Streamer for LTA Aero

I'm very happy with my Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer. I have ripped some cds to it.  Mostly stuff that isn't available on Qobuz. 

The Sense app that Innuos provides is a selling feature, imo. 

Thank you. Have you ripped and then compared any CDs with Qobuz for sound quality?

I have the N200 feeding Bricasti M3. I used it with PS Audio DSD MkI and Chord Hugo TT2 and Marantz SA-10 as well. The N200 is optimized for USB. and you can’t go wrong with it. I never compared N200 to N150 but if you think you will get essentially the same sound from N150 at half the price I can’t tell you if that’s what you’re gonna get (I doubt it though). If your goal is to never reach for a CD again, the N200 accomplishes that. 

@phaelon it's been a while, but I have Jennifer Warnes - The Hunter ripped and it's available on Qobuz. I think both were equally excellent.  I haven't ripped much that is available to stream. 

Thank you, sls883 and audphile1. With my current system, the only thing I’m missing, that I’m aware of, is that level of detail and resolution that’s needed to suspend disbelief and allow total emersion into the music. I just want to avoid the pitfalls. Over the years, I’ve witnessed so many friends, who sought maximum detail, wind up with systems that sounded more real but somehow felt less real, if that makes any sense. I probably should have mentioned that I’m currently using a ModWright Sony CDP. In sure that during its seventeen years of faithful service, digital technology has advanced enough so that it wouldn’t be difficult to take a significant, incremental step forward. Into my seventh decade, I’d like this to be more of a final step.

I'm using the Innuos with a Gustard R26 r2r dac which is paired with a LHY ock-2 clock. I suspect your Aero is it's equal, or more likely better.  I had mostly been using my Denon DCD-1700NE sacd player and preferred it to streaming with a Node or with the Gustard renderer.  After purchasing the Innuos, my preference changed to streaming.  Innuos makes more expensive streamers, but I don't feel the need to spend more to potentially get something better.  I was fortunate to find a like new Innuos that still had a year of warranty remaining.

I did some cable swapping to get things where I really like them.  I'm pretty happy with where I've ended up.

I'm in my 6th decade, so I'm also thinking of things in terms of a final step.

I owned the Aurender N10 for awhile and the sound was excellent, however the user software was not my cup of tea. I also had opportunity to work with their support team, who were responsive, but not able solve my system issues. 
 

I switched to Innuos  Zenith Mk III, and I have been very pleased with the solution, too to bottom. Their software is good, and solid, and comes across as more cutting edge in terms of design and progress. 
 

Whatever you choose, invest in a quality USB cable, it makes a difference. 

Thank you, zlone. My main caution with Innuos is the quantity of posts with owners describing the number of ancillaries they added to attain optimal SQ. One poster added five elements, three of which I never heard of. If I was more technically capable, I might find that challenging and even fun. As I’m not, it’s a concern. It’s not that it won’t sound wonderful as stock, it’s that I’ll always be wondering.

I have the LTA aero. I’m very please with my Eversolo DMP-A6 ME. You can also rip your cd to an internal ssd. I advise you test it out

Looks interesting, jrgvliw. I've already committed to a DAC, so a streamer/DAC combination won't serve my needs.

The only server I’ve ever used & thus heard in my system is the Innuos Zenith Mark III & I’m very happy with it. It’s well made, sounds great & it’s proprietary app for your phone or tablet is very easy to use. Their customer support was very responsive & helpful when I had questions early on. I got the 2 TB version so I could rip somewhere between. 1000 - 2000 CD’s which I’m slowly doing. It’s me who is slow, it only takes a few minutes to rip one.  It’s an excellent product which I highly recommend. 

@phaelon I suspect that some of the boxes that you see people adding are more of an attempt to boost the performance of their dac rather than a shortcoming of the Innuos.  I have a Gustard U18 ddc, but I bought it so I could use the i2s input on my dac, not because I felt the Innuos needed it.  You'd be going USB out to USB in on your dac.  I don't see you needing any additional boxes. 

Thank you, jonwolfpell. I'm particularly happy to hear about your experiences with customer service. I'm pretty sure I'll need a little extra guidance. 

I have the worst case of whataboutism when considering Purchase of a new piece of gear. Spend many a sleepless night, hoping what I Won’t be disappointed. Being a complete Luddite, computer stuff completely freaks me out. One can imagine my apprehension Awaiting the arrival of my INNUOS. All I can say is that this was one of the most simplest set ups to date. The way they got these things working these days. It’s practically a plug and play. I was going to say hopefully you have a similar experience, but now it’s just you are going to enjoy your experience.

