Thought I would start this thread to gauge interest in this network streamer. I have been following it for a little while now. Just wondered if anyone else had this on their radar. Any comments from current owners would be great.
After the TAS and other reviews, the 432EVO Aeon’s quality seems worth its price and has the possibility to sound uniquely subjectively better. I may have stopped upgrading with my Zenith Mk3, but am bummed that with Roon sonics decrease. Then I got the sonic bargain Linn DSM/2 with Organik DAC streamer/DAC, but still needed a Roon Core somewhere. So, if I got a 2.5k Roon Nucleus Plus plus the option to upgrade the server later, is it better than just paying for the 432EVO now for a 5k increase? This kind of thinking is hard on my wallet.
thyname totally incorrect, in fact we compared our $7800Aeon to a 25k Innous Statement with upgraded power supply after Axponna at a chicago dealers showroom
all listeners concluded th aeon sounded just as good as the Statement
now consider our Master sounds even better yet still costs considerably less then the Statement with their best psu.
also consider that our products are modular and upgradable:
this means you can start with an aeon and upgrade to a Master later.
This also means our products can evolve so if a better sound card or Clock card comes out we can easily upgrade our server.
also our Master actually contains 3 seperate torodial transformers which is far superior to Innouss single transformer.
It’s nice to know that my finely-honed music organization skills can be easily replaced by Aeon’s automation and great sound. Buy the 432EVO Aeon for the awesome sound it delivers, period!
I had the opportunity to stop by Dave Lalin's house (of Audio Intellect Company) to listen to the 432 Evo Aeon this past Friday.
Dave was a gentleman, he welcomed me into his home and was a very nice host. He showed me 3 rooms filled with LOTS of different equipment. There has so much equipment, by the time we got into the 3rd room, I asked if he was married / had a wife and the way he responded yes - as if to say yes and my wife is exceptional but I know I'm crazy with all this equipment - made me laugh quite a bit.
We listened and discussed many topics. The 432 EVO Aeon is very nice, and while it was in a system different from my own - it had very good performance qualities that were easy to identify and I'm certainly interested. The fact that they were also feeding a T&A amplifier, which I never heard before and now have a lot of respect for, maintained a very high performance standard. This was different to what I had read about the T&A amplifiers. Just a note - I'm very critical of equipment at this level. I intend to listen to the 432 EVO Master, which is the next step up and top of the line EVO unit.
What I really liked about Dave is he responds honestly and directly. It's very easy to see because there's no hesitation, he's very articulate and he's right to the point. Kind of the exact opposite of today's political talk. "He said it like it is" - and that was independent of discussing brands I own(ed) - which is something I respect because I've worked with audiophile salesman in the past who politely circumvented answering directly my question(s) about equipment I own(ed) - it undermined confidence and was disappointing at that time.
While I haven't been active in this industry for quite some time, I was able to share and exchange a few experiences which we agreed on (live music being used as a performance reference, cables make a significant difference, etc.) - things that I find fundamental as an audiophile.
Dave has a wealth of experience and information and he was patient with my MANY questions on different products and brands that I haven't had the chance to hear and wanted to gain insight about from his experience (Magico, YG, Rockport, Tekton, Martin Login Monolith, VAC, Gryphon, Legacy, etc.). He recommend the Rocky Capital Audio Fest as a good audio show - which I now plan to attend.
For the record - I had no prior relationship with Dave, I conversed online with him here on this Audiogon website a few times about server / streamers and this was the first time I met him. I have met few people who are matter of fact like Dave. Me being a licensed professional chemical engineer - I appreciate this matter of fact, direct communication - it works perfectly with me.
Negatives: Yes
1 - the visit was too short. I could have spent the weekend with this man and only gotten a fraction of his experience. This because he shares his experience freely and articulates things very well.
2 - I got in a fender bender on the way home. Jersey City is an urban area immediately across the river from Manhattan (beautiful skyline!!!!), best to drive fully alert and very defensively and anticipate people driving very aggressively.
Dave - I thank you on this public form.
Please let me know when you get a 432 EVO Master to hear as I'd like to stop by again to hear and compare it with the AEON.
Without trying to hijack this thread, does anyone have experience with Ethernet switches?
They better ones are quite expensive and there's offerings from multiple companies - Innuos, Synergistic Research, Ansuz and other brands that are less expensive (from the very little research I've done).
Anyone have experience with Ethernet switches? Do they make a significant improvement?
Thanks for sharing your experiences and providing that benefit for everyone.
Being adverse, hostile or nasty accomplishes nothing constructive.
I certainly appreciate your feedback and hope no one ever second guess themselves.
I'm hoping to get feedback from anyone who has listened to both the Innuos Statement / Zen Mk III and an 432 Evo in almost any configuration, especially the Aeron.
