Innuos ZENith "STATEMENT"

[Anwar]

1 hour ago, Blackmorec said:

Hi Anwar,

An audiophile grade SATA cable? Can you post links to the manufacturer who is producing SATA cables optimised for sound quality.....I could be interested in other, network products they have that don’t involve potentially voiding my warranty. Thanks

Hi Blackmorec, not my intent to hijack this thread.  If you search this forum with "SATA cable" keyword, there are discussions about these 3 brands: Pachanko, Paul Pang Audio, and JCAT audiophile SATA cables.  They are all expensive.  Better not to open the chassis cover until Innuos warranty expires, I guess.
 

[seeteeyou]

On 1/22/2019 at 3:04 AM, octaviars said:

 

The SSD itself is pretty far away from the motherboard while both Pachanko and JCAT are only 40 cm by default, though we could test drive short SATA cables via USB instead

 

https://www.addonics.com/products/adsau3.php

https://www.addonics.com/products/adsau31r.php

 

Addonics resulted in significant boosts to SQ

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/219/?tab=comments#comment-760676

 

Someone compared Pachanko to JCAT back in March but both of them turned out to excel in their own ways

 

https://www.hiendy.com/hififorum/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=124319&page=23#pid2918502

 

And then these guys seemed to be happy campers after trying a different brand, many superlatives FWIW

 

http://www.audiopheeling.com/digital.html

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/2820-computer-related-digital-cables/page-2#entry49267

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/2645-jplay-classic-jplay-femto-released-general-discussion/page-21#entry45917

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/26411-pachanko-sata-cable/page/4/?tab=comments#comment-723350

 

BTW, I found that AudioQuest Diamond USB was connected to PhoenixUSB during one of the demos while that particular choice might be the weakest link IMHO

 

 

Even arguably the "best" server on the market from Taiko Audio could still be improved by such an affordable USB isolator with two excellent USB cables

 

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/intona-usb-2-0-3-0-isolators-2019versions.28439/

 

Nobody actually compared PLiXiR to Dr. Sean Jacobs' DC3 (let alone Statement-level PSU) yet, though that comparison might happen down the road?

 

Coincidentally Volent Audio turned out to be the reseller of Innuos / Intona / PLiXiR here in Hong Kong, let's hope that PhoenixUSB could be tested with Statement again with MUCH better cables in the near future

 

https://intona.eu/en/products/wheretobuy/

http://www.volent.com.hk/index.php/brands/innuos/

https://www.plixirpower.com/blogs/asia/volent-corporation-limited

[matthias]

On 10/9/2019 at 11:28 AM, Blackmorec said:

One omission I must mention, i’ve never tried the Statement without the AQVox and given that the Statement reclocks incoming ethernet, its not totally clear that the AQVox is actually needed, good as its sounds.  I really must try a direct connection 

 

Hi @Blackmorec,

 

it would be really nice if you can try it and share your impressions.

 

Thanks

 

Matt

[Blackmorec]

3 hours ago, matthias said:

 

Hi @Blackmorec,

 

it would be really nice if you can try it and share your impressions.

 

Thanks

 

Matt

Hi Matt, that's going to take a while I'm afraid as I'm breaking in a new DC cable from DC3 to AQVox and it all sounds slightly off at the moment.  Given that adding a better LPS to the AQVox made a large positive improvement its unlikely that a direct connection is going to sound better as that would infer that the AQVox is somehow dragging down the performance.....but you never know. That's exactly what happened when I added USB reclocking. 

[baconbrain]

On 10/13/2019 at 6:26 PM, Blackmorec said:

Hi Matt, that's going to take a while I'm afraid as I'm breaking in a new DC cable from DC3 to AQVox and it all sounds slightly off at the moment.  Given that adding a better LPS to the AQVox made a large positive improvement its unlikely that a direct connection is going to sound better as that would infer that the AQVox is somehow dragging down the performance.....but you never know. That's exactly what happened when I added USB reclocking. 