Lol, gkelly. I'll be calling you first.

"a highly capable, yet sensible streamer" and "My interest ...is due mostly to their ripping feature ...I have a couple thousand CDs."

It sounds as if you are interested in a server/streamer with an easy CD ripping feature and also on-board storage of digital music files. 

IMO, considering the number of CDs you own, you are smart to look at the convenience of the ripping feature and you should also look at the convenience of managing your digital music files once you have them ripped files, i.e., will you be able to log in on any of your networked devices and manage your files?

You should also look at what you will be using to play files, i.e., are you planning to add Roon and use that to manage your streamed and stored music or will you be using another streaming program/app, or perhaps a proprietary program unique to the streamer manufacturer?  

Also consider whether you want a single box that sits in the same room as your primary music system or whether you might be interested in a separate server and streamer.  If you connect your server to your local network, you then have the option of using multiple streamers for different music systems in separate rooms or even a garage/outdoor system. 

It appears price is not your primary consideration since you have named a couple of $6K+ streamer/servers (Innuos ZENith and Aurender N200).  If your budget can expand a little, you might also look at Grimm MU1, or even MU2.

Another one to look at would be a server from Small Green Computer in conjunction with a streamer from Sonore (or another streamer).  The nice thing about Sonore's streamer line is not only that they sound good but that you can start with their lower priced ultraRendu Plus for only $1K or opticalRendu for $1.6K.  If you later choose to upgrade to their Signature Rendu SE Deluxe Optical at $5.4K, you can move the lower priced streamer you started with to stream music in another room.  Both SGC and Sonore offer very good support, IME.

Take your time and read these threads to learn as much as you can before you make your decision.

Thanks mitch2. If I've given the impression that money isn't a consideration, that's my fault. I'm still working at 71 because of my passion for music. I just keep adding time to my sentence with each purchase. The Grimm was a serious consideration until I heard the Aero. I'm not sure that's a sensible combination. I haven't really considered Sonore. I'm confined to my living room

We would recommend a 432 EVO server

Our Aon is the highest performing server/streamer we have tested and to date we have tested vs the innous statement Aurender n10 and n20 and the Grimm a lot these streamers are double or triple the cost of our Aeon.

We compared an Aeon to a Innous statement next gen $27k and found the 1/3^rd less expensive 432Evo aeon to sound just as good,

We tested vs a 12k Aurender n20 and we sounded better.

One client tested vs the grimm which is more expensive and slightly preferred the Aeon.

All 432evo servers offer a modular, fully- upgradable design with a 2tb ssd and a built in cd burner.

Unlike most competitors all parts of the server are physically and electrically separated from one another:

our CPU is a specially tested, low noise, high speed Intel multi core processor residing on its own board,

the clock card and USB  card are also separated and the cpu is powered by its own external Sbooster power supply, while the sensitive clock and USB cards are powered by their own external power supply the hard drive is even shock mounted of a proprietary laser sintered, floating suspension system.

The proprietary Operating system has been designed for low latency and to maximize Roons sound quality by utilizing the cpu’s multiple cores to maximize Roon's  sound quality: one core runs the roon program while another core runs the machines back ground processes and on yet another core caches the music files.

The combination of advanced hardware coupled with our operating system and custom software ensures a level of musicality that has to be heard to be believed.

Dave and Troy

Audio Intellect NJ

432evo dealers

Reaching for a CD allows you to play music without a functioning internet on your network Streamers will not. Are you ready to live with that? The only non network player was available for less than a year.

Moving on, the feature set is far more critical than "matching" any DAC.

You have managed to attract sales pitches.

just a note of appreciation for the measured wisdom displayed by most posters and especially the OP….

Here is a follow-up take on this, you can get by with less computing power since your LTA Aero has no DSD or MQA support.  
We all started somewhere, which mostly is not the same place we end up.  If you want to get your feet wet with a solution that provides good sound right out of the gate, for a modest cost, you could do much worse than this sonicTransporter i5, ultraRendu with 7V LPS bundle for just over $2K.  Add a 2TB SSD for $350 or 4TB for $600, plus a CD ripper for $240 from SGC, or for less than $100 from somewhere like OWC or B&H, and you have a total solution that would accommodate your entire CD collection for less than $3K. Since you would have separates, you could incrementally upgrade over time, if you even believe it is necessary.  Call Andrew at SGC and he will answer any questions you have about getting started and the support he provides.

