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.
Streamer for LTA Aero
I've been shopping for a highly capable, yet sensible streamer to pair with a LTA Aero DAC... on order. I'm trying to read everything, but being just about as far away from tech savvy as one can be, I have to give great weight to the guidance of others. The streamers that are most of interest to me are the Aurenders N200 and N150, and the Innuos ZEN and ZENith. My interest in the Innuos line is due mostly to their ripping feature - that might be unfair - I have a couple thousand CDs. That being said, I'm not deaf to those who advise that If I get the streamer/DAC thing right, I'll never reach for a CD again. My interest in the Aurender line is not only that they are high end, but that they are a friendly choice for those with limited computer savvy (I ain't kidding either, my new cellphone is kicking my behind). After talking with the Aurender rep at Axpona, I was all in on the N200. Now that I've chosen the Aero DAC, I'm considering that I'll be paying for capabilities, not relevant to the Aero, and that the N150 might provide essentially the same SQ at half the price. I'm very happy with my amplifier/speaker combination and believe that it's a highly capable pairing. They're pretty obscure in this country, but FWIW, I have a New Audio Frontiers Supreme 300B SE integrated feeding SoundKaos 40 speakers. I'm open to criticism as well.
Showing 6 responses by sls883
@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. |
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. |
@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. |
@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. |