View Full Version : Innuos ZEN Music Server
wee tee cee
21-09-2018, 15:50
Any members have experience with one of these?
My cheap lap top is the weak link in my chain...looking for a plug and play solution-reckon this might fit the bill!!!
I have Tony, listened to all the Innuos servers and have used the Zen mini myself, the Zen is even better. Superb user interface once hooked up online and I use it with Ipeng software on my iPad. Very easy to use and does not F?£& about with your music like ROON!
As you are probably aware the Zen is a NAS and Cd ripper but also facilitates some internet services, check out their website. The product interface is intuitive and easy to install with Innuos database online running it.
The jump from a laptop to the the Zen server is massive, it will be the biggest upgrade you will make in your digital system, far greater than upgrading your DAC in my book.
If I was to do digital this would be the way I would go. Bolt on a top DAC and you will have a system that competes with vinyl.
wee tee cee
21-09-2018, 20:46
I have Tony, listened to all the Innuos servers and have used the Zen mini myself, the Zen is even better. Superb user interface once hooked up online and I use it with Ipeng software on my iPad. Very easy to use and does not F?£& about with your music like ROON!
As you are probably aware the Zen is a NAS and Cd ripper but also facilitates some internet services, check out their website. The product interface is intuitive and easy to install with Innuos database online running it.
The jump from a laptop to the the Zen server is massive, it will be the biggest upgrade you will make in your digital system, far greater than upgrading your DAC in my book.
If I was to do digital this would be the way I would go. Bolt on a top DAC and you will have a system that competes with vinyl.
Spot on JAMES....reckon thats my path
Frazeur1
21-09-2018, 22:35
I will double and triple those agreements, best thing I have done for myself on the digital side of things. As Jimbo mentioned, the Zen Mk2 coupled with great DAC and you are good to go, wonderful music player!
I will add too, in fast ripping mode, the drive can be slightly noisy and a bit of vibration to it, not objectionable mind, and not an audio disturbance thing either. I have been playing with what my Zen sits on, experimenting with my BASE isolation platform, and recently a trio of Isoacoustics Orea Indigo isolation footers. Normally I do not go overboard with a lot of tweaky stuff or foo, but these are proving to be an interesting add in a good way, both to the vibration/noise, but I think maybe it transfers a bit over to a cleaner sonic presentation. Still playing, more to come on that...
wee tee cee
22-09-2018, 05:28
Many thanks gents, looks like im going down this path!!!
They seem like a lot of mo et for a low power PC.
I guess the cost is in the power supply?
wee tee cee
22-09-2018, 05:41
They aint cheap but you do tend to pay for what you get.
They have really done theyre home work to make the thing as quiet and user friendly as possible,,,when compared to a mac its pretty good IMHO
I have no experience of them, but when I look at the rough spec they give, it makes me wonder where the money goes.
The case won’t be cheap, and big linear power supplies for PCs are expensive, but I doubt it is a custom motherboard.
wee tee cee
22-09-2018, 07:02
Im wondering if the zen mini with a 1tb would fit the bill for me.
I could run it off a linear supply or battery....any thoughts?
Would be big enough for your current music Tony, but I’d go at keast 2Tb to futureproof it.
Wouldnt go down the road of usb external hard drives, introduces many potential issues.
Im wondering if the zen mini with a 1tb would fit the bill for me.
I could run it off a linear supply or battery....any thoughts?Yeah borrow my rPi setup [emoji23]
NAS drive, Chromecast Audio, Bubble UPNP or other casting app. ;)
NAS drive, Chromecast Audio, Bubble UPNP or other casting app. ;)I've tried the CCA, great little device but audio quality ( into DAC ) was lacking compared to the rPi/Allo Boss and way behind my SoTm sms200.
wee tee cee
22-09-2018, 09:06
Yeah borrow my rPi setup [emoji23]Has it got any John Martyn on it?
wee tee cee
22-09-2018, 09:08
Im a computer daftee-need plug and play solution!!
They aint cheap but you do tend to pay for what you get.
