Innuos Zenith SE MkII

[thyname]

@FrankMA The following specs Blue Fuse worked well in my ZENith MK3

 

Small (5x20mm)

Slow Blow

3.15A

[FrankMA]

1 hour ago, thyname said:

@FrankMA The following specs Blue Fuse worked well in my ZENith MK3

 

Small (5x20mm)

Slow Blow

3.15A

Thanks @thyname. Will get one on order

[FrankMA]

What are people doing regarding isolation on the SE. I know part of the SE's improvements over the MKII were the 3 strategically placed/improved feet. Are people rolling with this or using other feet? If other isolation are you placing in these 3 locations or anywhere? 

 

I am noticing a slightly brighter sonic signature on the SE vs my MKII/IsoAcoustics Orea's. Will do some experimenting but was curious what others are doing here.

[Nenon]

7 hours ago, FrankMA said:

What are people doing regarding isolation on the SE. I know part of the SE's improvements over the MKII were the 3 strategically placed/improved feet. Are people rolling with this or using other feet? If other isolation are you placing in these 3 locations or anywhere? 

  

I am noticing a slightly brighter sonic signature on the SE vs my MKII/IsoAcoustics Orea's. Will do some experimenting but was curious what others are doing here.

 

IMO, Critical Mass Systems Center Stage footers and an AudioQuest Hurricane (FireBird is even better) power cord would bring your SE to another level of performance. But that's the point of diminishing returns for most people. 

 

[rickca]

15 minutes ago, Nenon said:

 

IMO, Critical Mass Systems Center Stage footers and an AudioQuest Hurricane (FireBird is even better) power cord would bring your SE to another level of performance. But that's the point of diminishing returns for most people. 

 

OK sure, but that's a $1550 (Hurricane) or $2700 (FireBird) power cord!  Rajiv reported that the SE responds well to a good aftermarket power cord.  I don't think you need to spend quite so much to realize a worthwhile benefit.

[Nenon]

1 minute ago, rickca said:

OK sure, but that's a $1550 (Hurricane) or $2700 (FireBird) power cord!  Rajiv reported that the SE responds well to a good aftermarket power cord.  I don't think you need to spend quite so much.  

 

I don't disagree at all... Hence my comment about diminishing returns... Everyone has to find that point for himself/herself. I believe the SE scales pretty well with power cords - but again one has to find the point of diminishing returns. I made a big mistake by trying a Hurricane on my server. It was a big mistake, because I could not go back to my previous power cord. I hate when that happens (my wallet does at least, my ears are in heaven). So I stopped trying random things that are beyond my budget. 

[simorag]

+1

 

I am happily using a Hurricane Source with the SE.

 

I tried several cables from 200Eur to 2000Eur, and I settled on the Hurricane because of its combination of extreme blackness, dynamics (both micro and macro), satisfying bass and treble liquidity.

 

Great cable indeed, at least in my setup. 

 

That said I agree with the diminishing returns considerations above.

 

[FrankMA]

1 hour ago, simorag said:

+1

 

I am happily using a Hurricane Source with the SE.

 

That said I agree with the diminishing returns considerations above.

 

No doubt @simorag . That is a a great cable. And incredibly stiff sometimes requiring another 1' to twist into a spot. I have the Tornado on my Niagara 5000 and couldn't quite stretch for the Hurricane.  But that series is great.

I have tried a Nordost Blue,  Shunyata Python and Audience on the SE and settled on the Triode Wire Labs HP American which is a nice cable in that $700 range. But of course it can be improved

 

Really more focused on those SE footers (how they are constructed/placed) and if anyone is bypassing (with other footers): adding additional footers beneath them, under different points of the chassis or just sticking with the Innuos design.

 

Will take a look at the Critical Mass @Nenon

[Nenon]

The Critical Mass footers are expensive too. The small model (suitable for the SE) is $1,000 for a set of three. Some dealers were doing buy 3, get 4 promotion, but still it's much more expensive than the isoacoustics OREA. The OREA is hard to beat in terms of bang for the buck. But the Center Stage are a lot better. I think you get what you pay for in this case. 

[FrankMA]

Having a bit of trouble getting this fuse cover off the SE. Came right off on my MKII.

 

Before I break it is there a trick?  Push the side tab in and pull straight out? Not working even with pliers but before I go farther I want to be sure I don't break it

 

Thanks guys 

[nvitorino]

2 hours ago, FrankMA said:

Having a bit of trouble getting this fuse cover off the SE. Came right off on my MKII.

