Need advice on what to purchase to hold 1TB of music and connect to my new Innuos Pulsar.

A one-off answer, but you want to make sure you have a backup (or several). 

The 1TB cost will be meaningless if (when) you have a disk failure. I think my Google account, up to 1TB of cloud storage is $9.99 - there are many options. 

You’re all recommending SSD drives. I choose thumb drives, because they are lower powered than SSD’s, which suck power to make them as fast as possible. I will do some critical testing, now that I’m talking about it, to try to hear a difference. I can hear both sounding less noisy than a mechanical drive, right away.

Do you guys have anything against thumb drives, besides the current max size being 1tb, and it’s price vs SSD?

I’m in the market for a 1tb stick, right now, but I could be convinced to go with the cheaper and larger usb ssd, if anyone has a way to make me think that the higher power draw won’t hurt my ears, even theoretically. Oh, theoretically is probably the way the thumb stick will win.

Comments?

@grannyring, great info, thanks! I'll be interested in your commentary and experience after it settles in. Best of luck and congratulations on the new piece.

@thyname 

Funny, I owned the Phoenix reclocker and sold it after realizing it did not improve my systems sound quality with my then new MOJO Audio dac. 

@chilehed

My thoughts and experience match yours 100%. I stream most of the time as I find it sounds as good or often times better than ripped CDs. The Pulsar will sound better than the Pulse and Zenith 3. I good friend compared his Zenith 3 to a Pulsar in his system over a 2-3 week period and he much preferred the Pulsar. He said the Pulsar exceed the Zenith in every sonic parameter. He is very impressed with the Pulsar. I will share my thoughts after full burn in of some 200-300 hours.

Innuos told me a NAS should sound as good as the internal storage in the Zenith.

@grannyring, bummer. I just checked the Innuos website and understandably the prices have increased significantly since I bought my Zenith Mk3 back in 2019. If I had to replace it I am not sure what I would do. Like @thyname, I also owned the Phoenix USB but sold it. I only use 60% of the 1TB storage I have on my Zenith but honestly my streaming SQ is so good I rarely play local files. I'm fortunate to have a couple Innuos dealers nearby so if I had to replace it I would do an in-store comparison of the Pulse vs Pulsar and then put the winner up against the Zenith in a home demo. I already have my library backed up on SSD and buying media is mostly in the rear view for me so the server functionality of Zenith is less of a requirement. If Pulsar won the SQ home bakeoff I would connect the SSD to one of the machines on my home network and map it to Pulsar. I'm guessing there would be a SQ compromize compared to playing from a Zenith, but in my case it would only be used for music not found on streaming services or the rare case where my external network to my ISP is down.

@grannyring :

The Pulsar is like a Zenith 3 plus Phoenix in sound quality or so I read. Not sure this is really true. I loved my Zenith 3 and will miss its ease if use with internal storage. The Zenith 3 also rips CDs and auto loads them. The Pulsar costs some $1100 more than the Zenith 3 with no CD ripping ability or storage.

I currently have the Zenith MK3. It will go nowhere until it breaks. When the Pulse series came out, I cannot say I did not consider purchasing the Pulsar. I decided against it for these very reasons you describe. Unless of course I had a second system to use, which I don’t. So Zennith remains. And I have owned and used the ZEN, the Phoenix USB, and the Statement in the past. Let’s just say I am back to Zenith and happy with it.

Understand.  Hope you are correct! Thank you @phishhhhh4 

Im lot saying that a LPS used with a NAS doesn't make a difference in SQ

I am saying to appreciate it that far upstream from the audio components would take a system and ears beyond what I have on both things

@chilehed 

Well, I sold it. 

@grannyring, out of curiosity, what happened to you Zenith? Is it gone? If you still have it I believe you can access your Zenith music library from your Pulsar. 

@phishhhhh4 

That is the big question here. My experience with those cheap switch mode wall warts is they inject noise into your digital front end without fail.  Will this also play out on a NAS? I’m not sure why it wouldn’t! 

To discern SQ differences when using a LPS on a NAS with your music files you posses extraordinary hearing and a high end system

Congratulations on both

The Pulsar is like a Zenith 3 plus Phoenix in sound quality or so I read. Not sure this is really true. I loved my Zenith 3 and will miss its ease if use with internal storage. The Zenith 3 also rips CDs and auto loads them. The Pulsar costs some $1100 more than the Zenith 3 with no CD ripping ability or storage. Not too much to ask for the ability to plug in a USB thumb drive or SSD. No cannibalizing worries here in my opinion.

I have always owned Innuos units with internal storage so I did not have to deal with all this stuff I am now researching. I suppose it’s good to learn something new!

@chilehed that was my thoughts too. They have to differentiate the two lines or end up cannibalizing the Zen/Zenith series.

I was considering a Pulse as an 'upgrade' to my Zen MK3, but once I found out it didn't support direct file playback via connected SSD, I stopped looking, and will probably go the Zenith route. As 90% of my music is FLAC files. I stream qobuz when I'm discovering new things, but get the albums if I like them. 

