Innuos Zenith Mk 3 - improvement on ND5 XS

Hi-Fi Corner
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Hi, I am considering adding the Zenith Mk3 to my Naim ND5 XS and XP5 XS Power Supply.

I would like to ask the communities opinion of whether this would deliver an improvement in the sound?

Has anyone experienced this configuration, I would really appreciate your incite.

Regards

Russ

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What do you use for storing and UPnP serving at the moment ?

If you’re looking to spend 3k or so on a server, i would suggest money would be better spent elsewhere. Trading in the ND5XS and XP5XS for a Naim ND5XS2 or even stretching a bit more for the NDX2 would be more of an upgrade than adding the Innous to your existing kit.

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I’d agree with your advice. I’ve recently bought an NDX2 and it is a sweet spot in the Naim range for sound/£. It is also greatly enhanced by an XPS DR.

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Good afternoon boys,

Thanks for the suggestions.

I am not looking to spend 3k on an upgrade, although the trade in option is one I will pursue.

What I am really after is peoples experience of the Innuos Zenith Mark 3 and if any Naim users are using this unit as a streamer and the naim as a dac.

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I’ve just recently upgraded from a Mini Zen Mk2 to a Zen Mk3 and am very happy with the quality. The software also runs seamlessly with my NDX2 app
I used the mini Zen with a Nova and never had any problems.
I think Innuos products offer very good reliability, SQ and value for money.
I would audition the Zenith against the Zen.

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Hi John,

Thanks for the suggestions.

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I have Zenith Mk 2 feeding nDAC via Audiophilleo + PurePower usb to spdif. It is exceptionally good, but I just wish Naim would produce a 500 series DAC. The Zenith is trouble free.

Phil

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I have no doubt that Innuos zenith mk3 will uplift your nd5xs with xps. But a bare Ndx2 , for comparable money, will be a bigger uplift.

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Many thanks for the confirmations.

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Similar setup to @Filipe, I went from a Zen MK2, Zen MK2, to a Zenith MK2 with a humble Nova, in the space of 1 month, reason each brought a reasonably improvement.

For me the server is the source first approach, if you buy it, it will remain for sometime, if you get an itch to go the NDX2/SN2 which I demo’d of was wholly underwhelmed. I am one of those being full Naim active, ditched it all, came back via a Muso, Atom, Nova, with a month also and have pretty much stopped there, well aside from, speakers and accessories, the Nova maxed out stopped the usual upgrade itch.

I then looked to the Innuos as a stepping stone from a Raspberry Pi setup and the home demo was free.

I would look for a Zenith MK2 or the SE.

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Another very happy Zenith 3 user here. Absolute breeze to use and so much better in all respects than the Melco I used previously.

I use mine with a Linn KDSM so can’t say how it would perform with your ND5 XS but would endorse it wholeheartedly.

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Thanks for the advice.

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