IMO, Roon is an easy way to integrate your own ripped files with streaming services (I use both Tidal and Qobuz), and offers unmatched metadata as well as Roon Radio, from which I learn about new music almost every time I listen, but there are less expensive solutions.

At the very entry level, you could start with Roon’s own Nucleus One for $500 and run a USB directly to your Aero.  You could add a streamer like one of the Rendu options at a later time if desired.

There is no one right solution.

@phaelon 

Another vote for the N200. I haven’t put memory in it because the CD’s that are ripped on my NAS, sound fantastic to me.
 

And BTW, you can use almost any computer to rip your CD’s.

I can't find the words to express my appreciation to everyone who is responding. This is enormously helpful. I feel like my thinking is much clearer now. Thank you.

Get the N150. Spending twice as much is a waste of $$$$.

Thank you, zlone. My main caution with Innuos is the quantity of posts with owners describing the number of ancillaries they added to attain optimal SQ.

What are you even talking about here? You can add an LPS to something like a Zen Mini or Pulse Mini and get great improvements, but anything from the Zen on up already has an LPS so not required. If you wanna add a DDC you can do that to any streamer and likely improve sound quality, but that’s not unique to Innuos. Buy a used DDC and see if it works better and if not just sell it, but I doubt you will, especially if you can get the benfits if an i2S connection. Just my $0.02 FWIW.

@soix +100 . 

e. My main caution with Innuos is the quantity of posts with owners describing the number of ancillaries they added to attain optimal SQ.

W.What are you even talking about here? You can add an LPS to something like a Zen Mini or Pulse Mini and get great improvements, but anything from the Zen on up already has an LPS so not required. If you wanna add a DDC you can do that to any streamer and likely improve sound quality, but that’s not unique to Innuos. Buy a used DDC and see if it works better and if not just sell it, but I doubt you will, especially if you can get the benefits if an i2S connection. Just my $0.02 FWI

@phaelon - Innuos Zenith III owner here. Very happy with it.
I thought I’d burn more CDs to the hard drive, but streaming with Qubuz is so good, my motivation to do so has dwindled. 

I’ve read that the Innuos Sense software sounds better than Roon, but I wouldn’t know. I’m curious about how some of the other steamers may present the music, but I see no reason to upgrade anytime soon.  

@bluethinker Same here.  I've ripped a number of cds that I can't stream, but I see no need to rip all of my cds.  Streaming is super easy and sounds great. 

I'm a big fan of the German band RPWL. I have around 11 of their cds and only 5 of these are on Qobuz.  I'm listening to a ripped copy now. 

@jasonbourne71 +1 

I am happy with my Aurender N150

I understand your concern about possibly missing out on sound quality if certain tweaks aren’t applied, but I guess I have not heard that is necessary with the higher models of Innuos, or Aurender for that matter. Implied in my post, and based on your desire to avoid a highly technical solution, Innuos provides the ease of CD ripping combined with a well designed and thoughtfully evolving user interface. I was a software engineer for decades, so very technical, but I greatly value a user interface with good flow and visual appeal. I have found that with Innuos, I don’t think you would be disappointed. 

Between the ZEN and the ZENith, what I'm taking away from the Innuos website as well as other reviews, is that the ZENith is a little more refined and mellow than the ZEN. If that's fair, and my current system lacks neither, I'm leaning towards the ZEN. Appealing to those who have listened to both, is that a fair assessment of the difference?

I love my Innuos Zen Mk3!  I remember when the Mk3 versions of both the Zen and the Zenith came out, and I was trying to decide between them. I watched a review by John Darko, in which he said that there was only a very slight difference in sound between the two (favoring the Zenith just a little) and that it still took him 2-3 days to be sure he even heard a difference. My dealer convinced me that the Zen was a better value because it had the best sound-to-cost ratio in the Innuos line. 

The other thing that Innuos has going for it is its music-player software, Sense 3.0. A lot of folks who have used both Roon and Sense think that Sense has better sound quality and stability in actual use. Roon has more features (and Roon Radio is very good), but Roon is designed to work with many different types of hardware and can't be tailored to squeeze the best performance out of a dedicated hardware line like Innuos does. 

Thank you, sdl4. I think that helps me eliminate the ZENith.

I want to thank everyone again. At last, I’m choosing the ZEN. It might, very well, be a fact that I’ll never touch a CD again, but at least with a CD drawer, I can pretend that all these racks full of CDs have a purpose.

You won't be disappointed with the Zen.  I'm very happy with mine.  