They have really done theyre home work to make the thing as quiet and user friendly as possible,,,when compared to a mac its pretty good IMHO
You can pick them up reasonably cheap SH, there was one on AV forums last week for £350, the mini one with 2TB. I think people buy them, rip their CDs then copy the drive and flog the Zens which makes sense.
I've been thinking about doing something similar as I have looked a flogging off mine and my son's CDs to Music Magpie who pay buttons for them but you can flog most of them to MM and they pay the postage but we're talking £12 CDs for about 10p here so it would make sense to buy one of those ZEN things or similar rip the CDs then flog the CDS (not strictly legal I know but there ye go).
Think we've got well over 100 CDs and most of my son's are pretty much 'out there' and very little value in them cause they're so 'far out man' but it would be a shame to lose them for ever however he is 29 now and bought most of them in his teenage years and never listens to them now (think he uses Apple music).
There's also this which is expensive
https://www.richersounds.com/bluesound-vault-2.html
Tony
you tried audirvana yet?
Me? No don't even know what that is:doh:
Me? No don't even know what that is:doh:
no not you tony; well not directly, but was meaning tony:ner:
certainly lifted my pc onto a new plain.
no not you tony; well not directly, but was meaning tony:ner:
certainly lifted my pc onto a new plain.
I'll check it out Grant thanks, what is it exactly, software?
I'll check it out Grant thanks, what is it exactly, software?
yup, a mix between jriver and roon, probably roon. it unfolds mqa and hosts tidal or qobox as well as your own music. windows version is new and not perfect yet but getting there ... mac version has been going for long time.
yup, a mix between jriver and roon, probably roon. it unfolds mqa and hosts tidal or qobox as well as your own music. windows version is new and not perfect yet but getting there ... mac version has been going for long time.
Thanks, free?
not cheap but not as dear as roon as its a lifetime licence. . i dont spend money for things that dont give me something i didnt have tho and was well worth it over jriver.. there is a free trial tho.
Im a computer daftee-need plug and play solution!!
Hence my recommendation. :)
Plug n play is what you want.
wee tee cee
22-09-2018, 13:19
Hence my recommendation. :)
Plug n play is what you want.
Bought a mini zen with 1tb....putting tunes on it as i type.
lets see if i can get music out of it!!!
brian2957
22-09-2018, 14:25
:popcorn::)
Frazeur1
22-09-2018, 15:22
Excellent Tony, if I can do it, you will have no problem! Enjoy!
Has it got any John Martyn on it?Hell no ! [emoji23]
Im a computer daftee-need plug and play solution!!It is, all setup ready to plug in switch on go to a web page on your laptop or smartphone and away you go [emoji6]
Bought a mini zen with 1tb....putting tunes on it as i type.
lets see if i can get music out of it!!!Impetuous bugger, it would have taken me weeks to make that sort of decision [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]
700 quid. I'll stick to me lappy lol
wee tee cee
23-09-2018, 12:29
Gave it a quick listen last night....very noticeable improvement in sound quality.
I switched from a dell lap top to a cheap ACER-it was much quieter than the dell.
The Zen is a noticeable improvement.
Gary had been saying to me for years ...solid state/fanless ya de ya de ya-im just not a computer guy.
I ordered a amazon tablet for 50 smackeroonies to go with it.
My sons pal got it playing last night but im now in the process of putting my library on it-had to get help reformatting and setting up.
Once up and running will post up a wee review.
yup, a mix between jriver and roon, probably roon. it unfolds mqa and hosts tidal or qobox as well as your own music. windows version is new and not perfect yet but getting there ... mac version has been going for long time.
Downloaded the Mac version listing to iTunes through it now on my MacBook Pro and then bluetoothed to a Bose Mini Link Soundlink speaker, sounds okay nothing special, does sound analogue though. Just an internet stream at the moment.
I'll hook up the MacBook to the Beresford dac and my amp to see how that sounds.
That Bose speaker is excellent btw, don't know how they do it but the sound from it is very very good.
Sherwood
24-09-2018, 16:55
There's a new Zen coming out next month!
Looks interesting.
Geoff
Frazeur1
24-09-2018, 17:03
Yes, Series 3 stuff. I was told some improvements on software side too, and some backwards compatible upgrades as well. We shall see how all that pans out, I have been totally pleased with my Zen Mk2.
