Innuos Zenith

I have owned an Auredner N100h for almost 2 years and have been pretty happy with it. 2 weeks ago I bought the Zenith mk2 SE demo unit being used at Axpona in Chicago (you probably listened to my unit when you were there). In terms of SQ it is several steps up from my N100h (I would say on par with Aurender's N10) but as far as ease of use there's no comparison. I ripped hundreds of CD's and downloaded 20-30 hi-rez files with the Aurender and IMO it was a pain in the butt compared to the Innuos. It was about a 10-15 step process using the Aurender but with the Innuos you insert the CD (into the front of the unit) and it does the rest. It labels, sorts, adds artwork and files it into your library. I think the design team at Innuos decided to make their products as user friendly as possible. Going from the Aurender to the Innuos was a breath of fresh air! If I had gone from the Innuos to the Aurender I would have been very disappointed. Another selling point for me was the ability to use Roon with the Innuos. Innuos gives you the option of using their own software or using Roon. I chose Roon and couldn't be happier. It also integrates seamlessly with Tidal. The Conductor app (that Aurender uses) falls way short compared to using Roon. My unit came with 4 TB's of internal storage which I would recommend unless you use Tidal exclusively. My system is as follows: Zenith mk2 SE / Mola Mola Makua preamp/dac / Simaudio Moon 870a amp / Proac D30r speakers and all Nordost cables..... Hope this helps.

Innuos made 100 Zenith mk2 SE units and I was told they are all gone although you could contact the US distributor Mark Sossa with Well Pleased A/V to have him look for one for you.  Mark told me they will not make anymore SE's.  I have heard the standard Zenith model is also very nice.  The new flagship model is a 2 piece unit called The Statement that I believe will retail for 14k.....As far as storage I have used 48% of my 4 TB's.  I share libraries with friends so the 4 TB's was a must for me.

@mtraesbo not sure what you mean by "the radio part isn't not plug & play".  Can you please explain that?

@audiotroy When you say "There are a few tweeks which will dramatically improve a Zennith".  I have a Zenith SE which comes with custom isolation feet.  Other than an aftermarket power cord and a high quality USB cable... what tweeks are you talking about?

@audiotroy   I placed 3 Nordost Sort Kones (TC) under my Zenith last night and it made a big improvement over the stock feet.  I use a Valhalla PC and 2 Heimdall 2's (USB and ethernet) cables to it and it sounds great!  Thanks for giving me the idea to try different isolation feet.  

aj72  with the release of the mk3's I would look for a demo Zenith mk2.  With a good after market PC and some quality footers it would be a great unit.  I'm sure the retailers will be ready to deal to make room for the new models. 

Just upgraded the isolation under my Zenith mk2 SE to Stillpoints Ultra 6’s and WOW what an improvement over Nordost Sort Kones TC’s. The upgrade from the stock feet to the Nordost TC’s was big but going from Nordost TC’s to the Ultra 6’s was even bigger..... Also one of the reasons I chose the Innuos was because of the ability to use Roon. I use Roon’s DSP EQ to tame a 40hz peak I wasn’t able to fully control with ASC tube traps. Using the traps in conjunction with Roon’s DSP EQ has taken my system to another level. If Aurender had offered the ability to use Roon I would have upgraded my N100h to the N10, but they don’t and I’m very happy with my Innuos.