“I'm not sure how adding LPS to a NAS would help with sound quality”
@phishhhhh4 

You may want to check out discussions on wall wart vs LPS. 

I'm not sure how adding LPS to a NAS would help with sound quality

Would it??

In their defense a Pulse with the ability to play files from a local SSD would essentially be a Zenith with the Phoenix USB re-clocker (or something like that). There was a thread a few weeks ago where some of us lamented the product strategy as many details are not well understood. No question their marketing falls short to explain various use cases and how they align to current product offers. Given the propensity for audio folks to upgrade, it would be helpful for Innuos to publish their vision of "a customer journey" for users that want to stream and others that want streaming and server capabilities and provide the upgrade paths for both lines. Personally I would love to see a SQ comparison of Pulsar vs Statement vs Zenith with Pnet and PUSB when used strictly as a streamer.

Innous appears to have the ability to play files that are on a USB drive installed in a networked computer.  The trick is to get the music folder on the USB drive configured as a shared folder.  For me, it was easy to set that up on a MAC and a pain to get that working reliably on a PC.  If you have a desktop computer, you could add an SSD hard drive to it and you could easily set up a shared music folder and you would be set up.

In is inexcusable that Innous sells a high end streamer with USB ports and none of them can be utilized to play music from USB devices. 

@grannyring I’m not 100% certain but you might be able to configure Innuous to read that Samsung SSD when it’s connected to a computer on the same network same way you would configure it to read NAS. I did this when I had Auralic Aries G1 and it was reading the external drive connected to my mac mini. 

@grannyring : I hear you. I am perhaps biased myself as I already have two NAS devices, with redundant storages, which honestly don’t currently use for streaming audio, just for back up. I use them for file storage in my house, including family photos, video files, documents and so on. So general use, not exclusively audio.

Love to see links for a 1-2Tb NAS in the $200 range. Is this possible for a good one?

Maybe those simple WD My Book or My Cloud NASs? They carry them at Best Buy (I think), or they used to.

Actually I looked them up: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-my-cloud-home-4tb-personal-cloud-white/5990204.p?skuId=5990204

But granted, I don’t know if they work with Innuos. So do your own due diligence.

I did contact Innuos and shared my disappointment in a constructive manner. 

Good! You are right, such added functionality should have been easy to incorporate 

@thyname

Tbe Samsung SSD drive cost me $69 and if direct connectivity was allowed that would be my cost. Nice.

A NAS will cost me at least $300-$400 and many cost upwards of $600-$700. In addition, I will need to buy an LPS to power it if I want the best performance. So much added cost and complexity compared to a simple direct USB thumb drive or SSD. Am I missing something here? Learning fast now 😬.

Love to see links for a 1-2Tb NAS in the $200 range. Is this possible for a good one?

I did contact Innuos and shared my disappointment in a constructive manner. 

@asvjerry

I don’t see me ripping anymore CDs or buying music files in the future. Since I have 1100 CDs ripped only using some 60% of 1TB, it seems reasonable to buy a 1TB. I will look at 2Tb since it is only a little more money 🙂.

@thyname

My Raid is simply two HDD drives storing my music. The second redundant drive is a backup in case the first one fails. No ethernet connection so won’t work with the Pulsar. I purchased this for backup only, not intended for daily use.

I have a lifetime Roon membership, but only use Sense because it sounds so much better. Therefore, I have no need to use my Pulsar as a Roon endpoint only. Really am disappointed I have to buy a NAS with the added complexity of processing built inside these NAS units. Probably also need to power the NAS with an LPS to get the best sound and avoid introducing unwanted noise. 
 

I really feel Innuos needs to offer direct connectivity of a nice SSD. I have owned the Zen, Zenith and now the Pulsar so I am a big Innuos fan.  The Pulsar sounds better than the Zenith and by a good margin when streaming. I would still buy the Pulsar knowing this issue, but it is unfortunate.  
 

What a stupid decision by the manufacturer to have usb ports that can’t be used used to play stored files.  That is such a basic feature of most streamers.  I won’t recommend Innous going forward until they change that 

Why only 1TB?

If you're going to go through the routine of setting it in place, I'd opt for 2; better 5.

As per Devo, "Duty Now, For the Future"...

And TB drives and SSD prices continue to drop....

Beware of buying an SSD that is running USB 3.0. it may be incompatible with your system if it's running USB 2.0. 

I initially bought a Samsung 2TB SSD. It was not compatible with with my Marantz or Cambridge units. A NAS is overkill in my opinion just adds cost and setup complexity. I ended up getting an external 5TB HDD that uses USB 2.0 and connect that directly to my Cambridge CXN V2. Search and playback are very quick. No delay. Back up is done via my laptop using the Samsung SSD as the backup.

“no direct storage allowed”

@thyname

My criticism may seems bit harsh but It was quite surprising to see a player costing $7K, doesn’t offer such a simple functionality. At the end of the day, it’s not a deal breaker for anyone who loves the sound of Innuos.