This purchase will occur after I move and set up my system, so I may visit Audiotroy to hear the 432. Then I can have that experience to compare an Innuos Statement to.
@grannyringyou are 100% correct and I am a lifetime Roon adapter. Have not even opened it after moving to the Innuos Statement and Zenith in my 2 systems. Night and day.
Something the former dealer for Innuos and the rest of us to consider regarding Innuos gear. Since the former dealer dropped the Innuos line, Innuos has developed their own software program. The program is called SENSE. The current version of SENSE sounds worlds better than Roon on Innuos gear. On my system the improvement is at least 25-30% better. The only way to truly compare Innuos to any other server is to listen to the Innuos gear with Sense, not Roon.
Since the introduction of SENSE sometime ago Innuos has continually improved the sound quality of SENSE. When I go back to ROON and listen, I find I simply cannot enjoy my music. Roon sounds flat, lifeless and bloated compared to SENSE.
I agree with you. We are here to share our experiences. My post to @tjassocabove was in direct response to his post where he has reported loosing considerable amount of money over a gear that quite didn’t pan out to his expectations. A blanket statement like “Innuos Statement is well established globally” doesn’t quite inspire my confidence in dropping top dollars for a streamer/server. Every individual is unique and so is our systems. That’s why I encouraged @tjassocto seek out an in-home audition.
Thanks for posting your experience with EVO, enjoy!
Something the former dealer for Innuos and the rest of us to consider regarding Innuos gear. Since the former dealer dropped the Innuos line, Innuos has developed their own software program. The program is called SENSE. The current version of SENSE sounds worlds better than Roon on Innuos gear. On my system the improvement is at least 25-30% better. The only way to truly compare Innuos to any other server is to listen to the Innuos gear with Sense, not Roon.
Since the introduction of SENSE sometime ago Innuos has continually improved the sound quality of SENSE. When I go back to ROON and listen, I find I simply cannot enjoy my music. Roon sounds flat, lifeless and bloated compared to SENSE.
It might help the overall community if the comments reflect someone taking time out of their day to share something and asking questions (which many do) without the undercurrent of negativity. Otherwise folks may just move on, keep their feelings and opinions to themselves and enjoy their equipment.
You are absolutely right. Spot on. I personally appreciate people doing what you did. Thank you
I think you got the gist of my message. I participate on some other boards for hobbies I'm interested in where folks generally encourage people to share their experiences. It promotes discussion and mostly positive feedback. When people get snarky with their comments it does two things to the poster (at least for me). It makes me wonder why I wasted my time sharing my impressions or it makes the poster second guess their own decisions.
I made up my mind and put my money where my mouth is. I really don't care at all what someone's negative opinion is about the dealer or the equipment if they haven't heard to what I did on MY system.
It might help the overall community if the comments reflect someone taking time out of their day to share something and asking questions (which many do) without the undercurrent of negativity. Otherwise folks may just move on, keep their feelings and opinions to themselves and enjoy their equipment.
This isn't a pissing contest. It's about enjoying a hobby.
I'm just trying to get experience with comparisons between the 2 brands / models. It's too expensive to purchase one and then find out the other one is preferred.
I once purchased a unit on a recommendation, I wasn't happy with it and sold it at a ~ $4,000 loss. The unit was a very good performing unit but I wanted something significantly better.
So with that experience in mind, I'm just trying to get others experience to help with decide between these 2 brands and models.
Guys - firstgrowth was sharing his experience: his equipment, music and feedback with us at our request.
Thank you firstgrowth for your feedback. I PM'd audiotroy so I could get his feedback (he was an Innuos dealer but now just the 432 if I'm not mistaken).
Nothing replaces listening for yourself but getting feedback from many others saves a lot of time, which is something I never seem to have.
juanmanuelfangioii - firstgrowth wasn't boasting, he was explaining his equipment so everyone interested would get a better understanding of his experience. I appreciate it.
My system - I've been using a Meridian 861v8 with really good results (ask anyone who's listened to my system) and recently purchased an Meridian Ultra DAC but because of an impending divorce I haven't been able to configure it and set it up in my system. Honestly, because of everything that's going on, I haven't even listened to my system in about a month.
I'm looking forward to resuming some normalcy and adding a server / streamer to my system.
Anyone with Innuos Statement experience - please share (I hope I'm not hijacking this thread).
@jerryg123Yes indeed. We have to pick “our battles”, cannot fight in all fronts. I have a Zennith too, and that part of my audio chain is now complete, of course until it breaks down. Or I change my mind. Whichever comes first 😂. But for now, I am all good in that “front”
@thynameif it's not broke don't fix it. I am the same with my Innuos Zenith and Statement. Moon 680 and 280D dac's and I am in heaven. Adding a couple of Audiolab DC Blocks to see what these do.
