Innuos ZEN NG

Has anyone had a demo. of the new Innuos NG range yet - the ZEN NG and Zenith NG ?

I’m contemplating the ZEN NG as a replacement for my ZENith mk3.

The modular & upgradable architecture is appealing, I’m not sure how much of an upgrade over what I have though. Although I’d expect a substantial one - noting the price difference.

I’ve a Zenith Mark 3 and little interest in upgrading at those prices. Friend has one. I thought it was very good but after a while thought it was different in some respects rather than better whilst clearly better in others. I’m therefore aware it is an upgrade on my Zenith but it made what I have look the value proposition rather than what I don’t. Your money. Your call.

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Way too expensive for a server, the Mk III now offers much better value for money.

Price increase probably driven by comparison with other well known manufacturers.

ATB, J

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Is there anything to be gained by splitting the streamer/player from the storage? So my thoughts are keep the Zenith and add a Pulse/Pulsar/NDX2?

Wow, that really is quite some price bump!!!

That price is outrageous. I moved my zenith 3 on and replaced it with a hifi rose RS130 which sounds better and has far more functionality and it still retails for less than the NG. I like innuos kit and their software is excellent but that price is daft

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Yeah I had a look at the Innuos website the other week and when I saw those prices I was just like nope at that price I could not only buy a better streamer from a competitor but I could also just buy roon lifetime for better software too.

That’s interesting. How do you find their software in comparison to Sense?

I didn’t think the HiFiRose offered anything I especially needed. I thought the sound initially was “better” but, for me, it was one of those initially impressive things which got less impressive the more I listened. I think they’re well “tuned” but I guess if you like that tuning then all is well. Certainly didn’t think it offered a leap over the Zenith to make it worth while. What’s the extra functionality which sold it to you?

A whole other discussion :slight_smile: . Roon is divisive and much of what it offers is available in Sense.

My view on this is that if you are just using one of these devices as a server and not a streamer, it would be better to get something like the Zen Mini and either save the extra money or use it to buy a better streamer. I increasingly stream more music than I do listening to my downloaded/ripped files and so for once (you may be shocked to hear me say!) I decided not to buy anything further :rofl:

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Hi to be clear by better software I didn’t mean to imply that roon is better than Innuos. Just meant they are the closest competitors to each other. The main reason I was interested in Innuos was the sense software and I just thought if you could buy several decent alternative streamers and roon lifetime for less than the new Innuos options this would make me look at others first.

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I must admit that whilst the price does feel excessive, they look like very well engineered and high quality products for anyone who is thinking about spending some serious cash.

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No but I’m intrigued by the modular approach. I don’t want the streamer, the NDX2 does that bit, but like the server idea.

I’ve done some further digging. Apparently these are similar by name only to the current range e.g. ZEN and ZENith mk3 and are not meant to be a replacement.

They are supposed to be a quite a level above the existing same naming convention range and much closer to Statement NG level.

Still……. as others have said, the price they are asking is rather steep. However the ZEN NG can be upgraded to ZENith NG at a later stage if a customer so desired to.

I’ll look at a Pulsar Streamer as well and see if that is worth while upgrade wise alongside my ZENith mk3.

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If you can afford it then why not, I’m sure they are fantastic. Just worth remembering that you could get a second hand nd555 for that price.

I’ve always been sceptical as to whether these bespoke hifi servers offer anything over NAS/FLAC>WAV.

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I agree with that and also streaming more and more music over time is why I have not gone near one.

Does anyone use them as a streamer? I would be interested to know how their range compares to Naim in terms of sound quality. Purely out of interest, however I am sure it is all very subjective!

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I ran them side by side for almost a month Mike, seriously considered keeping the innuos as a server only also. The hifi rose haa a more open and realistic sound in my system, the best streamer I have heard. The added functionality isn’t something I value even if it is ‘cool’, although my partner loves that it can stream spotify and play music videos on TV. The screen is fantastic but I bought it for the sound quality. I didnt keep the Innuos because I couldn’t hear a difference between that as a server and an internal drive I fitted on the hifi rose for a few hundred quid.

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I only used my innuos as a streamer and its a very good one

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I do not think $500 is unreasonable

I have an Innuos MK2 and listen mostly to my downloaded/ripped files and only a little from Qobuz. What would people recommend I buy if I choose to upgrade