View Full Version : Innous zen mini mk2 review
wee tee cee
01-10-2018, 14:27
Innous zeb mini mk2 1tb drive ---£600
Amazon fire tablet----£50
Orange squeeze app ----£3.05
10m cat 6 ethernet cable ---£5
USB DAC of your flavour ( Beresford seg ....probably ideal)
I was looking for a plug and play high quality server/streamer with all the advantages over a lap top....solid state/fanless/cd ripper and good support.
Happened across Innous servers -did a bit of googling....they ticked all my boxes.
My system is pretty resolved regards speakers/amps/cabling and power supply my weak link was my lap top.
My sons MAC sounded noticeably better than my acer lap top so i pulled the trigger on the Zen.
big jump sonically...reduction of noise across the board.
better bass/treble/detail resolution.
Great bit of kit IMHO
brian2957
01-10-2018, 14:32
Hi mate , you have PM .
wee tee cee
01-10-2018, 14:39
Gies a bell
wee tee cee
01-10-2018, 15:16
gies a gammy!!
Been very attracted by Innous stuff given some of the rave reviews it's had here ... the Zen makes it almost affordable (although still limited in function)
Only reservation I have is the same as for any gadget that depends on proprietary, and essentially niche, software - if the company folds ... bye bye updates, support, etc.... Had that before and decided then to be wary.
The same holds for the Brennan thingumabob - nice idea but how long a life?
Sherwood
01-10-2018, 17:15
Been very attracted by Innous stuff given some of the rave reviews it's had here ... the Zen makes it almost affordable (although still limited in function)
Only reservation I have is the same as for any gadget that depends on proprietary, and essentially niche, software - if the company folds ... bye bye updates, support, etc.... Had that before and decided then to be wary.
The same holds for the Brennan thingumabob - nice idea but how long a life?
I was considering a Zen but they seem very overpriced to me, especially for the higher capacity drives. The upgrade from 1tb to an 8tb drive on the new Zen 3 is 550 quid. It's possible to buy a good 8tb NAS drive for around 200 quid. No possible justification for such pricing!
Geoff
If anyone is interested in Innuos servers please give Steve Hitch a ring at Sonority as he us an AOS member but also a dealer for Innuos. Mention my name and he should give you a good deal. His customer service is excellent. He may also have some second hand servers available at a good price. You can contact him here.
http://www.sonoritydesign.co.uk
The upgrade from 1tb to an 8tb drive on the new Zen 3 is 550 quid. It's possible to buy a good 8tb NAS drive for around 200 quid. No possible justification for such pricing!
Geoff
OUCH !! - baddd ... had enough of that gouging with Apple.
wee tee cee
02-10-2018, 02:59
as a digital front end it is outstanding..had a proper listen last night, real game changer for me.
squeeze box software ...still loads of support
out performs a MAC at a fraction of the cost
investigating a linear supply
Glad you got it all sorted Tony. :)
The squeezebox software is fantastic, loads of great plug ins to explore.
as a digital front end it is outstanding..had a proper listen last night, real game changer for me.
squeeze box software ...still loads of support
out performs a MAC at a fraction of the cost
investigating a linear supply
Hi Tony, glad you have found the Innuos makes a significant difference. I was gobsmacked when I moved from my Macbook pro running Audirvana to the Innuos. It was simply no contest.
Stratmangler
02-10-2018, 06:53
squeeze box software ...still loads of support
I've been banging on about how good it is for years.
Welcome to the club :cool:
wee tee cee
02-10-2018, 07:05
Hi Tony, glad you have found the Innuos makes a significant difference. I was gobsmacked when I moved from my Macbook pro running Audirvana to the Innuos. It was simply no contest.
James
Gobsmacked sums it up perfectly.
i hadnt realised how much better digital could sound
wee tee cee
02-10-2018, 12:46
Contacted Innous support regards inability to get spotify playing....came straight back to me-should be sorted by the end of the week.
they offered to help remotely-bit too much for me...the support is excellent.
had one of the troops over for a listen....he confirmed what im hearing-game changer for me
Don't really see the point of comparing the output of whichever Innous variant and a laptop :scratch:
Bit like comparing the utility of a surgeon's scalpel with a swiss army knife ...
Just as I doubt a Zen Mini would be much good for word-processing or video editing, there is no reason why a laptop (of whatever make) should equal or outdo a gizmo designed for, and dedicated to, handling music files.
If I did buy a Zen (for instance) I would still keep a desktop machine for all the other stuff I use it for - the Zen would simply be an additional expense.
What would be useful for those (such as myself) contemplating buying a streamer and/or ripper would be comparisons with 'like-for like' gadgets.
As it is I still don't have much of a scooby about them ... and there are so many out there - seems to be more by the day!!
Don't really see the point of comparing the output of whichever Innous variant and a laptop :scratch:
Bit like comparing the utility of a surgeon's scalpel with a swiss army knife ...