Also have a LessLoss Echo's End on the way for a DEMO with the LessLoss firewalls and footers. More to follow.
It's me he's referring to. I know it's apples to oranges but the Modwright/Oppo 205 combo is a CD player I used as a spinner.
I liked the sound with the less expensive cable but like it more with the more expensive one. I hate the whole cable game but I trust my ears and I'm not going to delay my satisfaction over a little bit of money.
The sound was much more robust with the streamer. It's not really a fair fight based on price but the ears want what they want.
To your question about whether or not my system sounded better over all, yes it did.
Thanks for the report @thyname. If I understand you correctly, you compared the 432 Aeon (into which Dac?) to your Modwright OPPO (which model?) and liked what you heard using a $3,000 USB cable enough that you ordered the Aeon?
You found your system sounded richer while also providing more detail and sounding more engaging through the Aeon. Do I have that right?
What were you using to stream to the Modwright OPPO, or were you playing CDs?
Would you have ordered the Aeon with the $1,200 USB cable?
Ok, I had the server in my system for a couple of hours this morning and here are my impressions.
It comes with dual power supplies, one is a 9v and the other 12. Hopefully I got this right but the 12v is the main power supply and the 9v is for the motherboard.
It took a good 20 minutes for the server to warm up from a cold start. We tried it with 2 different USB cables, I don’t recall the brands used but there was a big difference in price. One was $1200 and the other $3000. I played it with both but much preferred the more expensive cable. It focused the soundstage and made it bigger.
I only used Roon since the ripped files weren’t mine and I wanted familiar music for the audition. Tracks I played were Norah Jones "Come Away with me" Tom Waits "Looking for the heart of Saturday night" America "Sister golden hair" Grateful Dead from Barton Hall 5/8/77 "Scarlet Begonias" Alison Krauss "The lucky one" Steely Dan "Babylon Sister" and Paul Simon "Late in the evening". There were huge differences between recordings and I chose the America track due to it’s lack of quality. It sounded pretty lousy! The rest sounded at least as good as my Modwright/Oppo spinner setup but most sounded better. There was more detail and the bass took on weight. My speakers are open baffles, Spatial audio X3 which sound on the thin side with my regular CD player used as a transport. There was none of that here. The sound covered the spectrum. With the upgraded cable the players had a much more specific place on the stage. Not much changed tonally but I found the sound more engaging. The added flexibility of being able to stream is a huge bonus for me. I pulled the trigger.
I don’t write reviews for a living so I apologize for anything I might have missed. If anyone has any questions I’m capable of answering please ask. I’ve given up on waiting for the transport I ordered. I’m not getting any younger and I wanted to get on with my life.
Well then, the ground rules have been laid. I’m interested in replies to this request. As the OP, I still have yet to hear the EVO so those who have, fire away!
Gentlemen - I’m interested in getting a streaming / server front end to feed my digital system.
I am considering the Innuos MkIII or Statement and a 432 System. Hard drive and specific 432 model isn’t determined at this time.
For me, a deep, wide soundstage with 3 dimensional images is critical. I also do not prefer a presentation that is pushed up in front of the speakers but one that occurs both in front and behind the speakers - presented as the recording engineer created the recording.
I use live music as a reference. What might sound more pleasing and more enjoyable to listen to doesn’t always coincide with what real music sounds like. I state this because, with well recorded music on a system that is dialed in and presents the music as it was performed - the emotion of the musician is conveyed and the experience is unmatched. On most recordings, the performance is behind the speakers, on some - the audience is in front of the speakers and on a very few - sounds come from the sides and even behind the listening position! Just my humble experience :-).
I’ll also have to look into audiophile grade Ethernet switches and Ethernet and USB cables, something I have NO experience with. So if anyone can contribute THEIR EXPERIENCE would be greatly appreciated. Please - no contributions without experience.
I’m interested in getting feedback from "firstgrowth" with his 432 Aeron. Very interested.
Finally - let’s everyone contribute our experiences and findings nicely. We don’t have to attack each other but can rather say something like "I experienced something different. This is my system and what I was listening to and what I experienced."
If there’s no direct experience, not to be rude - but I don’t find that useful in evaluating a product for purchase. And let’s not argue - it accomplishing nothing constructive.
I went and heard the Aeon this morning. This was in the dealer's shop using my DAC so it was really for me to decide if the sound was intriguing enough to warrant a home trial. I liked what I heard. There was tremendous detail in the presentation without any digital harshness. The sound was relaxed and very listenable. I wanted to hear more.
The electronics used were nothing like my home setup. I've decided I want to explore more and will update when it's set up in my home.
