Great customer service from Innuos

I wanted to put something on here as I have had a very good experience from Nuno, the director at Innuos. I bought a second hand Zen on PFM and a cheap m2tech hiFace (first version) on here but couldn't get the Zen to recognise the usb to spdif converter. Despite the fact Nuno knew I had bought it s/h, and that it was an early Liv branded legacy product from the previous incarnation of his company, he was still willing to spend time with me to try to get it working. Although he mentioned that I could trade it in for a new version that would work fine with the hiFace, he still went out if his way to get this one working, spending about an hour reminding himself how to upgrade the early vortexbox products and remoting on to change the software to recognise the HiFace. He was also very knowledgeable about the compatibility of his products with various third party dacs/converters and drivers which I'm sure is not a given in this market. By the end it was all up and running so a massive thank you is due to Nuno, and a big recommendation for Innuos for their product support.

Also, the potential charge of £30 if I had needed to send it in for a manual upgrade seems very reasonable given the effort it would require.

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Good to hear about this.

Their customer service is exemplary, more so for their legacy products and second-users. I’m a very satisfied Innuos owner, so much so I’ve placed a pre-order for one of their forthcoming Zenith MK3s.

All I need to do is wait until August...

Nice outcome Lawrence and Innuos servers are excellent, I would not use any other digital front end on my system. I used one for a while and it was so much better than a laptop it wasn't true!

Indeed, a good turn out there. Always nice to hear about great customer support if and when needed! Love my Innuos Zen too, probably one of the best purchases I have made in a good while!

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Originally Posted by Frazeur1

Indeed, a good turn out there. Always nice to hear about great customer support if and when needed! Love my Innuos Zen too, probably one of the best purchases I have made in a good while!

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Hi Tim, how's it going? I see you have moved on from the Croft amps, not heard of LinnenberG? I have heard most of the innuOS servers apart from their top model and their Zen Mk2 is very good indeed. The Zenith is even better with their uprated power supplies they really make a difference. If you get a chance try listening to a Chord DAVE DAC with the Zen, it might surprise you. I have tried a Chord Hugo and the Qutest with the Zen mini and they sound very good indeed but DAVE is on another level.

Hi Jimbo, I am doing fine thanks, hope all is well with you! Yes, I haven't really said much here or on any forum really, but I have spent the last year or so listening to various pieces/systems. I basically had a big opportunity to kind of a do a wholesale change, more for the future, as things with my work etc. will be changing soon. More like one of those things, do it now, or not at all. This path took me to some interesting listening, and in the end, through a really great distributor/dealer, the LinnenberG gear from Germany.

The Innuos Zen is really great, and while the Zenith was also a consideration, I had to balance a lot of things. My listening basically led me to spending more money on the DAC end versus the media player, as to my ears, it had the most impact to my system. And usually, I have been a total source-first type, spending more money there in the past. With servers and the like, I feel a bit differently on that, but nothing is ever set in stone!

At least I did feel with the Zen, it too has a linear supply, albeit not to the level of the Zenith or SE models. While I do think this may be important, it was hard for me to really say. The LinnenberG DAC is really a very good piece of gear, and it also works as the preamp in my system too. The LinnenberG gear just will not get the press as some of the other DAC's/amplifiers will, it flies under the radar for the most part.

Really as it stands, everything has resulted in what I like to think as balanced, and a very good sounding setup for the long haul. And I have to admit, it is all relatively new, so an adjustment to some degree coming from where I was. I still love the Crofts, and they will always get a good recommendation by me, but this was a fairly good step up in the detail/resolution stakes without sacrificing "musicality" for me.

Thanks for your comprehensive review of your current equipment Tim. I will have a look at the LinnenberG company as I have not heard of them but Germany are known for good engineering and technical ability so I would not be surprised if their kit sounds good.

I have evaluated some digital systems and DACs myself but have decided to stick with vinyl for the time being. I have been impressed with how digital has moved on and how good it now sounds especially when using servers and really good DACs.

My Croft amplification remains the same for the time being but I do intend to upgrade the preamp with a separate power supply and maybe a separate phono stage. I will stick with Croft whatever happens with my system and just upgrade the amps if I need more power.

One new component I have just bought is the Ortofon Kontrapunkt B cartridge which will be hopefully installed in my VPI Scout this weekend. I have been searching for a really good MC Cartridge for ages and this one ticks all the boxes!:)

Nice on the Ortofon purchase! Hopefully it will give you what you are looking for as you improve your front end. That is another thing I need to address, but it is secondary at this point. I purchased a Holbo air-bearing turntable and I hope to do it a bit more justice on the cartridge end too. Money/budget tight at the moment, but it will be something I am looking into! Enjoy the Kontrapunkt B, should be a great listen!