I am wondering if you can help me? I’m trying to decide on which Innuous server to get. To start with it would be used in my bedroom system, which is a Superuniti / powerline lite, driving PMC Twenty5 23s, mainly used for streaming Tidal at the moment. With this first foray into digital I plan to rip my modest collection of CDs and listen to all the digital downloads I’ve amassed free with vinyl. I’m definitely in the market for a turnkey solution here and not interested in building something home grown / NAS solutions.
For my kitchen I currently have a Pro-ject Xperince/Evolution/2M Bronze, Phono Box DS+, Cyrus CDi, Integrated 8 and power supply driving Cyrus CLS70s. The end goal is to sell all Cyrus to replace with Supernait 3, new speakers and then think about a streamer at a later date or perhaps Kii Three or Dutch & Dutch 8c instead. I will audition all when we are let out. The kitchen system is relevant as the music server logically should end up being connected to the kitchen system.
This is where it gets tricky. My partner is happy for me to buy whatever Innuous I want, but would not be happy with me changing or upgrading it later, so I need to land on the right one from the get go. The statement seems massively overspecified for the role here. It is between the ZENMini + LPS, ZEN and ZENith. Which matches the bedroom system and with the kitchen system? I’m going to buy on your recommendation rather than audition, given the present circumstances.
Bare in mind this is primarily a product whos purpose is to create a consolidated copy of your existing CD library.
If you have 100 CD’s I’d question it makes sense to spend in excess of £1000 on a ripper/storage device for those CD’s.
Then it comes down to extra features like running Roon or having an analogue or digital output on the Innuos as with the Mini and of course your budget.
You’ll find a number of forum members who own the various Innuos products both existing and previous versions. I myself did a fairly extensive evaluation of local server and ripping which included demos of the zen mini and zenith and Naim Core and Melco products.
Innuos does a good job balancing features to value, if you’re set on Innuos which model is best will come down to things like size of your cd library, extended features expectations like Roon and if you thought you might run it as a combined server/streamer at some point.
I ended up upgrading an otherwise underutilised Mac Mini Server with Roon running on it. I’d say the main thing you’re getting for your money with Innuos or any similar music server is ease of ripping and managment of metadata.
Hi @Chirg and welcome to the forum.
I think you are right the Statement is overkill and perhaps also the Zenith. The choice I think is between the Zen Mini and the Zen, it will be on the network so benefit will extend beyond your bedroom system.
Given you want to make a once only purchase, and that once you add the LPS to the Mini the price differential is not that great, I would suggest the Zen is a good choice. I have a Zen really happy with the results, good luck with your choice.
@Mr.M - sage advice, given what you have said the ZENith is out, given I have only a few hundred CDs. Using the rationale you have given I am swayed by the 1/2 size and dac in the mini, both in my mind makes it more useful now and potentially later. I can have a good play with the ZENmini and learn about digital music.
@glasnaim if I get the mini I’m worried I always think I should have gone for the ZEN.
Plan B therefore…get the ZENmini to learn about all things digital and if I need to upgrade I’ll have to figure that out if and when I get there.
My Cyrus CDi is sold and so will get my order in tomorrow
I’ve a mini mk2 and it’s great, mk3 with psu better again, it’s nice and small if you want to keep it in your bedroom but as others have said it can sit anywhere once on your network, Roon ready too and no major outlay.
To some extent it depends on where you ultimately want to be, but if you’re looking at Supernait level and no further, I’d agree with the view that a Statement, sensational though it is, would be overkill.
You’ll love the ease of use of all of them - so much simpler and less faff than a NAS and much better software than I experienced with years of using a Melco. After trying them all, I went with a Zenith but I think you’d be delighted with a Zen and, if you wanted to, spend the difference on a decent cable and switch. And that’s a different conversation.
I’d give a +1 on the Zen Mini here also given where your systems sit today and your desired goals in terms of evolution of those systems.
You may also want to think about where you want to be in terms of DAC and streamer further down the line. The nice benefit of the Zen Mini being you can use it for everything day 1 then add a DAC to it later (like a Chord Qutest/Hugo or even a Naim DAC) or look at something like an ND5 XS2 or even an NDX2 as budget allows which would be both a transport and a DAC as needed.
I’ve not tried it but I imagine you could connect a Zen Mini to a ND product either using digital
coaxial or more likely Ethernet through your local network.
I currently have a Supernait 3 and an NDX2 and I can say confidently it’s a very good system to aim towards either as a 2 box or a 3/4 box system with additional PSU’s on the NAIT and/or NDX2. This replaced a Supernait 2 + ND5 XS2 system, also very capable and enjoyable setup.
I’ve yet to set it up but I will likely use a Rega Turntable with the SN3 at some point however with just the NDX2 it’s a very enjoyable system and one I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
If you can live without the integrated MM Phono input in the SN3 you may want to also consider a SN2 which is quite similar in many respects and now tend to be available at decent prices used or low mileage demo stock, you should be able to find a good one under £2k and that frees up some funds for a decent streamer or better cabling down the line.
Do keep us posted on your findings anyway and as I’m sure others are here, I’m always happy to share personal experiences and give insight that may be of use or interest to others.
Nicely done, I’m sure you’ll get good mileage from the Zen. I’ve got a Mojo/Poly which I use frequently, if you can add a Poly to it and use Roon for example then you can stream directly to it which is nice and I use that with headphones late at night controlled from my phone.
Do report back once you’re up and running, I’m sure folks will be curious how you find the new additions.
Thanks @Mr.M. I haven’t got the Innuos yet, but can report on the Mojo.
It did little to improve my cheap Sennheiser MM30i headphones, as I guess they were already near their limit through an iPhone, but they made a massive difference through my Grado SR80 headphones. Now thinking that the Mojo could take far better headphones.
Now just need to get the right headphones. I don’t want to go too high and then start thinking that the headphones need a better amp/dac, and start some kind of Hifi arms race/upward spiral!
Ironically I got mine to use mostly when travelling with work as I loaded up an SD card which is in the Poly.
Headphones wise I mostly use Sony WH-1000XM3 which I also got for use on flights for their noise cancelling abilities and the fact they’re Bluetooth when needed and pretty comfy for extended periods of time. I also have a pair of custom fit ACS in ear monitors I use with the Mojo, also do a good job but are a bit more restrained and flat in their response vs the Sony over ear headphones.
I also have Sennheiser HD25’s, mostly a legacy from my DJ days and good alrounders you can throw about and repair easily if needed as well as a pair of HD700 open back headphones I use mostly via my Supernait 3 and very occasionally through a Chord Hugo 2.
If I’m using the Mojo direct from my MacBook I drive it from Audirvana and use an iFi iSilencer on the USB port between the Mac and the Mojo to clean up the link a bit. I’ve had the Mojo a few years now and find it a great bit of kit, it replaced an iFi iDSD Micro I used for portable and desktop use for a while as it was more flexible and portable ultimately, I’m sure you’ll enjoy owning it anyway!
I’ve been really pleased with my Innuos mini. Easy set up ,very good sound and only occasional updates. It just works! Obviously everyone’s network varies but I’ve fond it easiest to operate on a kindle fire along with orange squeeze. Often these are very cheap on occasional promotions