Just as I doubt a Zen Mini would be much good for word-processing or video editing, there is no reason why a laptop (of whatever make) should equal or outdo a gizmo designed for, and dedicated to, handling music files.
If I did buy a Zen (for instance) I would still keep a desktop machine for all the other stuff I use it for - the Zen would simply be an additional expense.
What would be useful for those (such as myself) contemplating buying a streamer and/or ripper would be comparisons with 'like-for like' gadgets.
As it is I still don't have much of a scooby about them ... and there are so many out there - seems to be more by the day!!
so what do you store your digital files on?
so what do you store your digital files on?
SSD
SSD
On what, NAS or laptop or server?
On what, NAS or laptop or server?
... none of the above
Not particularly sure why that's relevant to the workings of a streamer/ripper/server - surely such a machine would make whatever I currently use redundant?
... none of the above
Not particularly sure why that's relevant to the workings of a streamer/ripper/server - surely such a machine would make whatever I currently use redundant?
So how is your digital system set up at the moment?
PaulBarnett
02-10-2018, 18:51
Just a small point. the squeezox software, both client and server, is most emphatically NOT proprietary - it is open source, - you get the source code, and will forever be able to (or get someone to) fix or change it as you choose if innuos dissappear .
And this is one of the things I find very attractive about it (I use it on a Synology NAS server and rpi/allo digione client). for those two platforms, not only is the squeeze software open source but so is the operating systems on my two boxes (Linux)
Now there is nothing to say that the innuos o/s must be open source, but I'd be amazing if it wasn't a flavour of Linux too, and so they are required by the Linux license to publish the o/s source too. Does anyone know what o/s they use?
Contacted Innous support regards inability to get spotify playing....came straight back to me-should be sorted by the end of the week.
they offered to help remotely-bit too much for me...the support is excellent.
had one of the troops over for a listen....he confirmed what im hearing-game changer for me
glad your happy with it Tony:)
So how is your digital system set up at the moment?
Various means and methods, but again - why does that matter?
Various means and methods, but again - why does that matter?
Forget it!
wee tee cee
03-10-2018, 02:04
James,
Brian came over yesterday and had a listen...corroborated my findings- its sonically outstanding.
have ripped nearly 400 disks so far.
one of the best hi fi purchases i have made
James,
Brian came over yesterday and had a listen...corroborated my findings- its sonically outstanding.
have ripped nearly 400 disks so far.
one of the best hi fi purchases i have made
Hi Tony, bet you and Brian had a great time!:)
I was surprised myself at the difference the Innuos server made as a digital front end. I have heard a number of other servers and feel the Innuos is probably the best especially as the use interface and software is both stable and easy to use. I have heard a number of the Innuos servers and there are certainly gains to be had as you go up the range but I think the Zen is probably the sweet spot.
I think money spent on one of these in a digital system reaps greater benefits than upgrading to a better DAC. I think you could use a realitivily modestly priced DAC and get great results.
brian2957
03-10-2018, 07:06
Aye , we had diet cakes and a good ol' chinwag James :D
I must say that I agree with your assessment of the Zen James . I haven't heard the other servers in the Innuos range , however , the Zen is excellent for the money . Tony was using a laptop before and the Zen was a big jump in SQ IMO . I've heard Tony's system many times , but the music was now more natural and musical . His system is now better balanced and I was really impressed with it . We listened to all types of music and old and new recordings and it all sounded very good indeed .
Aye , we had diet cakes and a good ol' chinwag James :D
I must say that I agree with your assessment of the Zen James . I haven't heard the other servers in the Innuos range , however , the Zen is excellent for the money . Tony was using a laptop before and the Zen was a big jump in SQ IMO . I've heard Tony's system many times , but the music was now more natural and musical . His system is now better balanced and I was really impressed with it . We listened to all types of music and old and new recordings and it all sounded very good indeed .Fingers crossed nae John Martyn, even cake wouldnae compensate for that Brian [emoji23]
Aye , we had diet cakes and a good ol' chinwag James :D
I must say that I agree with your assessment of the Zen James . I haven't heard the other servers in the Innuos range , however , the Zen is excellent for the money . Tony was using a laptop before and the Zen was a big jump in SQ IMO . I've heard Tony's system many times , but the music was now more natural and musical . His system is now better balanced and I was really impressed with it . We listened to all types of music and old and new recordings and it all sounded very good indeed .
Diet cakes:D
Glad you liked it mate, It really is a game changer for me.
Until you hear what one does in your system it is difficult to explain the digital performance upgrade but Innuos certainly know what they are doing and it would be an essential part of any digital system i would be building.
brian2957
03-10-2018, 08:06
Agreed James . Nicely balanced and very musical :)
wee tee cee
03-10-2018, 10:02
I only played one John Martyn track......honest!!!
brian2957
03-10-2018, 10:43
Aye , but it was the good one :lol:
Stratmangler
03-10-2018, 10:47
Aye , but it was the good one :lol:
They're all good!