Sherwood
24-09-2018, 17:08
Yes, Series 3 stuff. I was told some improvements on software side too, and some backwards compatible upgrades as well. We shall see how all that pans out, I have been totally pleased with my Zen Mk2.
Also, HDD up to 8tb and Linear Power Supplies.
Geoff
Pieoftheday
24-09-2018, 17:23
Any members have experience with one of these?
My cheap lap top is the weak link in my chain...looking for a plug and play solution-reckon this might fit the bill!!!
No but I went with the novafidelity x40, pre amp, Dac, cd ripper,server, internet radio,streamer, upnp on me tablet Bobby dazzler:) I'd go back to cds though, when space allows
Hi guys, apologies for resurrecting this thread but I bought a Zen MK.1 and ripped all of my CDs to it then hardly used the Zen just occasionally to listen to some CDs and songs streamed via Ipeng on my IPhone to my amp but I've now sold the Zen however I bought an external USB WD 1TB HDD and copied all of my music to that before sending the Zen to its new owner.
Anyway I'm wondering how I can play the files, well I can play them one at a time on my MacBook Pro using the apple music player and then air playing the music to my amp but that's a bit limiting so does anyone know of any software player that will access the entire library on the USB HDD and then let me play entire albums or playlists via my MacBook Pro then streamed to my amp?
Thanks
Tony
Lawrence001
07-04-2020, 16:20
I use LMS and Squeezbox which is the same as on the Zen I think so you should have the same functionality. Mind you that's a Linux based system so I'm not sure if you can install on a Mac, I've never had one.
I use LMS and Squeezbox which is the same as on the Zen I think so you should have the same functionality. Mind you that's a Linux based system so I'm not sure if you can install on a Mac, I've never had one.
Thanks Lawrence, I've also a fairly new touchscreen HP laptop running win 10.
I've had a look at some 'free' media players, downloaded one (Elmedia video player) which works but you need to pay for the pro version in order to be able to Airplay to the amp but the MacBook Pro seems to have issues Airplaying which I've experienced previously.
jriver will do it, without costing a bomb. roon too but dearer
jriver will do it, without costing a bomb. roon too but dearer
Thanks Grant.
Just downloaded the jriver trial, sounds excellent, I'm listening to Swiss Radio Jazz at the moment air-played to my amp.
JRiver on Mac works really well and is constantly upgraded, minor tweaks free but full version at cost. For an extra tenner the remote software for IOS is handy.
JRiver on Mac works really well and is constantly upgraded, minor tweaks free but full version at cost. For an extra tenner the remote software for IOS is handy.
Thanks Jonathan, I'm struggling a bit with trying to load the music from the external USB HDD to JRiver on the MBP.
I'm presuming that I have to copy the folders from the USB HDD to the Macintosh drive then to Jriver?
Tony
No just start a library and give location as the hdd and holding folder if there is one. Ie.. F/music.. Jriver will scan the folder for all albums etc and sort th with tags etc for art etc.
It will run in background. Results of which should show at bottom somewhere. On left with windows
Hi Grant, I have the USB HDD on the desktop and these below are the folder structure in that drive which is:
Back Up>Music>CD-Quailty (this is where all of the CD album folders are)
https://i.ibb.co/J7D7MWk/IMG-0422.jpg
Use jriver to find stuff. At top the first section when clicked to a drop down should have a library tab. The click on new library, the give the address of the drive.
The program should do rest.
Apple pc might be slightly different as I've not tried one
Use jriver to find stuff. At top the first section when clicked to a drop down should have a library tab. The click on new library, the give the address of the drive.
The program should do rest.
Apple pc might be slightly different as I've not tried one
Thanks Grant, I've managed to import all of my music files into Jriver however I'm not sure how to play an album, say for example Hunky Dory, rather than just a single track?
i can shuffle play a load of tracks no problem or indeed the entire library but if I want to play just and album (like sticking a CD into s CD player) from start to finish how do you do that?
Should come up with rows of album covers.(there is a slider to change size) You click on the one you want and press play.
