of the more extended and defined bass (even if we’re talking drum machine here), but also because of the weird layering and interplay between drums, voice and wailing guitar on this piece.

Everything of course benefits from the greater sense of space and spatial precision across a much more “present” soundstage

Anyway, I’ll have more to say when I’ve had more time to listen and less work absorbing my energies. Above all, I hope to be able to confirm that the midrange comes into its own. Which has also been my excuse for not posting more. I think we’re nearly there now, though.

And for those reading this who think it’s strange for all of this to apply to a digital front end that’s just a music server never mind a DAC, well I can understand where you’re coming from. But make a difference the Statement certainly does, and with this new PS possibly over half as much again.

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Nice write up Michael……perhaps one day.

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Well, today has been a bit of a triple expletive of astonishment day.

This run-in had seemed to be relatively linear, but now it’s likely someone has flicked a switched. The midrange has come to life and how. Along with even more of everything else. The difference the new PS setup makes is becoming simply astonishing - and not just on the ND555. It has utterly transformed the Atom HE, too. Listening to Cesaria Evoria at the moment. Utterly magical.

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When you think about it in layman’s terms, the server (and it’s power supply) is the ultimate source component, so to me the impact the Statement and its posh new power supply is having on your revealing system is no surprise.

Now do I really need both kidneys?

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Another observation, not unusual in upgrades that increase clarity and reduce noise are that listening at lower levels is richer and more rewarding, but that there’s also a tendency to turn the volume up higher than before.

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Well, this thing is still improving. Innuos said about three weeks, so who knows where it’s going to end up, but it keeps impressing and surprising me (and confusing me - I still can’t quite believe it is having this effect). Since last week’s sudden big jump, the improvements have gone back to being more gradual.

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One day you’re going to wake up, switch on and wonder if you dreamt about all those massive improvements. Slightly boomy bass, slight sibilance, especially noticable on spoken word like Swiss Radio Classics announcers.

If you are like me you’ll conclude the listening session feeling a bit down.

The next day you’ll fire it up again and even before you turn up the volume, you’ll notice that something remarkable has happened. I guess its that the Mundorfs have finally run in but I certainly can’t be sure. All I know is, the sound is now on an altogether different plane and while you’ll notice that hi-fi related attributes have changed, the most overwhelming change will be to your response to the music. Even before the first note you’ll feel your aural reality change as the recording’s atmosphere and acoustics entirely change your perceived listening environment. The first notes ring out and you’ll find yourself convinced you’re listening to musicians playing instruments in the recording or engineered venue. Your ability to analyse the music and sound is gone as your thoughts are overwhelmed by the complete immersion and involvement in the music.

This is not my experience with a Next Gen Statement….I still have that pleasure to come. Rather its my experience when upgrading all my network power supplies with ARC6 mods. The Statement Next Gen goes beyond this with further upgrades to the CPU supply and better vibration isolation but I imagine the running in process could sound very similar. An initial large uplift, followed by stability, followed by another minor uplift, more stability then a downshift prior to the last and most consequential uplift.
I was planning to get my Statement upgraded during a holiday in July but DHL wholly cocked up the collection, so its now scheduled for September. In the meantime I’m thoroughly enjoying what my ARC6 upgrades are delivering.
I’ll be very interested to hear about your further experiences. I would note that for me, this final uplift in performance took a lot longer than 3 weeks, but I’ve heard a similar effect with several upgrades to SJ power supplies that included lots of Mundorf caps.

Many thanks for the Next Gen review….very interested in further changes…let’s see if your Statement upgrade behaves like my PSs.

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Michaelb
I haven’t followed the detail of what is involved with the upgrade. Would you mind sharing/ repeating if both boxes are required to make the journey back to Portugal or is it just the power supply? Is the power supply innards upgraded or is it more a case of replacing the old with new?
Peter