Which track was it?
brian2957
03-10-2018, 10:48
Solid Air Chris :)
Stratmangler
03-10-2018, 10:54
I was playing a John Martyn album last night, not that that's a rare thing in these parts.
The album was London Conversation.
https://i.postimg.cc/4d8CytwP/Folder.jpg
Solid Air Chris :)
played that once ;)
brian2957
03-10-2018, 11:46
I was playing a John Martyn album last night, not that that's a rare thing in these parts.
The album was London Conversation.
https://i.postimg.cc/4d8CytwP/Folder.jpg
I'll have a listen on Spotify Chris .
brian2957
03-10-2018, 11:48
played that once ;)
Is that what happened to you :ner:
Is that what happened to you :ner:
yup :lol: damn near killed me.
wee tee cee
03-10-2018, 12:58
I was playing a John Martyn album last night, not that that's a rare thing in these parts.
The album was London Conversation.
https://i.postimg.cc/4d8CytwP/Folder.jpg
I have an original solid air cd from about 87.....pre remastering, sounds magically organic
I have an original solid air cd from about 87.....pre remastering, sounds magically organic
ok I'll give it a try in a minute, but my wife will kill you if anything bad happens to me :lol: :ner:
wee tee cee
03-10-2018, 13:08
it will be trans formative for you...pour a glass of something medicinal and chill oot
Stratmangler
03-10-2018, 13:13
I have an original solid air cd from about 87.....pre remastering, sounds magically organic
I have 16/44.1 files from the download with the Abbey Road 1/2 speed vinyl.
The files are dithered down from the 24/96 transfer Miles Showell did from the original stereo master. Playback tape machined is one very well adjusted tape machine.
This is from the interview Miles Showell gave before the album was released
This album was cut from a high-resolution digital transfer from the ¼” analogue masters. The tapes were re-played on an Ampex ATR-102 fitted with custom extended bass response playback heads. Only minimal sympathetic equalisation was applied to the transfer to keep everything as pure as possible. Also, as this was an analogue, vinyl only high quality release, I did not apply any digital limiting. This is added to almost all digital releases to make them appear to be loud and is responsible for “the loudness war” and in almost every case is anything but natural and pure sounding.
The result is spectacular :)
Mine is the abbey rd vinyl.. it sounds well enough tbh. Not a bad album either,but maybe not my thing so much now. I do listen on and off tho.
Where do you get one for £600? I've just run a search and all look to be £700?
Cheers
Neil
wee tee cee
03-10-2018, 13:45
I have 16/44.1 files from the download with the Abbey Road 1/2 speed vinyl.
The files are dithered down from the 24/96 transfer Miles Showell did from the original stereo master. Playback tape machined is one very well adjusted tape machine.
This is from the interview Miles Showell gave before the album was released
The result is spectacular :)
I have that half speed album as well......next on the list is a turntable to let me play it!
Where do you get one for £600? I've just run a search and all look to be £700?
Cheers
Neil
Here:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Innuos-Zen-Mini-MkII-Music-Server-and-CD-ripper-1TB-HDD-Ex-Demo/202411565570?hash=item2f20ab6202:g:l74AAOSwHxdbdr2 t
Be quick though - they had two at that price this morning ;)
Fanthorpes are an AoS Trade member so keep an eye out for the latest posts from them ....
Stratmangler
03-10-2018, 14:53
I have that half speed album as well......next on the list is a turntable to let me play it!
Did you download the files?
There was a redeem code inside the sleeve.
wee tee cee
03-10-2018, 16:53
you have a PM needing some squeeze box help....
There was an ex dem 1TB one on eBay at the weekend for £450 but the version 3 is out now so people must be upgrading.
ianlenco
04-10-2018, 13:29
That might have been the one I bought although it was £499 ex dem. I'd been thinking about a Zen for a while and when someone mentioned they'd replaced a mac mini with Audivarna (my set up) and got good results I decided to pull the plug. It should be arriving in the next half hour so I will know soon if it was money well spent.
Here were my impressions of the Zen mini Ian, I reviewed it along with Audirvana on Macbook Pro using Qutest DAC
https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?58265-Qutest-and-my-Digital-Weekend&highlight=chord+qutest
ianlenco
04-10-2018, 14:12
Thanks for the link James, I'm looking forward to trying mine which won't be long as it arrived shortly after I posted. I've been very impressed with the mac mini which is set up just to be a music server and has 8gb ram and an SSD holding the music files. I recently added a Eastern Electric Minimax DAC and the Mac mini was good enough to let me hear the opamp upgrade to Bursons I did on the Minimax.