Apologies for the delayed reply. Glad your import worked OK. I use a NAS which also works fine over wireless but have used an external drive in the past.
In the Audio view on the left hand pane you have the option to view by Albums, Artists, Files etc. Albums lists them all in alpha order of album title but if you choose Artists you can click on artist, click on album and double click the first track shown in the lower pane. The album will play through. In Album view, double click the album and then the first track. In Files view you can sort by album and double click the first track of an album and it will keep playing through to the bottom of the list!
Apologies for the delayed reply. Glad your import worked OK. I use a NAS which also works fine over wireless but have used an external drive in the past.
In the Audio view on the left hand pane you have the option to view by Albums, Artists, Files etc. Albums lists them all in alpha order of album title but if you choose Artists you can click on artist, click on album and double click the first track shown in the lower pane. The album will play through. In Album view, double click the album and then the first track. In Files view you can sort by album and double click the first track of an album and it will keep playing through to the bottom of the list!
Thanks Jonathan, that's really helpful.
I managed to follow your instructions and it works fine but I can't send the music from my MBP to my amp now via airplay but as I said previously I think that is down to the MBP cause I've had the same problem in the past with Apple TV & Airplay.
I'll play about with Jriver and the MacBook Pro but I might try out the windows version using the HP laptop.
Tony
Hi Tony,
I use USB to my DAC from my MBP so tried using Airplay to an amp which has it. Not playing even after reboot etc and selecting the amp so feel your frustration.
I do use Airplay from an IOS device from the Remote app to an Apple TV so this route works but is not ideal if you just want to use a MBP.
My son is more techie than me and he has shown me an app called Airfoil. This needs a license after the trial at $35 but enabled my Mac to work with my Airplay amp. Seems a good piece of software that I will continue to use.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
My son is more techie than me and he has shown me an app called Airfoil. This needs a license after the trial at $35 but enabled my Mac to work with my Airplay amp. Seems a good piece of software that I will continue to use.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
Thanks again Jonathan.
I've just downloaded Airfoil and Airfoil Satellite and it works brilliantly, you can install the satellite app on your iPhone and stream from Jriver MC via the MBP to the iPhone or from the iPhone to the MBP or any bluetooth device, speakers, amp etc.
Kind regards
Tony
Hi guys, I seem to have run into a bit of a problem with Jriver playback, it was working fine this morning then I started getting this screen message below, I've looked at the playback options but can't see anything obvious and I haven't changed anything anyway.
I'm still on the trial version of Jriver and Airfoil.
I'm outputting from my MacBook Pro to a bluetooth speaker and this works fine if I select a flac file somewhere on my hard drive or from an external drive containing all of my music files from my Innous Zen back up and as I say everything was working fine this morning.
Thanks
Tony
https://i.ibb.co/b2wCL6c/Screenshot-2020-04-19-at-14-04-22.png
The only thing I can think of immediately is a comms issue between Mac and Innuos. Since I use USB I can’t be sure but have seen it myself and I need to restart my DAC.
The only thing I can think of immediately is a comms issue between Mac and Innuos. Since I use USB I can’t be sure but have seen it myself and I need to restart my DAC.
Hi Jonathan, no Innuos that's been sold I just have a HDD back up of the files that were on the Innous and those were playing fine this morning on the MacBook via Airfoil to a Bose Soundlink Mini speaker.
I'm currently outputting FIP internet radio station to the Bose Speaker bluetoothed via the MacBook Pro but not with airfoil as that's on the trial version which outputs white noise after ten minutes.
Thanks
Tony
I'll try a restart of the MacBook Pro and see if that helps.
Hi guys I've sorted the problem which seemed to be some sort of conflict with the Bose bluetooth speaker I'm listing via the Bose speaker to an internet jazz radio on my MacBook pro right now from iTunes however if I try to listen to a flac file in Jriver the file plays fine through the MacBook pro's internal speakers but Jriver won't output to the Bose speaker despite me selecting it as an output device on the MacBook pro.
However earlier on this morning I was able to do that using Airfoil.
Weird.
Another thing is when I close Jriver I have to reinstall it if I want to open it again.
Thanks
Tony
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