Innuos now have a completely new portfolio with new designs and cutting-edge new technology to push the boundaries of what is possible from streaming.
Innuos is our favoured streaming hardware after auditioning many of the obvious competitors. We find it to be excellent sonically, as it is one of the few streaming brands to develop palpable depth to the soundstage. Plus, it is easy to use; their in-house developed control application, Innuos Sense, is slick and well featured, including album art and is free from both Android and IOS.
Innuos have improved their sound quality over the years. Their units now sound smoother, richer and more holographic than their competitors, leading to longer and more relaxed listening sessions.
Build quality, throughout their new range, is exceptional.
The NEW Innuos streaming portfolio
The Innuos portfolio has gone through some major changes recently and they have discontinued the Statement NextGen, Zen Mk3 series and Pulse series.
One of the most obvious changes on the new models is their lack of CD slots for CD ripping, which were available on many of their old models, as the previous internal TEAC CD drive is no longer available. Innuos still believe in CDs as a prime medium, as we do, and now allow the ripping of CDs via an external USB CD drive, so long as the Innuos unit has internal storage. In this regard, Innuos have been optimising performance for various, specific, third-party USB CD drives, which would be entered into the Innuos Sense App.
In our experience a CD rip is still superior to streaming from premium subscription services but the Innuos rendering of a CD rip gets the closest to the original physical format then we have heard from other brands.
All Innuos units have a consistent set of features and user experience, with more insight into the music as you go up in the range. This is achieved though the design architecture, improved power supplies, improved component quality, and optimised hardware controlled by a bespoke operating system with custom firmware.
A modular approach
The new units are more modular in their design and thus can be customised to the particular instance: both with or without on-board storage and with various output board options.
The new family of streaming products consists of the entry Stream Series, of which there are two models, the Stream 1 and Stream 3, replacing the Zen Mk3 series and the Pulse series. These offer exceptional sound quality for their respective prices.
The next level up includes the
Zen NextGen and
Zenith NextGen. These replace the Statement NextGen. They have much higher quality streaming internals, as well as power supplies, than the Stream3. The sound quality takes another leap in quality. The soundstage is deeper and the sonic rendition is even more natural. Dynamic swings have real impact. The Zenith NextGen is truly world-class for detail retrieval and nuance.
Finally, there is the reference Nazare, which takes steaming to another level in both performance and price and is Innuos’ flagship unit.
All units have direct integration with Tidal, Tidal Connect, Qobuz, Qobuz connect, Deezer, as well as Roon integration. They can access internet radio too.
All models can be used as Streamers or Servers (if there is a local SSD storage device installed) which also allows for CD ripping via various external USB CD Drives. The exact type of SSD storage can be ordered with the unit, or retrofitted afterwards by the owner. These units offer lots of flexibility but we understand that the multiple options now available can be somewhat daunting. Please call us to discuss your requirements and we will be happy to recommend the best options for your budget.
