Innuos ZENith "STATEMENT"

[austinpop]

3 minutes ago, octaviars said:

Chassi looks to be all silver, will it also be available in all black?

 

 

I was able to order my SE in black, so I assume the Statement will have the same option?

[moby1977]

hello 

Does anyone have any update ?

 

Thanks 

Alex 

[str-1]

Innuos still hoping to start shipping in September.  Dealers still waiting for prices to be confirmed.

[str-1]

I’m hoping to hear an a/b comparison of the Zenith Statement and Zenith SE at next week’s Festival of Sound show in London.

[str-1]

I had a listen to the Statement yesterday at the Festival of Sound show in London (am likely to be going again tomorrow, primarily to hear Antonio Forcione in a live set).  

 

While there I was able to hear the Statement compared to the SE through a Chord Electronics (M Scaler, Hugo TT 2 and amp)/Chord Company cables/speaker setup, with both servers using the same interconnect and mains cables.  It being not long after opening when I turned up at the Innuos room, I was also able to have a good chat with Nuno with the room before people started turning up

 

I forgot to bring my headphones and so the listen was not ideal for me, being an exclusively headphone guy these days.  That said, it was interesting to hear the comparison, and a difference between the two was not hard to hear.  In short, the Statement sounded cleaner and had noticeably more depth.  

 

What wasn’t clear to me was whether my SE with its SR4-powered tX-USBultra (and anticipating an upgrade of this with Evox caps, master clock input and adding a Mutec REF 10)I would close the gap.  Discussing with Nuno, he felt that would be an interesting comparison that might show things to be much closer (albeit with several more boxes and cables).  We also speculated briefly on whether that post-server setup could raise tbe Statement even higher.  Nuno was open to the possibility. 

 

I will be going back tomorrow with my Utopia/Prion4 headphones to see what more I can pick up, hopefully with music I am more familiar with.

 

I did manage to pick up a few updates on the Statement that will be of interest to some.

 

Release is now looking to be towards the end of October.  There are just a few minor things to take care of, including screen-printing on the nice-looking thick aluminium casing.

 

The external USB upgrade module that a few existing SE owners might be interested in is still a way off - won’t be this year.  Nuno has still to finalise his thinking on the design.

 

You will be able to order your Statement in black.

 

The interconnects between the two boxes are now much smaller than the Burndy cable you still see in the website photos.  There are two of them, one at each end of the rear panel.

 

Innuos still intend to develop their own control app.

 

For SE owners, there is another firmware update coming very shortly that will add functionality.

 

I will post anything more I learn tomorrow.

 

 

[rickca]

Ughh ... I figured the external USB device for the SE was going to slip.  Priority is obviously on the Statement and Mk III.  Ultimately, the question will be how it compares to a tX-USBultra  with/without a REF10.  If he is still at the design stage, it could be quite some time until it's available.

 

Can you tell us any specifics about the SE firmware update functionality @str-1?

[str-1]

7 minutes ago, rickca said:

Can you tell us any specifics about the SE firmware update functionality @str-1?

He mentioned two or three things.  But I was still thinking about other things I was more interested in and the only thing I can remember clearly was that you will now be able to rip individual tracks from CDs.

[rickca]

2 minutes ago, str-1 said:

He mentioned two or three things.  But I was still thinking about other things I was more interested in and the only thing I can remember clearly was that you will now be able to rip individual tracks from CDs.

Understandable, thanks.  Sounds like there was nothing exciting.

[moby1977]

Thanks for this update !

If allowed and not much to ask for,would it be possible to have some pictures of the unit particularly the back panel ?

And several questions sorry for that :

- I understand the units were plugged through USB ? Any chance to listen through the Ethernet output or USB is the best output according to Innuos ?

- Did you listen using Roon or upnp ?

- Any comparison between SE and MK3 model ? 

 

Thanks 

Alex

[BigAlMc]

1 hour ago, str-1 said:

He mentioned two or three things.  But I was still thinking about other things I was more interested in and the only thing I can remember clearly was that you will now be able to rip individual tracks from CDs.

 

Hi @str-1,

 

Thanks for the update.

 

Don't suppose Nuno  mentioned whether the firmware update included the enhancement to narrow the substantial SQ difference between Roon and the LMS player by allowing Roon to play from cache memory too, was included?

 

Cheers,

Alan

[vpnogueira]

Str-1,

 

Thanks for the update!  I have a Zenith SE feeding my Totaldac Server using the Ethernet output of the SE, so I am most interested in a comparison of the ethernet output of the SE vs. ethernet output of the Statement.