While searching for the Absolute Sound review I ran across this review of the 432Evo Master that just came out in High Fidelity in Poland: http://highfidelity.pl/@main-1165&lang=en .
I was considering the Aeon last year but ended up getting a Mojo Audio Deja Vu server. I am very happy with the Deja Vu but still remain somewhat curious when reviews come out.
A Krell amplifier also helped set the fifth-floor Audio Intellect room on fire (proverbial only; no actual fires were set). Anticables connected a Belgian-made 432 EVO streamer (modular design; prices range from $3,500 to $16,000) to a DAC-equipped Krell K300i integrated ($9500; see Jason Victor Serinus’s Stereophile review), which drove a pair of just-introduced, blond-wood Alta Audio Adams ($18,000). Listeners got tight, prodigious bass from surprisingly small woofers, making music in tandem with the Adams’s ribbon tweeters. Saxes and trumpets were brassy, airy, and real. Other duties called; I had a hard time tearing myself away.
Dave and Troy
Audio intellect nj US. importer 432EVO music servers
@antigrunge2: your post is still here on that. Nobody can remove anything other than Admin. People can report a post to the admin, but cannot remove it. But your post is still here.
At this point, I think there is plenty of info for everyone to draw their own conclusions based on this PF review and the subsequent discussions and comments. I know I already drew my own conclusion. And as with everything, there is no substitute to trying for ourselves, and not just rely on published reviews, professional reviews or not. So here is that.
Audiotroy has had my post removed: I just pointed out that 432 EVO is virtually unknown over here in Europe and that digitally converting recordings made at 440Hz tuning doesn’t seem particularly audiophile. Go figure…
Tom "as per no magic with 432 tuning and regular USB port."
the reguar usb port does not use the 432 plug in nor does it use the server as designed which is to use the sound card and filtered usb
we would expect no difference
juan definatly noticed a difference when he used the server correctly
"so But bottom line, the 432 EVO yielded a more organic, natural sound to vocals and instruments when playing in the 432 Hz mode. Now, at 440 Hz, the differences were negligible. So, if you like that added warmth and other pleasant qualities that 432 Hz imparts on the signal enough to warrant the purchase, and you have the funds, then definitely! If not, keep your money. Let's face it: some people--even some reviewers--prefer 440 Hz. That's not a bad thing
It sounds to me like Juan was unable to hear any difference between his NUC and the 432 EVO when using the standard 440 tuning. And that’s with USB out from both to his DAC. With that method there was a tremendous difference from my Nucleus+ vs. from ZENith MK3. And we know Innuos does not do 432 tuning.
And in theory Nucleus + should be better than an off shelf NUC (fanless case, optimized for Roon). Based on this professional review I draw my conclusion that 432 EVO is not worth the money, unless of course that 432 tuning provides some magic. But then again, there was no magic with 432 tuning and regular USB port, from original review on PF. And NUC definitely has a regular USB port. So….
Thanks @thynamefor hunting down that article. That does make it clear. If you're looking for a more organic, analog sound; try the 432. It MAY be worth $5500 to you. If that's not something you're looking for, an Intel NUC is probably all you need, according to Juan anyway.. As always, YMMV.
As for the 432 vs 440 tuning, that's a whole other can of worms that has been debated for centuries. It appears that some people will like it, even with the extra digital processing it requires, and some people won't.
Audiotroy’s touting his product as the European champion is purely based on wishful thinking: it’s virtually unheard of over here (I know both the UK and German markets well) whereas Innuos is an acknowledged market leader here. The whole idea of digitally changing the original tuning of an audiophile recording from 440 to 432Hz disqualifies him as a serious audiophile in my mind.
Seems like he’s saying that his system never sound better with the EVO in place, and then , if you don’t want the benefits of 432 then you may not want to spend the money. Guess one needs to decide what he/she is after
"Why someone in their right mind would pay $5,500 for this vs. a few hundred dollars on a NUC?" "The short answer is for the sound."
"Moreover, prior to the arrival of the 432 EVO, my system, anchored by the Schiit Audio Yggdrasil OG DAC, Pass Labs XP-12 preamplifier, X150.8 amp, Straight Wire reference cabling, and Usher Mini Dancer 2 loudspeakers, has never sounded better."
Seems like he's saying his system never sounded better with it, and also , it depends what you will be satisfied with
"But bottom line, the 432 EVO yielded a more organic, natural sound to vocals and instruments when playing in the 432 Hz mode. Now, at 440 Hz, the differences were negligible. So, if you like that added warmth and other pleasant qualities that 432 Hz imparts on the signal enough to warrant the purchase, and you have the funds, then definitely! If not, keep your money. Let’s face it: some people--even some reviewers--prefer 440 Hz. That’s not a bad thing."
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