Innuos Zen Mini MK3 to Zen MK2 to Zenith MK2

Agreed, but it sounds a major step up, for me a did two ABA and settled on my contradictory setup, ignorance is bliss.

Are you sure about that? As far as I’m aware, you can use Roon over your network as well as via USB.

1 Like

I would normally say, I am awaiting a response from Innuos/Roon to confirm i am sane or insane, but at this point i DO NOT CARE, they way the system is on song is spectacular.

Yes. The Roon core can send over the network to another Roon endpoint. This is not what the innous Squeezebox player does. It is the endpoint. This is why this won’t work to the Nova as it’s a dedicated RAAT endpoint. It receives its stream direct from the Roon core it does not go through Squeezelite or the 4gb memory buffer as RAAT and Roon does not support it. If you use the inbuilt Squeezelite software player on the Innuos it’s been modified to use the 4gb buffer and mimic it’s self as a Squeezebox to the Roon core. This then an only bye output by the Innuos USB output to a DAC as it’s the Roon endpoint. Endpoints can only receive they can’t send on to other endpoints. That’s the Roon core job which Innuos cannot meddle with and doesn’t go near the buffer.

I really don’t see how switching it on can affect anything as it has zero to do with playback to the Nova.

My knowledge stops at play, I still struggle with end point, transport, etc … but there is something going on, funny looking through the Roon forum some real drama maybe related to this - very heated.

I get the impression this all steps BIG TIME on Roon’s toe’s as in Squeezelite in general.

Given Roon has and probably will only penetrate the Qobuz/Tidal customer base, Apple, Spotify, Amazon are not interested and Roon i wonder how long they can sustain such a business model.

Once Amazon launch their lossless subscription (includes Spotify (the BIGGEST player)) i sense for most like me with Alexa gadgets and even Apple fanboys with the equivalent, i see the likes of Roon/Qobuz/Tidal falling into an even more niche market share.

I paid for the 1YR subscription, was tempted by the lifetime version, but have seen this on other app’s where years later they make you pay again.

Got some feedback, but still questioned WHY does it sound better …

“RAM-buffering for audio can only apply to music played out directly via the audio output (USB in our case).”

So how would one connect the Nova via USB to the Innuos, as I assumed the Nova USB is only for flash type playback.

Does Roon find the Nova on the Ethernet port?

You need a USB to SPDIF converter and then connect that to the Nova. But you always limited then to 192/24 plus puting an extra layer of complexity thats not needed as the Nova is a Roon endpoint,

There are many debates on the merits of Squeezelite and its ram buffer. It may improve SQ using it from the Innuos or using squeelite on other players compared to using Roon Bridge on the same hardware which would use RAAT not Squeezebox. This could be just limitations of the Innuos hardware.

Roon don’t support full memory playback for reasons of interaction and user experience as it becomes less flexible and responsive it you want to change playlists on the fly etc as you wait for the buffer to fill. Also they don’t believe it brings anything more to their own protocol. Personally I would want to use it as intended and mess with an unsupported method.

I hold no stock in Amazons service, their current offering is crap and their own attempts at hifi are not very good.

Yes but its irrelevant it will only see the normal Roon bridge. Squeezelite is for local playback only so it does not effect any Roon playback to the Nova which is direct from Roon core via RAAT which does not use the 4gb memory buffer.

@CrystalGipsy you give some sound advice and comments, but a bit less harshness please

Interesting, as far as I can tell, the ZENith doesn’t have any analogue output, I’m surprised that listening to it’s output sounds like anything but a digital stream! I’d have though that to hear analogue sound you’d need to be listening to the output (and sound signature) of a DAC system not to the ZENith. :thinking:

i understood that Obsydian talks about the softness of the sound, the naturalness and the digital glare removed, which gives a somehow analog sound.

1 Like

Correct :ok_hand:

1 Like

Apologies my good man. I tend to get to heated at times.

1 Like

Dont we all :innocent:

1 Like

Yes this is what I understand and what other reviews have said of the Zenith.

So what you are saying is that the ZENith changed the presentation of the rest of your system, not that it has a presentation in itself.

So, in other words, it removed some of the sound degradation caused by interference / noise introduced into your system by the other servers you tried, and this let the system perform better (without stating how, specifically, the interference / noise was pushed into your system by those servers).

The logical conclusion from this is that it may have a completely different effect if introduced into a different system (or even a system identical to yours but in a different electrical environment!).

1 Like

Nope.

1 Like

Nope?

Nope to which bit? :thinking:

Giving the Zenith its due (I have had one since February) playing into nDAC/555 via Audiophilleo + PurePower USB to spdif it sounds brilliant with my unDRed 552/500.

The boxes just sound better and better going up the range even if by messing things up less for the Naim bit of the system.

Phil

2 Likes