 

In regards to reclocking, you are referring to the tx-usbultra used with your SE, correct?

[matthias]

2 hours ago, baconbrain said:

 

In regards to reclocking, you are referring to the tx-usbultra used with your SE, correct?

 

"I implemented a Zenith SE which sounded pretty damned good, even with a cheap Chord C USB cable. Implementing a TX-USBUltra + sPS-500 was always a downgrade and even just plugging in the TX’s standard wall wart PS robbed the system of some of its magic."

[yellowblue]

I sold my tx-USB-Ultra with Uptone LPS 1.2 after I installed the experimental firmware on my Zenith SE. To my ears it didn´t sound better with the Ultra anymore, but neither worse. Therefore I am a bit sceptical if the Phoenix will be worth the imoney. Is it so much better than the tx-USB-Ultra? We have to wait and see. I would like anyone who gets the Phoenix with the SE even to test it with the experimental firmware.

[nvitorino]

Hi everyone,

 

For those of you in the UK, we will have a ZENith SE with PhoenixUSB for A/B at the HifiShow Live on the 26th/27th. There will be set times for demonstrations so if you have the chance, you're more than welcome to come and have a listen. Bring a stick with your music if you like and we can load it up.

 

Nuno

 

 

[nvitorino]

For those who had the ZENith SE and now have a Statement, they can easily simulate the effect of the Phoenix USB - just connect your DAC to the regular USB output on the Statement then connect it to the DAC USB output. The change you will hear is pretty much what you get with a PhoenixUSB. There's a bit less refinement with the added cable on a PhoenixUSB compared to the Statement DAC output (which has much shorter signal paths) but the kind of change is similar.

 

Although these things are always subjective, one thing I am very confident in saying: With a ZEnith SE, the change in sound in not subtle at all. Of course you will have to decide if you like the change or not...

[yellowblue]

1 hour ago, nvitorino said:

Although these things are always subjective, one thing I am very confident in saying: With a ZEnith SE, the change in sound in not subtle at all. Of course you will have to decide if you like the change or not...

I hope for the best. My point was that the tx-USB Ultra made a change in sound with the regular firmware istalled. This change in sound was not so obvious anymore when I changed to the experimental firmware. The experimental firmware sounds much better overall, but the reclocking with the tx-USBultra seems to have less inpact on the sound with it installed. 

[str-1]

Has anyone any experience of comparing the umbilicals made by Chord Company with the cables supplied with the Statement?

[Blackmorec]

1 hour ago, str-1 said:

Has anyone any experience of comparing the umbilicals made by Chord Company with the cables supplied with the Statement?

Hi str-1,

Initially I wanted 50cm cables so I could try splitting the Statement across 2 shelves of my Finite Element Pagode Master Reference, but when I heard the price of almost £1000 I decided that they had to justify their cost based entirely on sound quality improvements.  The cables takes upwards of 300 hours to fully break-in but once they do, they absolutely do justify their price by significantly extending all the Statement’s wonderful performance attributes to reach absolutely stellar levels.  

One of the things I love to do is start a listening session with Radio Swiss Classics. Its 128kbps internet radio that sounds wonderful via a Statement and they play exceptionally good music with just simple announcements and no adverts.  The sound represents what most audiophiles would consider to be an outstanding stereo performance with great tonal accuracy, loads of timbral detail, great PRaT and sense of propulsion, timing, sound stage ya di ya.  Thoroughly enjoyable. After 30 to 60 minutes of listening to these wonderful performances I switch to local or remote streaming, hit play, close my eyes and I’m instantly immersed in this huge 3 dimensional,  totally altered reality with musicians and voices suspended in space, sounding spookily real, like the listening room and all the air in it has suddenly vanished and been replaced by whatever beautiful acoustic space and textures are on the recording, populated by musicians each in their place and playing together with a vibrancy I’ve rarely heard,  creating musical performances that are simply stunning. Take Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells 2003 or Jan Garbarek’s Legend of the Seven Dreams and they’ll utterly blow your mind....with their illuminated treble, primal rhythms, huge sound stages and some of the most beautiful horn and guitar tones you’ll hear in recorded music. Try Cat Stevens or JJ Cale and you’ll be amazed how much more detailed and alive they sound. You’ll be amazed at the percussiveness of notes and their beauty as they decay into distant eerie silence.  So yes, these umbilicals do take the Statement to the next level...definitely worth getting

