Really like Innuos but their sales and marketing leaves much to be desired. With the advent of Pulse and NG products it would be helpful to know how they stack up to one another comparing streaming and server SQ. The descriptions provided on their site have some detail but I have no idea how these features translate to SQ? I mean C'mon Innuos, help a brother out! Can we get a simple chart that shows features and SQ between models? After reading the info on Sense 3, I have no idea what the tangible benefits are to the user.
Innuos Zen next-gen vs. Pulsar for streaming...?
Hi all,
The question is, has anyone had a chance to listen to both of these units and evaluate them on their streaming performance. I've heard the Innuos Pulsar but haven't had the chance to hear the Zen next-gen streaming Qobuz or Tidal. The Zen has additional capabilities (so it's not apples to apples) but I'm wondering if the big jump in price of the Zen next-gen improves the streaming performance over the Pulsar?
For the sake of the discussion only comments and opinions on these two units would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Rick
Like @chilehed said, it would be nice if Innuos would clarify the benefits/weaknesses between their products. It truly is frustrating. Perhaps I will send them an email... Bob |
Directly comparing any Innuos product in a meaningful way is very difficult since they only support a USB output and I am unaware of any DACs that have two USB inputs. Consequently there is no real time A/B testing. Even if the Statement Next Gen was better than the Pulsar I suspect you would be hard pressed to reliably know that given the time delay of getting up from the listening position and going to the DAC, switching cables, switching the streamer in the Sense App and listening again. Few mere mortals have an audio memory that last long enough to permit a firm conclusion. I upgraded from a Zenith MK 3 to the Pulsar and I couldn't promise you that it was actually better. But it seemed better comparing to a Roon End Point so that was enough for me but psychological bias is a powerful factor when the differences are subtle.
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I upgraded from the Zenith 3 to the Pulsar and am enjoying a very significant jump in sonic performance. A close friend did the same with the exact same result. The improvement was across the board on all important sonic parameters. Improved dynamics, resolution, purity of tone, imaging, improved sense of ease and control and more bass slam and articulation. If your system is well sorted out and highly resolving, then I can’t image not both hearing and appreciating the improved sonics. I suppose system synergy, level of room treatments and other factors not mentioned will play a role. |
Not exactly what you are looking for but I recently went from Pulsar to Zenith Next Gen (so one step up from the Zen Next Gen). Not night and day, but definite audible improvement in sound. A little more presence and detail, but not fatiguing. I would guess the Zen might have at least somewhat similar (if maybe a bit less significant) improvements, but without having heard it, I, of course, can’t really know. I also wanted the built in server function to eliminate an external box and that works well. Between trade up deal they were running a few months ago and trade on my prior server, I ended up with a reasonable (if still expensive) price. I’m happy overall with the change. |