Am I missing out- Mac mini compared to Melco or Aurender Servers
- Thread starter Spanish
- Start date
Alex S
carbon based lifeform
Er, Innuos Zenith MKII £2,229 (SSD) or £1,499 (HDD); Melco N1 A £2,099.
DNM
pfm Member
Innuos' first 'audiophile' streamer was a £100 CuBox in a hobby box with a linear PSU. Now they charge £5k for a computer with CD Drive and SSD inside a fancy box with a linear PSU!
"It reveals that the crux of apparently noise free digital audio is in fact noise. Which is a bit confusing to say the least, after all the whole benefit of CD was the absence of noise associated with analogue systems. But while it didn’t have tape hiss or the intrinsic character of vinyl neither did digital audio sound natural at birth, and it still falls behind in this most elusive of qualities. I put it down to the calculations required to ‘do the math’, to analyse 16-bits 44,100 times per second, but noise is a byproduct of this processing. Not audioband noise like hiss but high frequency noise that isn’t directly audible but folds down into the audioband in such a fashion as to make it self heard as a coldness. Streaming systems have greatly reduced this perception and generally sound warmer and more relaxed than spinning discs, they also deliver higher bit and sample rate files that push the noise up further, which itself creates a more natural sound. But it wasn’t until I installed the Zenith SE did I realise just how much lower the noise could be, and the transparency that this would produce."
And all this just because of the "heavy" linear PSU! What a complete load of tosh.
JemHayward
pfm Member
My first streaming source was a Mac Mini, and when I upgraded to a Linn DS, the Linn was 'clearer'. However, I think the issue with the Mac Mini was the no-name Chinese SMPSU I was using with it, upsetting my then all Naim system, as I've subsequently tried a Mac Mini (albeit a much more recent one with SSD) with the stock Apple PSU (also Chinese no doubt!) and it sounded exactly the same as my current streamer, which is a Raspberry Pi. With the same DAC, RPi (various software), Squeezebox Touch, and Linn DS have all sounded identical in my system. My current system doesn't seem as sensitive to mains interference either and I now have a power amp with a SMPSU, and run my RPi and my Meridian 221 ADC from one as well.
The Zen is £1499 which would be the equivalent to the Melco N1 A, and I make that £600 cheaper. The Zenith MkII comes with an SSD drive (plus a few other upgrades) which it is why it more expensive. The equivalent to the Zenith MkII is the Melco N1ZH/2 which is £4299, so half the price...
Darth Vader
From the Dark Side
Until recently Firewire was the interface of choice in the professional recording industry. It can handle multi channel recordings and playback. You can get some good s/h pro kit for reasonable money. Weiss make pro kit and yes I have a DAC202 that I class as pro-summer kit. Daniel Weiss used to work for Sonic Studio who make pro gear and the associated software.
Kit for the domestic market tend to employ the cheaper USB and optical inputs.
Cheers,
DV
I didn't mention it because it is no longer available. It was a limited edition model and everyone has been sold.
Purité Audio
Trade: Purite Audio
RME’s professional range offers firewire, their more domestic designs, ADI-2/ ADI-Pro are both USB, Benchmark DAC3 is USB.
Keith
Alex S
carbon based lifeform
GT I don't want to labour this but I could buy an SE from right here, right now: https://www.fanthorpes.co.uk/hi-fi-separates/music-streamers/innuos-zenith-special-edition/ Anyway, apart from the ghastly stealth looks I'm sure the Innuos range provides a good solution.
Having one advertised and having it in stock are often two different things. I will be very surprised if they actually have stock because these were all sold out last year. I tried to order one 4 weeks ago from Innuos and there is no stock, unless a dealer has one left on the shelves which is very unlikely in today's climate.
Last edited:
I'm not sure what you mean by this.
There are gullible mugs willing to shell out £5k? Is that it?
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
That’s always a bad position to be in as a manufacturer -to stimulate demand for a product you’re unable to supply. “Don’t sell what you don’t have” as the saying goes.
DNM
pfm Member
Aren't we just! This thing should have been in shoe-in for the '50 Greatest Bargains in High-End Audio' list.
Cereal Killer
432
OP, try listening to a movie with optical out through your DAC, does it sound shit?
The Zenith SE was a "Special Edition" model where only 100 were made. Innuos make 3 other models which are always available.