Innuos: A Cautionary Tale.



This post is a cautionary one in buying a Zen Mini used. I bought a four-week-old unit from a reputable seller. Unfortunately, the unit failed the first week and thus began a long and unfortunate set of events. If and this is critical one is to buy a used or second-hand unit the only way is from a dealer. Innuos customer service was next to useless and was simply dismissive. The lead designer could not connect with the unit, remotely, as the Ethernet port was the source of the problem, to reach him took multiple emails and a phone call, International,  over several days. After the unit was determined to have failed, several more emails were required to find out the next step. I was instructed, “go to the dealer you bought it from.” Hence the crux of the problem, I had no dealer to go to. I asked more than once to inform me where the unit was bought from, no response.

The seller would also not provide where he bought it from, so much for reputation. I was in an endless, time-consuming, and expensive circle. I reached out again to the lead designer, again after a clear and detailed email, explaining my dilemma, the response was clear: “send it to the dealer.” Fortunately, I was able to go through PayPal dispute the charge and receive a refund minus shipping costs.  

The unit when it worked was musical and engaging. My decision to go with another manufacturer was not a difficult one. So if one is to buy an Innuos please only go with a dealer.   Mike at Tweek Geek is a man of integrity and willingness to help.


lndryguru
@anzaanimalclinic,

"The new 2.0 software is free and sonically leagues better than Roon. Its just crazy how much better it sounds. It makes Roon sound like chalk on a chalkboard. I get the heebie jeebies thinking I used to use Roon."

Thanks for the heads up.
I have been considering Roon for a while but no go now. 
Cheers!

+2 on the InnuosOS sound quality over Roon. I have never had any issues with Innuos. I had sent a couple odd questions to support about the software and their support was very quick and thorough on responding. 
Utterly bewildered as to why Innuos take a bashing here at all. If you buy from someone who is not an authorised dealer then caveat emptor. I don’t see why Innuos would be obliged to tell you anything legally or even morally nor, more importantly, what specific difference that would make. FWIW their customer service is both personal and outstanding. 
+3 for 2.05 on both sound quality and user interface. Incredibly, it’s free. As soon as other manufacturers realise the opportunity Roon will be a thing of the past.
Zen Mk3 owner here.  Great product, great service.  I feel like they  are on to something in their OS as music does sound noticeably better through the Zen then through my previous digital front end which was an "audio optimized" Windows 10 laptop.  I mean, much better through the Zen.