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Innous Zenith MKII and Roon DSP

I purchased an Innous Zenith MKII about 6 months and configured it to use Logitech Media Server.  I had used LMS for whole house stereo for many, many years.  I finally decided to use Roon instead, and while Roon doesn't meet all of my whole house stereo needs, the interface and music management capabilities are far superior to LMS, IMHO. 

Before enabling Roon, I reached out to Innuos tech support about the fact that Roon does not list the MKII as a recommend device.  From Innous tech support, " The MkII can run Roon very well, the only reason they suggest such a high system spec is for performing DSD upsampling which is by far the most intensive process Roon has. For normal usage and bitperfect playback, the MkII can easily run Roon, no problems there."

I'm not doing any DSD upsampling.  I am trying to use Roon's DSP capabilities, but I've experienced dropouts when I do.  Other than this problem, I'm quite OK using Room with the MKII when playing DSD, FLAC, and WAV files through a MyTek Liberty DAC, as well as, streaming Tidal MQA directly to my NAD M12 BluOS module.

I want to take advantage of Roon DSP capabilities and keep the MKII.  I leaning towards buying an Intel i7 NUC to run Roon Core and strictly use the MKII as my network media player/NAS.  Thoughts anyone?
oldschool1948

Showing 8 responses by david_ten

david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Consider the Small Green Computer SonicTransporter i7 for Roon DSP.

https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/collections/audio-server/products/sonictransporter-i7-for-roon-ds...

This is what I use. It has the horsepower to run Roon DSP and is optimized for Roon. It also offers an internal Ethernet Bridge, which in my case eliminates the network switch.

This way you can utilize your Innuos Zenith II for Roon Rendering/Endpoint (Player) duties and remove the Roon Core load.

Since you have two LAN inputs on the Innuos you can use the other input as needed.

All the best.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@oldschool1948  You are welcome.

I chose not to add memory to my SGC unit. You do not need to as well, since you have memory capability/capacity on the Innuos. 

For superior results, as an example, Antipodes separates Roon Core from Roon Rendering/Endpoint (Player) functionality. You will get much better results by separating the Core and Player functionality, whichever product you choose to go with.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@oldschool1948  That's terrific. Looking forward to hearing how it works out for you and within your system.

Should it meet or exceed your expectations and you decide to keep the unit, reach out. Happy to suggest ways to enhance additional performance gains.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Running it (or any similar device) off of a linear power supply will reap benefits. The LPS can be a basic one. DC cabling from the LPS to the SGC will also improve SQ, as will basic isolation solutions.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@oldschool48 "Did you experience any loss of SQ running Core on the sonicTransporter?" 

Not at all, with my i7 unit. Same with my previous gen i5 and i7 sonictransporters. Also, no hiccups running Roon Core on my current unit.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Check with Andrew at SGC to find out what he recommends for minimum power needs.

I use the HDPlex 100W unit, which is no longer made. I have no issues running the i7 unit out of the 19V output. I am also using two other power outputs, simultaneously.

The advantage of a multiple output LPS is that once you realize the upside from it with one unit, it makes sense to power your other computer related peripherals from it. The extra spend on the higher Wattage units with multiple outputs is worth considering.

If you want to be a stickler, then a single output LPS would be the way to go. Downsides are that it gets expensive if you want to power more than one unit and means more power cables to the extra LPS units you have, as well as the extra rack space.

The 200W unit that SGC sells is the HDPlex 200. There are other options for a LPS if you want to save a bit. I have found HDPlex very responsive as a company. They swapped out a unit for me. Andrew is terrific with customer support as well.

There are higher performing units out there, but they come at much higher costs.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@oldschool1948  Great to hear things are working out well! Looking forward to your impressions of the Audio Mirror DAC.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@redphu72  As you know the Innuos reclocker is brand new, so there are (likely) no comparisons at this point in time.

I was able to compare my SGC i7 + Sonore Signature Rendu SE (non-optical) combination to the Innuos Zenith Mk 3 in my own system thanks to Audio Philosophy (Innuos dealer out of Baton Rouge). 

Both 'approaches' are very good.

The Innuos did best on it's own (as server / player) i.e. not being fed by the SGC.

I imagine adding the Innuos Reclocker in the chain will move sound quality even further, however at a cost. What I like about the Reclocker is the ability to use it with other brands, similar to what the dCS Network Bridge brought to the table.
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