Some of the reasons for going to the Zen are convenience - easy ripping rather than pluggin in a CD drive, attaching remotely to the mini etc. I used to have a Vorexbox and this was so much more convenient than the mini. Also I missed internet radio with Audivarna. You've attributed the analogue sound to your DAC which is fair enough and I would say that the mini + minmax has similar qualities. There used to be quite a gulf between my vinyl set up and the digital but it's a lot closer now. Nearly finished transferring files and iPeng is waiting on the iPad so should know soon if that gaps even smaller :)
That might have been the one I bought although it was £499 ex dem. I'd been thinking about a Zen for a while and when someone mentioned they'd replaced a mac mini with Audivarna (my set up) and got good results I decided to pull the plug. It should be arriving in the next half hour so I will know soon if it was money well spent.
Aye I think it was £499 thinking about now Ian, there was one on AV forums recently for £350 the 2TB version.
I am thinking about buying one too, I was amazed at Tony saying he'd already ripped 400 CDs which is pretty quick.
Thanks for the link James, I'm looking forward to trying mine which won't be long as it arrived shortly after I posted. I've been very impressed with the mac mini which is set up just to be a music server and has 8gb ram and an SSD holding the music files. I recently added a Eastern Electric Minimax DAC and the Mac mini was good enough to let me hear the opamp upgrade to Bursons I did on the Minimax.
Some of the reasons for going to the Zen are convenience - easy ripping rather than pluggin in a CD drive, attaching remotely to the mini etc. I used to have a Vorexbox and this was so much more convenient than the mini. Also I missed internet radio with Audivarna. You've attributed the analogue sound to your DAC which is fair enough and I would say that the mini + minmax has similar qualities. There used to be quite a gulf between my vinyl set up and the digital but it's a lot closer now. Nearly finished transferring files and iPeng is waiting on the iPad so should know soon if that gaps even smaller :)
Ipeng works a treat and is so cheap, I was pretty impressed with it. Hope you enjoy the Zen!:)
ianlenco
04-10-2018, 18:10
Fortunately I just had to transfer 450 files from the mac mini to the Zen. Took a while as it's a two stage process and some of the albums seemed to get duplicated but easy enough to sort out the "quarantined" stuff.
I've had a chance to listen to a few favourite test tracks and, well, mmmmm, I didn't realise my speakers could go deeper than what I had previously heard. :eek: Very low bass is both stronger and deeper. Crazy! It's looking promising though I'm going to have to get my head round iPeng as it's not as intuitive as Audivarna.
Funny you should pick up on the bass as this was something I noticed. There is a real dynamic power and drive in the bottom end.
Frazeur1
04-10-2018, 18:31
Nothing like a good bottom end! I agree. It was also one thing I noted when I played my Telemann DAC for the first week or so, seemed the bass end was improved a bit. With both, I am well pleased.
wee tee cee
05-10-2018, 03:00
For me it was an improvement in frequency extremes...bass and treble.
I reckon, now having got a few hours on it the zen sounds even sweeter- the resolution is just breath taking.
wee tee cee
05-10-2018, 03:01
There was an ex dem 1TB one on eBay at the weekend for £450 but the version 3 is out now so people must be upgrading.
If you fancy a listen PM me...im off work for a wee while
For me it was an improvement in frequency extremes...bass and treble.
I reckon, now having got a few hours on it the zen sounds even sweeter- the resolution is just breath taking.
Turbo charges your DAC. Folk would be far better spending money on one of these rather than upgrading their DAC?
wee tee cee
05-10-2018, 09:02
Turbo charges your DAC. Folk would be far better spending money on one of these rather than upgrading their DAC?
Im in agreement....shite in shite out!
best dac in the world cant sort a dirty signal
ianlenco
05-10-2018, 09:20
Sort of depends on the quality of the source in the first place. As I said before, my mac mini was perfectly capable of allowing me to distinguish between DACs I've been trying lately. Having said that, the Zen mini is a step up again. Maybe not as huge as some folk here have found but definitely worth it. Yesterday I was a bit stunned by the extra bass on offer and this morning I've been trying gentler stuff such as Emiliana Torrini's Fisherman's Women. The mac was perfectly capable of allowing the emotion to come through, the Zen even more so. Next step is to try a linear power supply which hopefully will be next week.
I've just picked one of these up along with a SOTM SM200 Ultra Neo to replace my Auralic Aries Mini.
Will see how it fairs through the SOTM and direct to my DAC.
If you fancy a listen PM me...im off work for a wee while
Thanks Tony.
wee tee cee
06-10-2018, 05:00
Sort of depends on the quality of the source in the first place. As I said before, my mac mini was perfectly capable of allowing me to distinguish between DACs I've been trying lately. Having said that, the Zen mini is a step up again. Maybe not as huge as some folk here have found but definitely worth it. Yesterday I was a bit stunned by the extra bass on offer and this morning I've been trying gentler stuff such as Emiliana Torrini's Fisherman's Women. The mac was perfectly capable of allowing the emotion to come through, the Zen even more so. Next step is to try a linear power supply which hopefully will be next week.Ian.
if you dont mind, let me know what linear supply you go for....im going down the same path
ianlenco
06-10-2018, 10:06
A few options, I'll pm you
wee tee cee
06-10-2018, 11:54
Thanks Ian.
reckon Dave Brooks at MCRU is getting my money.