 

 

[onlychild]

Blackmorec, can you please post a pic of the cables.  I’m very close to getting a pair myself.  Thanks

[Blackmorec]

Hi onlychild, unfortunately I can’t at the moment.  They are very unremarkable looking, black, well made, good quality plugs, just slightly thicker than the OEMs but otherwise not much different looking. 

[str-1]

You can see what must be the 1m Chord umbilicals at about 6.50 on this Youtube video taken at last weekend’s UK Hifi Live Show

 

 

[Nenon]

On 10/29/2019 at 4:09 PM, Blackmorec said:

So yes, these umbilicals do take the Statement to the next level...definitely worth getting

 

Not a Statement owner, but I have a highly tweaked server with the same power supply concept (and actually very similar LPS than the Statement, arguably a slightly upgraded version in my system). The important part is that just like on the Statement I have the regulators close to motherboard and everything else in a different chassis connected with DIY umbilical cords. My umbilical cords were 10'' solid Neotech 7N pure copper 16 AWG wire with triple JSSG360 shielding. They have been running for months...

 

I had about 30 inches of 15.5AWG Mundorf silver/gold left from another project I completed over the weekend for a friend. Decided to do a 2-pin umbilical DC cord with it. Unplugged the Neotech copper umbilical cord, plugged the Mundorf silver/gold and I was surprised to hear such level of improvement. I knew that the cable from the regulators to the motherboard made a difference, but I did not expect the cables before the regulators to make such a difference.

 

So, yes, I fully believe that the upgraded umbilicals take the Statement to the next level. It would be even bigger upgrade on the Statement if you upgrade the internal wiring. But that would surely void the warranty. But hey, people do a lot of crazy things for that last level of refinement. Just saying... 

 

[howiebrou]

What is the connector connecting the transport to the LPS?I presume it must be a standard  connector so you are not restricted just to using Chord cables?

[Blackmorec]

5 hours ago, howiebrou said:

What is the connector connecting the transport to the LPS?I presume it must be a standard  connector so you are not restricted just to using Chord cables?

Bear in mind that the umbilicals carry 8 DC rails between them. I don’t think Innuos or Chord manufacture plugs so they must have bought them somewhere but I’ve no idea from whom. 

Also bear in mind that with the Chord cables, each conductor is individually screened so again, no idea how those screens are connected. 

[Nenon]

I know it's an 8-pin connector but not sure which type. Can someone post a picture of the connector? 

[Sonic77]

How long are the umbilical cords that come with the Statement? I am thinking about purchasing one, and would like to separate them with a shelf.

[howiebrou]

I think they are very short, like 10cm short. 

[onlychild]

Too short to separate

[octaviars]

5 hours ago, howiebrou said:

I think they are very short, like 10cm short. 

 

If they are that short you could never connect them.

 

3 hours ago, onlychild said:

Too short to separate

 

I would say they are around 30cm or one feet.

 

[howiebrou]

Yeah I guess 30cm is more like it but practically it means there is only one position it can really go in. 

[str-1]

The umbilicals supplied are 33cm end to end (including connectors), or 23cm if measuring just the cable between the connectors (including the very short sleeves).

 

The cables are directional in the sense that there are arrows on the connectors at both ends to show what end plugs into what box (arrows pointing from bigger transformer box to the smaller box).  This is the same for the longer 50cm upgrade cables I am currently trying out.