@lalitk : it depends on how one looks at the situation. For obvious reasons, Innuos would love the Pulse to be part of its echo system that would also include an Innuos server like ZEN series. The Endpoint mode. On the other hand, in standalone mode, nowadays most people just use Tidal or Qobuz. And for those with a library of ripped CDs, a NAS is a common feature to have in the house, or if not, fairly easy to add, not expensive, with added benefit for other usage in the house, not just music storage 

@grannyring 

That’s a shame that Pulsar won’t support playback from a portable SSD drive via one of the USB ports. A glaring oversight that they better address soon. 

@grannyring : how are you streaming from the PULSar? Assuming via Sense? (not Roon or similar). From the website https://innuos.com/pulse-series/

——-

– In Standalone mode, you are able to use the Innuos Sense app to play streaming services, Internet Radio and music stored on a NAS to a multitude of audio systems. In this mode, the network player becomes the centre of your audio system, enabling also to use the Sense app with other streamers on your network. 
——-

The other option (Endpoint mode) would require a ZEN series server, which appears you no longer have. So I am afraid a NAS will be needed. But then in your OP you say:

My music, only 1100 CDs, is already stored on a Raid and I will only use this Raid for backup. 

What do you mean by “Raid”? It can mean different things. Maybe you already have a NAS? A NAS is simply a storage device connected to the network that can be accessed remotely in that same network from other devices

@grannyring NAS (Network Attached Storage) is connected to your network via Ethernet. There is no direct connection to the Innuos. as long as the two are on the same home network the Innuos will see the NAS. You’ll need to make sure the folder with all your music is “shared” to the rest of network from your NAS.

Another good simple NAS is Synology. I use a DS920 (4 bay), but the basic 2 bay models are great for simple things like streaming/storing music/video.

https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/ts-453bt3

@phishhhhh4 

Can you provide me with a link to NAS you purchased? Seems I have to return my Samsung SSD and USB cable.  
 

Seems I have to use a NAS? If so, it must connect in some manner. Perhaps an Ethernet jack? Innuos should have built this thing to allow for simple direct SSD or thumb drive.  Big miss in my opinion.  

Ok now I am even more confused. How does a NAS hook up? No direct storage, meaning no external SSD drive? I just ordered an SSD as linked above.  Oh my, Innuos really!

Are you 100% certain you can use the USB ports for playing/storing files?

Innuos only states it works with a NAS, no direct storage option.

I’ve ready it anecdotally over the net, but never got a certain answer.

Even innuos site only ever states it’s a ’network music player’, and
’In Standalone mode, you can use the Innuos Sense app to play streaming services, Internet Radio and music stored on a NAS, to a multitude of audio systems.’

Got the answer.. directly from Innuos. no direct storage allowed:
“we do restrict those ports from being used as a direct playback method from a USB attached storage. We added the additional USB ports for potential future use as well as the normal DAC connection.”

  I second the thumb drive.  Have the whole collection in 1 very portable device .  I doubt that you will notice a difference in SQ between this and a dedicated SSD

In my experience 1TB just isn't enough.  A 2TB thumb drive using the USB 2.0 port will work just fine.  It doesn't require an additional power supply and use the money you save to purchase more music.

I use a 2 bay Synology NAS disc station (you want to run a pair of drives in RAID configuration) and a couple of WD  NAS drives.

Get a NAS

I use my Pulsar with a QNAP NAS and the Sense App is amazing. Also love my NAS to stream music videos to my TV using Plex

I have a Samsung T7, T5, and T3. The T7 is the latest and greatest and comes with both USB-C to C and USB-C to A short cables. 

i learned the hard way not to cheap out on a hard drive when i lost almost 2tb of hi-quality files stored on a generic ssd. my tech guy said to use only samsung and that even the better known wd and sandisk drives are prone to failure.

@grannyring 

Both USB drive and SSD are SSD.  The USB drive is usually much slower and uses the 5V of the USB for power.  Audio transport doesn’t require the speed of a traditional SSD and most work great for 4K video streaming, which requires a much higher bandwidth.

 @vonhelmholtz  that is an interesting option.  I assume, not sure, the sound quality is not as good? 

Since audio is a low bandwidth data transfer and USB thumb drives do not use noisy motors, why not use an inexpensive USB thumb drive?

@acdvd 

Not in my experience.

Thank you @drrsutliff and everyone else here. Looks like I am all set to purchase the Samsung SSD linked above. Easy and cost cost effective. Perfect!

I will either build my own usb cable and add the adaptor to C or buy the AQ.  

My music, only 1100 CDs, is already stored on a Raid and I will only use this Raid for backup. 

This indicates you already have a connection from your current storage to the server and you are interested in something to use as a backup of that primary working storage.  Is this a correct interpretation?  If so then you only need any decent stand alone drive to make a manual backup to and be put away in a safe place.  

@acdvd what actually is a audiophile server? Using an SSD is the same….