Nick Goram is willing to build me one, LDA supplies have an outstanding reputation.
Ali Tait
06-10-2018, 12:27
I've just picked one of these up along with a SOTM SM200 Ultra Neo to replace my Auralic Aries Mini.
Will see how it fairs through the SOTM and direct to my DAC.
Let us know what you think, been looking at the Neo recently.
Let us know what you think, been looking at the Neo recently.Ali,
Hans Beekhuyzen rated the Ultra over the basic SMS200 one I have on his YouTube channel.
Don't think you'd go wrong with one [emoji6]
He actually reviewed the Neo Ultra last month too.
https://youtu.be/uADNLgJ3tSA
fiddlemaker
07-10-2018, 18:22
Regarding psu's, these are very nice.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hiend-60W-Ultra-Low-Noise-linear-power-supply-DC5V-9V-12V-15V-18V-24V-28V-L8-23/142908606168?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=441887575889&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
not the cheapest chinese psu, but very nice design and excellent build quality.
Let us know what you think, been looking at the Neo recently.
The SMS 200 Ultra Neo is an excellent bit of kit. I got one with the dedicated power supply. Not tried it with the supply wall plug so don't know what difference it makes. I have read though that it is fundamental to extracting the best from the SMS 200.
In comparison to the Aries Mini it is very easy to hear how much better it is. In my system it feels like a digital "grain" - one that I hadn't noticed previously - has been eradicated.
Well worth trying if you get the opportunity.
I will have a play around in a few days taking the power supply out and seeing if that makes a difference. I will also be interested in hearing how the Innuos sounds straight into the DAC plus I am using Roon at the moment and would like to see how this compares to other controls.
I was about to say why bother with the SMS 200, I would have thought the Innuos would sound better straight into a DAC?
wee tee cee
08-10-2018, 06:30
im usb into my dac from the zen.....it sounds very good to my ears
ianlenco
08-10-2018, 08:09
im usb into my dac from the zen.....it sounds very good to my ears
Same here, USB to DAC and sounding great. I'm a bit confused by the link John provided above. In the listing it states:
DC12V 2.5A
DC15V 2.5A
DC16V 2.5A
DC18V 2A
Transformer power: 60VA
That doesn't make sense to me although my electronics knowledge is limited. If it has a 60VA transformer then at 12v output shouldn't it deliver 60/12= 5 amps as opposed to the 2.5 amps quoted? Same for the other figures.
Anyway, according to the Innuos website the Zen mini specs state it uses 15w peak so at 12v by my calculation that’s 1.25 amps. I happen to have a Chinese linear power supply lying about from a previous Class D amp project. It was rated at 18v but on opening it up I found a little variable resistor so I've adjusted the output it to 12v. It has a 30VA trannie inside so that should give 2.5 amps at 12v - correct me if I'm wrong. I tried this psu with the Zen and although my initial impression was a slight improvement when I switched back to the Zen's smps I really couldn't tell the difference. I'm not doubting those who say a linear supply should bring improvements but this cheapo one doesn't so I'm going to have something made as I have an Airlink 50VA trannie in my spares box.
I was about to say why bother with the SMS 200, I would have thought the Innuos would sound better straight into a DAC?
I'll do some experimentation and report back......
wee tee cee
08-10-2018, 09:47
Ian
Im pestering Stan regards his new Dorado being an option.....not sure if its doable
by the way measured the plug 5.5mm outer 2.5mm center fyi
Okay - a quick (hour and a half or so) comparison has been done between the Innuos Zen Mini going straight into the USB port on my DAC (Schiit Gungnir) and through the SOtM SMS-200 Ultra Neo with matching power supply.
Firstly, if I didn't own the SOtM then I would be more than happy with the Zen Mini straight to DAC and probably not consider adding anything else into the chain. It sounds (and this is relying on memory) better than using an Auralic Aries Mini into the DAC - better separation, improved bass, wider soundstage.
So in terms of sound what does adding £1,700 (RRP) in kit add? Well, certainly, to my ears the added benefit is not commensurate with the added cost.
What the SMS-200 and power supply gave me was more of a 3D feel to the soundstage, better leading edge definition on guitars (listened to a few track with acoustic guitar), a slightly blacker background and a removal of what I can only describe as a very slight haze compared to the Zen Mini straight into the DAC. Certainly nowhere near night and day (to coin a cliché) but enough that the differences were recognisable over a short listening session.
Intriguingly, the bass with the SMS-200 kit in the signal path was not quite as deep. What it was though was slightly better defined.