Thanks in advance, 

 

VPN

[str-1]

54 minutes ago, BigAlMc said:

Don't suppose Nuno  mentioned whether the firmware update included the enhancement to narrow the substantial SQ difference between Roon and the LMS player by allowing Roon to play from cache memory too, was included?

I can’t be sure but can ask tomorrow.

 

50 minutes ago, vpnogueira said:

Thanks for the update!  I have a Zenith SE feeding my Totaldac Server using the Ethernet output of the SE, so I am most interested in a comparison of the ethernet output of the SE vs. ethernet output of the Statement.

I don’t think they were setup to demo ethernet output.

[str-1]

On 9/29/2018 at 5:20 PM, BigAlMc said:

Don't suppose Nuno  mentioned whether the firmware update included the enhancement to narrow the substantial SQ difference between Roon and the LMS player by allowing Roon to play from cache memory too, was included?

I asked, but no.  They haven’t got that quite right yet.  I also learned that importing facilities are being enhanced, including import history.  Firmware is in final beta testing.

[str-1]

On 9/29/2018 at 5:13 PM, moby1977 said:

Thanks for this update !

If allowed and not much to ask for,would it be possible to have some pictures of the unit particularly the back panel ?

And several questions sorry for that :

- I understand the units were plugged through USB ? Any chance to listen through the Ethernet output or USB is the best output according to Innuos ?

- Did you listen using Roon or upnp ?

- Any comparison between SE and MK3 model ? 

 

Thanks 

Alex

Went back today and again visited the Innuos room.  

 

I only heard comparisons between the Statement and the SE, but they did have a Gen 3 Zenith in the rack.

 

They were only using Tidal and music stored on the Statement, and only USB output.  USB and power cables used were Chord Sarum T.

 

Bumped into the dealer who sold me and delivered my Zenith SE.  He said he would be happy to loan me the Statement for a few days when he gets it, which probably won’t be for at least a couple of months.  Something to look forward to.

[BigAlMc]

1 hour ago, str-1 said:

I asked, but no.  They haven’t got that quite right yet.  I also learned that importing facilities are being enhanced, including import history.  Firmware is in final beta testing.

 

Not the news I hoped for but hey ho.

 

Thanks for taking the time to ask tho.

 

Cheers,

Alan

[str-1]

Audio Bacon write-up on visit to Innuos room at RMAF, including video of demo and interview with Nuno.

 

https://audiobacon.net/2018/10/10/rmaf-2018-innuos-zenith-statement-vs-zen-mk-3-music-servers/

[str-1]

I see prices now confirmed on the Innuos website.

[str-1]

Scheduled to be included in next month’s Hi-Fi+ (out 31 Jan) 

[rickca]

6 minutes ago, str-1 said:

Scheduled to be included in next month’s Hi-Fi+ (out 31 Jan) 

I'm not sure I want to read that in case it makes me want one.

[str-1]

New review in The Ear - http://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/innuos-statement-network-audio-server  This includes a link to separate piece by Sean Jacobs on his design of the power supply.

[octaviars]

Some pictures from the inside.

 

http://www.the-ear.net/how-to/power-supply-design-innuos-statement

 

 

[Johnny Moondog]

On 1/2/2019 at 9:51 AM, str-1 said:

Scheduled to be included in next month’s Hi-Fi+ (out 31 Jan) 

 

Mmm. Perhaps they rescheduled for a future issue. Don't see it listed for Issue #167 - January 2019.

[str-1]

9 hours ago, Johnny Moondog said:

 

Mmm. Perhaps they rescheduled for a future issue. Don't see it listed for Issue #167 - January 2019.

Just received my digital copy (Edition 168) and it’s in that.  

 

Very positive review by Jason Kennedy, who compares with the Zenith SE, which reviewed a year ago.  Statement was found to improve on the SE with more three-dimensional space, lower noise and more resolution .  Jason preferred ethernet out (into an Auralic Aries G2)  with which he heard greater depth of analysis and low level resolution.  He concludes by describing the Statement as one of if not the best digital source you can buy.

[str-1]

11 hours ago, Johnny Moondog said:

 

Mmm. Perhaps they rescheduled for a future issue. Don't see it listed for Issue #167 - January 2019.

Just looking again at last month’s edition I see that while edition 168 was due out in the UK on 31 Jan, it is not due out in the States until 28 Feb.  I wonder why that is.

[justubes]

The ststement uses an OCXO for usb output.

 

If not wrong usb connection uses the clocking from the dac, asynchronous usb connection.

 

Any one knows how this will be of benefit.

 

Wonder also if both ethernet ports are clocked as opposed to just 1. 

 

A purist approach would be 2 clocks for each of the 2 ethernet and lan ports, clock sharing here?

 

Wonder if anyone has more detailed info.