Hi there. I have a Grimm MU1 and love it.  I just received my new LTA Aero yesterday.  I would not recommend the combination for the following reason - One of the best features of the MU1 is its 4x over sampling, which makes my streaming audio sound as smooth as vinyl.  For songs that stream at 96kHz 24 bit, the upsampling at 4x sends too much data to the LTA and it won’t play.  The problem is solved by reducing the upsampling rate to 2x, but ever song that streams below the 96kHz doesn’t sound as good as it did with the 4x sampling and there isn’t an easy way to switch between 2x and 4x.

Hope this helps!

I own an LTA Aero DAC and am very happy with my Innuos Zenith Mk3. Nuf said 🙂

@phaelon I’m not using the internal dac of the eversolo. I’m using it as a streamer and have an LTA Aero as an external dac. Imho  and comparison w/ Aurender streamer, you don’t have to spend much with streamer. btw Don’t forget to ask for a free shirt on your order. I picked up mine at their shop.

@mezzguy2 wouldn't this be resolved by using the S/pdif output from the Grimm, which is limited to 24-bit 192kHz? I haven't confirmed but I would imagine that the MU1 upsampling algorithm would respect these unconditional limitations.  

The Grimm only upsamples through the AES output.  I ran the AES output through a Hosa CDL-313 AES/S/pdif converter specifically to take advantage of the upsampling.  Anything run through the S/pdif output could not be upsampled regardless of setting and would work fine.  

I recently bought a innuos Zenith MK-3  ,I have been into audio 4 decades and look under the hood on everything  for parts quality ,

3 LPS power supplies not just Two ,throughout the chassis the feet iso bearing feet for top isolation ,inside very high quality Teac cd ripper ,their program is excellent and intuitive Sense app.CD rips sound excellent right to the Intel SS drive , the whole interior has isolation treatments on both drives and chassis , the Mundorf Mlytic  capacitors are very $$ but  well worth it ,you get a more warm perspective ,which I feel very natural ..get rid  of the 50 cent fuse and put in a 20 mm Hifi tuning 3Amp ,slow blow supreme silver gold fuse $90 don’t break the bank and adds openness and detail , a good power cord highly recommended also for Digital by far my favorite Digital cables is Tubulus Digital Audio cables , Ethernet ,USB,As well as I2S the Only true I2S Solid core  Air-tube dielectric Great cables make a very big difference to your digital Realism fo . My Denafrips Gaia DDC  to Terminator15 Dac,  Everything counts .also from your router a LPS a Must ,digital is not grounded and wall wart just adds more noise, 

Innuos Zenith MK III

Hi Audioman. I'm happy with my Zen as well, although I can't help wondering if the ZENith wouldn't have been an even better option. I kind of wish I had auditioned them both.

Whatever you do , don't try the zenith ng because after that you don't want anything else...

I'm trying to forget the experience and just keep on enjoying my pulsar..

Swell!

I started with the Zen but fairly quickly moved to the Zenith MK3.  Much better sound to me and no external lps required.  Originally, I chose Innuous becase of its quality ripping ability and ripped my entire collection.  But, found, as others have said, that I rarely listen to my ripped CDs -- only when the internet is out or is not available on Qobuz.  Hi res Qobuz  through Roon to my Meitner MA3 sounds much fuller. more detailed and realistic than my ripped CDs.  Since I use RJ45 network cable for all digital connections (Supra from Router to Zenith and Veritas from Zenith to MA3) no other boxes, ddc, clock or ether regen is needed.  I had all of these tweaks and some and have found that I prefer the sound without them.  Doubtless that is because the digital components have these tweaks built into them with higher quality parts and design.  Also, I carefully routed the line from Router directly to the Zenith; the Router is fed by an optical line (Fios) and is powered by a custom LPS.  All digital components use quality Zavfino PCs into a dedicated electrical line. I learned here on AG that SQ in the digital realm is in the details related to keeping the ethernet signal and AC delivery as free from sonic interference as possible.

Thank you, Tump. While I am enjoying the ZEN, which is an overall improvement over my CDP, those attributes that you ascribed to the ZENith, are pretty much the same areas where I feel that there is improvement to be had.

+1 @tump350

I will also add that it’s critical to have the network components at least 1m way from cables and system components. Minimize EMI/RFI. 

@audphile1, agreed.  In my case the router is 20 meters from the Zenith.  The details of proper EMI/RFI minimization are legion, but seem to be application specific 

I’m using EERO mesh network and had a node pretty close to the cables. Bought an EMF meter and was checking components, cables etc

The EERO node is a beast! It projects like crazy. When I moved it away I immediately noticed better clarity. You don’t realize the smearing is there until it’s gone.