Finally, it is worth noting that that when I got the Zen Mini the dealer did me an astonishing deal which made getting the SOtM kit an absolute no brainer. It probably helped that I had spent around £9,000 in a new amplifier/speakers and cables a few weeks before!
Hope this helps.
Okay - a quick (hour and a half or so) comparison has been done between the Innuos Zen Mini going straight into the USB port on my DAC (Schiit Gungnir) and through the SOtM SMS-200 Ultra Neo with matching power supply.
Firstly, if I didn't own the SOtM then I would be more than happy with the Zen Mini straight to DAC and probably not consider adding anything else into the chain. It sounds (and this is relying on memory) better than using an Auralic Aries Mini into the DAC - better separation, improved bass, wider soundstage.
So in terms of sound what does adding £1,700 (RRP) in kit add? Well, certainly, to my ears the added benefit is not commensurate with the added cost.
What the SMS-200 and power supply gave me was more of a 3D feel to the soundstage, better leading edge definition on guitars (listened to a few track with acoustic guitar), a slightly blacker background and a removal of what I can only describe as a very slight haze compared to the Zen Mini straight into the DAC. Certainly nowhere near night and day (to coin a cliché) but enough that the differences were recognisable over a short listening session.
Intriguingly, the bass with the SMS-200 kit in the signal path was not quite as deep. What it was though was slightly better defined.
Finally, it is worth noting that that when I got the Zen Mini the dealer did me an astonishing deal which made getting the SOtM kit an absolute no brainer. It probably helped that I had spent around £9,000 in a new amplifier/speakers and cables a few weeks before!
Hope this helps.
Is the USB port on the Schitt galvanically isolated?
wee tee cee
08-10-2018, 12:03
out of interest what usb cable are you using?
Is the USB port on the Schitt galvanically isolated?
It is galvanically isolated.
Further info:
Gen 5 USB: USB, Solved
Forget decrapifiers, regenerators, isolators, and all the USB dongles and boxes you’ve been told you need for USB sound. Our all-new Gen 5 USB input doesn’t require any of that stuff. It’s this simple: Gen 5 is USB, solved. Now standard on all our upgradable DACs, Gen 5 USB features full galvanic isolation via transformers, self-power for low noise and latching, and high-quality local clocking for both 44.1 and 48k multiples.
out of interest what usb cable are you using?
I’ve used Schiit’s own plus one I got with an AMR CD Player/DAC years ago.
wee tee cee
08-10-2018, 13:32
I’ve used Schiit’s own plus one I got with an AMR CD Player/DAC years ago.
ok rob....have tried a few they vary sonically -its now your key cable
ok rob....have tried a few they vary sonically -its now your key cable
What do you use if you don't mind me asking?
Incidentally, to those using the Zen Mini - where do you locate yours? Mine is on my rack. It seems pretty quiet - certainly a lot quieter than the NAS I had in the lounge.
Some apparently locate theirs in a separate room.
wee tee cee
08-10-2018, 14:11
mine is sitting on top of my amp/dac...30cm usb is a lavri.
reckon mine is settling down....very good indeed!
mine is sitting on top of my amp/dac...30cm usb is a lavri.
reckon mine is settling down....very good indeed!
Thanks - and you feel the cable has made a difference? Did you compare it to anything else?
Which Lavri line is it from? Master, Reference etc
Thanks.
wee tee cee
08-10-2018, 15:35
reference--tried a few
belkin -various/supra/furatech/ chord
used the furatech for years couldn't fault it
went the silver route usb and ic-game changer IMHO
just another jump-more expensive but worth every penny
im lucky Brian 2957 tolerates my daft requests and builds stuff i can experiment with
Thank you. Will look further into the Lavricables albeit it seems you have to import from the States.
wee tee cee
08-10-2018, 16:54
best ive tried so far.....
AJSki2fly
09-10-2018, 15:39
OK Tony, I think I am convinced by your thread that this may be a good option for me to sort out my digital library/CD's.
Can you give me a bit of advice please, if you know the answer?
I've been looking at the ZENMINI MK.II XL, ZEN MK.II XL, and ZENITH MK.II XL, and trying to get my head round the difference in audio quality. I have looked at the tech spec's on their site and cannot see much difference between then, the obvious difference is the price. Can you illuminate me please? Obviously I don't want to shell out unnecessarily but do want to get good music quality.
I already have a large amount of CD's ripped to a NAS drive in AIF, Wav or M4P format, along with some MP3's and AAC and my understanding is that I can get these across to the ZEN quite easily, is that correct? Also any CD's not already ripped I can just rip using the ZEN and choose whether to copy to wav or Flac.
The Caiman SEG looks like quite a good DAC for its price, what's your view, I notice they recommend a power supply upgrade, what did you go for?
Once I have it and loaded every thing up to the ZEN then I can use the old NAS drive to back it up.
