zenith vs macmini
 

Zenith > macmini/audirvana > laptop/tidal

The local Innuos dealer graciously allowed me to demo an Innuos Zenith MK3 at home (been saving for a streamer a while). I wanted to compare when he plugged a laptop in his DAC versus the Zenith myself at home (his setup is pretty different from mine). Was there a difference? Well, I won't listen to a MacBook Pro running Tidal -- ever again. The MacMini/Audirvana did better. Setup: p15->streamer->yggy->c2600->mc452->xr100.

There are reviews out there that describe things much as I heard them. One "also", for me was a timing/tempo issue cleaned up with the Zenith. I could hear these occasional maybe-warbles on notes through the MacMini. But don’t take that to mean the Zenith was sterile, I found there to be more emotion with the additional clarity it brought, and it actual acted to take the edge off some things (like sax). I like things a bit full bodied.

A nod to Audirvana-- the last major upgrade was a big improvement in sound quality on the MacMini (I’ve been a user for a couple of years). So if you can't swing a dedicated streamer just now, consider it. Though that upgrade did introduce more instances of the timing thing I heard. Yes I was using a shunyata alpha usb cable (although I cheated with the laptop because it was too hard to re-run the cable in my setup, and I figured play it like those who say there is no difference).

"Captain Pike has an illusion, and you have reality. May you find your way as pleasant."

William.......So, are we to assume the Innuos Zenith MK3 music server is now part of your system?


https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/13...g?v=1539770935

Congrats William!
Innuos make great gear.

It’s on order. 5 weeks, but at least no doubt or remorse while waiting.

You should be ahead with the Innuos, nice gear!

I gave the Innuous Zen Mk3 Mini (half-width) some serious consideration when I was thinking about it or the SOtM UltraNeo.

In the end I went with the SOtM as I saved about $200 on it during a Memorial Day sale. And, didn't have to pay CA Sales Tax.

The ability to rip CDs is also a really nice feature of the Innuous.

I have the ZENith MK II & absolutely love it. I've went through several servers in the past but Innuos has the easiest most reliable platform & experience I have encountered yet. Enjoy the MKIII!

While waiting for the Innuos to arrive, I loaded Roon on my MacMini (I liked a number of the exploration features I got to use while demoing the Zenith). But I don’t like the sound compared with Audirvana. I’ll be sticking with Audirvana till the Zenith gets here.

Can you be more specific about the differences in sound between the two?
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Amp: BAT VK-655SE
Pre-amp/Digital: exaSound e32 w UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; SOtM tX-USBultra w UpTone LPS1.2; Apple Mac Mini w UpTone DC Conversion Kit & UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; Squeezelite w Logitech Media Server 7.9.0
Speakers: Triangle Magellan Cello II
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Sorry, I missed this question. The sound stage/depth decreased. It was immediately noticeable. I didn't listed long enough to note other changes. Everything in the system was the same -- just running different software on the MacMini.

I wonder if Audirvana was doing some DSP in the newer version (they have various options/integrations that I had not previously used). As noted, I kind of sensed some timing smear. It is a 2015 MacMini (slow).