 

Before I break it is there a trick?  Push the side tab in and pull straight out? Not working even with pliers but before I go farther I want to be sure I don't break it

 

Thanks guys 

 

Try clicking the drawer back inside until both sides are well inserted, Then press on one of the sides and then the other. If it still sticks, push inside again and try the other side first or both sides at the same time.

 

Nuno

[FrankMA]

3 minutes ago, nvitorino said:

 

Try clicking the drawer back inside until both sides are well inserted, Then press on one of the sides and then the other. If it still sticks, push inside again and try the other side first or both sides at the same time.

 

Nuno

Will do when I get home. Thanks Nuno

[FrankMA]

21 hours ago, nvitorino said:

 

Try clicking the drawer back inside until both sides are well inserted, Then press on one of the sides and then the other. If it still sticks, push inside again and try the other side first or both sides at the same time.

 

Nuno

Perfect. Thanks again Nuno

[FrankMA]

On 6/22/2019 at 5:48 PM, FrankMA said:

Really more focused on those SE footers (how they are constructed/placed) and if anyone is bypassing (with other footers): adding additional footers beneath them, under different points of the chassis or just sticking with the Innuos design.

 

I did a little testing last week. I had 3 IsoAcoustics Orea Blue's under my MKII Std. When I got the SE I had been listening with the supplied footers since the feedback was Innuos had designed/placed these carefully and they were part of the SE magic.  I found the SE a bit bright over my MKII. 

 

Tried the IA's under the SE footers. The sound was a bit too clinical/detached for me but less bright. When I went back to the (3) IA's only (1 front center/2 spaced in the rear) I felt the presentation sounded much more musical and the pacing was better.

 

YMMV

 

@nvitorino - Hi Nuno. Are you guys getting any closer to any software updates for the SE (looking specifically for improvements to the experimental SL player with Roon)

 

Thank you

[baconbrain]

I am curious if anyone has tried to boot an SE from an Audiolinux USB and run the box as an HQ Player NAA?

[baconbrain]

On 7/23/2019 at 8:49 PM, baconbrain said:

I am curious if anyone has tried to boot an SE from an Audiolinux USB and run the box as an HQ Player NAA?

 

Search is my friend. In case anyone might be interested:

 

 

[str-1]

Firmware version 1.4.3 now available to download.

 

http://www.innuos.com/en/go/release-1-4-3

 

Essentially a bug fix release but new features includes - “Improved internal player engine resulting in better sound quality”

[austinpop]

Perhaps @nvitorino can tell us more detail on “Improved internal player engine resulting in better sound quality.”

[FrankMA]

Am I the only lucky one or is anyone else having issues playing via USB since the update?  I'm getting nothing: Roon Core, Roon Experimental or iPeng.

 

I only made 2 changes since extensively listening last weekend: 1) updated to 1.4.3 and 2) changed the Lush II config.  Tried a 2nd USB cable in place of the Lush II. Same thing. Re-booted everything multiple times as well in case there was some sort of connectivity issue.

 

The only other odd thing is if you look at the zone it appears to be playing but the song does not increment in the main screen and there is no output.

 

Works fine via Ethernet

 

Any way to roll back to 1.4.2?

[FrankMA]

The other odd thing is when I go back to Roon Core (From Experimental) I have lost the ability to re-enable USB

[FrankMA]

Looks like user error. Sorry for any alarm/confusion. In my reconfiguration of my Lush cables I inadvertently plugged into a tx output with the power off.  

[yellowblue]

Is it correct that the experimental feature is still part of 1.43? I want to know that before I will update. Are there benefits regarding the experimental feature (less skipping, better SQ) compared to 1.42?

[FrankMA]

It is still there. Not sure on if there is a SQ improvement yet (had multiple changes in my system).  I still had skipping

[Abyss Man]

On 8/1/2019 at 1:51 AM, FrankMA said:

Looks like user error. Sorry for any alarm/confusion. In my reconfiguration of my Lush cables I inadvertently plugged into a tx output with the power off.  

Hi Frank,

Same thing happened to me, I thought the same, and did the same mistake and tried numerous ways to get it fixed as u did. 

But after it was "fixed", I was trying out other configurations and same thing happened again, my sotm was not recognizing my DAC. I had to reflash the microsd card on the sotm SMS-200 and everything is fine now. Phew.

 

So guys, if you indeed find urself in my predicatment, re-flash the sdcard on sms-200. I think its something to do with the Zenith FW upgrade. I am no computer expert. My friend helped me to reflash the card. Muchos Gracias to him.  

[FrankMA]

Glad you issue is resolved @Abyss Man

 

I am seeing some odd behavior with the update.  With the experimental feature/Roon I am seeing the songs not increment. For example it is playing a song that is different (next in queue) from what Roon is showing as now playing