Thanks
Adrian
Frazeur1
09-10-2018, 15:53
Adrian, if I may just add a bit from my own perspective, and it isn't much really. I listened to the Zen Mini and also the Zen Mk2, and was set to just go cheaper and buy the Mini, but in listening tests, I felt the Zen Mk2 really sounded the better of the two, seemed to me to have more control, improved definition across the board. I prepared myself to really not hear a difference, but to my ears, it was there.
Of course the blurb and those supposedly in the know will say it is down to the linear power supply that the Zen Mk2 has over the SMPS of the Mini. Okay, maybe, I really do not know, nor do I care at this point. I bought the Zen and figured it really was a sweet spot in the lineup, and took care of any desire to add a linear supply later on if I wanted to "upgrade". Later I heard the Zenith, and it too seems to give a bit more, but I stand by the Zen Mk2 being where I will probably stay.
With my DAC and the Innuos, I am very happy with my digital setup. I guess another thing that helped is that my distributor gave me a price in which made the step up really a no brainer. There are obviously cheaper ways to skin the cat, for me, I don't want to faff about with computer BS, I am not into that one bit, I just want to listen to music and be able to easily rip my CD's. Job done. FWIW...
wee tee cee
09-10-2018, 15:56
Adrian,
buy the innous zen mini mk2 then go onto amazon and buy a fire tablet-thats your remote control.
orange squeeze app £3.05, the tablet has ab app store icon ready to go.
you then need a usb dac-stans seg is fantastic
usb cable between the two ...im 30 cm-so lets you indulge in fancy wires
then feed the zen music...i have all my cds 500 plus-just started from ground zero to get it right from the off -time consuming but once done!!!
best audio upgrade ive made....ive been round the block-honest!!!
my PSU chat is icing on the cake.....Stan has pushed the audio bang for buck for years-the basic set up is a game changer.
wee tee cee
09-10-2018, 16:02
Adrian, if I may just add a bit from my own perspective, and it isn't much really. I listened to the Zen Mini and also the Zen Mk2, and was set to just go cheaper and buy the Mini, but in listening tests, I felt the Zen Mk2 really sounded the better of the two, seemed to me to have more control, improved definition across the board. I prepared myself to really not hear a difference, but to my ears, it was there.
Of course the blurb and those supposedly in the know will say it is down to the linear power supply that the Zen Mk2 has over the SMPS of the Mini. Okay, maybe, I really do not know, nor do I care at this point. I bought the Zen and figured it really was a sweet spot in the lineup, and took care of any desire to add a linear supply later on if I wanted to "upgrade". Later I heard the Zenith, and it too seems to give a bit more, but I stand by the Zen Mk2 being where I will probably stay.
With my DAC and the Innuos, I am very happy with my digital setup. I guess another thing that helped is that my distributor gave me a price in which made the step up really a no brainer. There are obviously cheaper ways to skin the cat, for me, I don't want to faff about with computer BS, I am not into that one bit, I just want to listen to music and be able to easily rip my CD's. Job done. FWIW...on the money assessment...i will go off the grid and see if the zen plays nice with a car battery!!!
Frazeur1
09-10-2018, 16:43
Why not? I am sure it could be quite interesting really! Keep us posted.
AJSki2fly
09-10-2018, 17:30
Adrian,
buy the innous zen mini mk2 then go onto amazon and buy a fire tablet-thats your remote control.
orange squeeze app £3.05, the tablet has ab app store icon ready to go.
you then need a usb dac-stans seg is fantastic
usb cable between the two ...im 30 cm-so lets you indulge in fancy wires
then feed the zen music...i have all my cds 500 plus-just started from ground zero to get it right from the off -time consuming but once done!!!
best audio upgrade ive made....ive been round the block-honest!!!
my PSU chat is icing on the cake.....Stan has pushed the audio bang for buck for years-the basic set up is a game changer.
Thanks Tony, it sounds like the linear power supply or using a battery with the Zen Mini make the improvement from what you say and what I can find on the net, don't think the Mrs would suffer a 12V car battery in the lounge though.
So it sounds like the Caiman SEG is he one to go for and I will have to work out what to do on the Zen front based on your and Timothy's comments. I already have an iPad so can use that as remote.
I have just had a play with my Mac and Audirvana and just going straight into the hifi using the stand audio out, mainly to compare the improvement over iTunes and there is one, obviously the DAC would make a bit difference. However I think that a Zen and Caiman SEG is the nice solution with control from iPad.
Thanks for all your help,
wee tee cee
10-10-2018, 02:33
Thanks Tony, it sounds like the linear power supply or using a battery with the Zen Mini make the improvement from what you say and what I can find on the net, don't think the Mrs would suffer a 12V car battery in the lounge though.
So it sounds like the Caiman SEG is he one to go for and I will have to work out what to do on the Zen front based on your and Timothy's comments. I already have an iPad so can use that as remote.
I have just had a play with my Mac and Audirvana and just going straight into the hifi using the stand audio out, mainly to compare the improvement over iTunes and there is one, obviously the DAC would make a bit difference. However I think that a Zen and Caiman SEG is the nice solution with control from iPad.
Thanks for all your help,im lucky that i have a cellar bellow my listening room....car batteries dont have much waf factor
regards the SEG Stan has a new very innovative power supply, the Dorado....well worth reading up on it
mine is sitting on top of my amp/dac...30cm usb is a lavri.
reckon mine is settling down....very good indeed!
Lavricable arrived this morning.
It's a very nice improvement over what I had been using. Very nice.
Thanks for the recommendation.
wee tee cee
14-10-2018, 15:56
Lavricable arrived this morning.
It's a very nice improvement over what I had been using. Very nice.
Thanks for the recommendation.glad it worked out for you....give it a 100hrs to settle down!
Im feeding the zen a battery supply-Stan helped me source an adaptor....another incremental improvement sonically.
dorado psu enroute....will report back my findings
ianlenco
17-10-2018, 11:49
A little addition for the Zen mini arrived this morning.
https://i.imgur.com/F1XEWMJh.jpg#gWPQG
It's a 50VA PSU from reelaudio.co.uk priced at £149. Not much to look at but definitely makes a difference. It's removed hash I didn't even knew I had :) All round a real improvement. Arrived day after ordering too.
So stock, the Innuos Zen has a bit of digital hash to the sound? One of their selling points vs. a computer is claimed “minimising power noise”, yet strapping a cheap linear to it is helping? Seems to defeat the object, or suggest that the PSRR isn’t so high for the Zen as claimed.
Frazeur1
05-11-2018, 09:47
Like most things built to price point, including the Zen Mini and its wall-wart supply, I would imagine a better off board linear supply could potentially improve things. Then again, like a lot of things in this Audio world, as long as the owner is pleased and feels it is an improvement, that is all that matters really. In my opinion of course....:)
I've taken a look inside & it looks a lot like my self-built media server i.e. a passive cooled 'SoC' processor, mini-ITX motherboard, nothing different really to any mini PC, apart from a custom Linux OS.
It does look like a nice plug and play unit though, no faff to get things configured.
As I have said before when I reviewed the InnuOs Zen Mini these servers upgrade your whole digital performance significantly more than just swapping DACs. Their flexibilty and ease of use with digital files is superb along with Ipeng as a controlling interface via an ipad. Their ability to reduce much of the noise in digital architecture is very apparent when you hear one in a system. I listened to one with triple linear power supplies the other day and it allowed the music to sound so smooth and transparent. Bass dropped far lower than any CD or Laptop FBA I have heard via a DAC. Yes the top models are pricey but they do have complicated expensive power supplies.
For me the Zen Mini did enough to convince me this was the way to go and wiped the floor with FBA via a Laptop. And the killer USP as you mentioned Neil - "nice plug and play" No faff.
wee tee cee
11-01-2019, 16:06
I treated myself to a two headed lavri reference usb.
One run for power the other for audio signal.
Both plug into the zen on different usb ports--then into my usb dac.
gave it a couple of hundred hours to settle down-its a nice upgrade to the single lavri reference i was using IMHO.
I treated myself to a two headed lavri reference usb.
One run for power the other for audio signal.
Both plug into the zen on different usb ports--then into my usb dac.
gave it a couple of hundred hours to settle down-its a nice upgrade to the single lavri reference i was using IMHO.Amazing what you get for £20 these days [emoji39] [emoji23]
Lawrence001
11-01-2019, 19:19
I treated myself to a two headed lavri reference usb.
One run for power the other for audio signal.
Both plug into the zen on different usb ports--then into my usb dac.
gave it a couple of hundred hours to settle down-its a nice upgrade to the single lavri reference i was using IMHO.If you run then both into the same device isn't that defeating the purpose of the lead of using a separate power supply?
Sent from my BLN-L21 using Tapatalk
Apologies if this has already been covered but in the event the internal storage of the Innuos runs out of capacity would it accept an external hdd for playback directly attached to the rear?
Can any Zen Mini Mk2 owner help me on this question please?
Not many Innuos users in here, might be easier and faster phoning or emailing Innuos direct, I know they're pretty good with helping users
Apologies if this has already been covered but in the event the internal storage of the Innuos runs out of capacity would it accept an external hdd for playback directly attached to the rear?
Pretty sure that you can play any HDD with music files (or video files if you have the video version) via the Zen.
Looks like you go to Settings>Music Library>Configure NAS shared folder/connect NAS shared folder to the music library>ADD Folder.
I'm using: Powered by innuOS version 1.4.2: for my Zen MK1
I sent an email to Innuos and they said a HDD connected directly to the router would be seen and could be added to the library.
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