Innuos
Innuos Zenith NG
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Zenith NG
Innuos has a reputation for building some of the finest sounding, rock-solid performing music servers / streamers on the planet. They have obsessively researched and tweaked their existing designs over the past 3 years, and now feel confident that their new NG (Next Gen) series are a product worthy of the Innuos name.
The ZENith Next-Gen (NG) takes Innuos' innovations such as the *PreciseAudio mainboard, *NGaN regulator and *AudioCore technology to new heights compared to the ZEN Next-Gen. First, the ARC6 NGaN Power Supply, trickled-down from the power supply of the acclaimed STATEMENT Next-Gen with its Active Rectification, 300VA Audio Grade Transformer, high-performance choke and 130000uF of Mundorf capacitors, provide all the current the system needs with very low impedance so that no transient is missed.
The ZENith NG upgrades the ZEN Next-Gen with a *Core i7 Embedded processor with 8 performance cores, providing further core separation for AudioCore whilst maintaining excellent overall performance for a responsive system at all times.
The ZENith NG also features a *pSLC (pseudo Single-Level Cell) industrial-grade SSD for the OS, powered independently, is added directly to the PreciseAudio board. As pSLC contains simplified controllers, they generate much less EMI compared to standard SSDs. Being the OS SSD that bears most of the system work, this results in a considerably lower operating noise with direct impact on sound quality.
The New Sense 3
To explore the most out of the new platform, Innuos has developed Sense 3, the next generation of innuOS. Sense 3 will be based on a custom Real-time OS Kernel for ultra-low latency and includes AudioCore technology to ensure audio-related processes are run without interruptions, resulting in audible improvements in sound.
Sense 3 will further add TIDAL Connect, new music library and playlist management tools, support for external USB optical drives with drive-head alignment for accurate ripping, and UI improvements.
Why Innuos?
Aside from the amazing products, what I like about Innuos is they don't rush a product to market, and they follow their own path of innovation. They are also good people who really support their dealers and products well. Their products are super easy to install into your home network and audio system. Once set up, rarely is there ever an issue with streaming your music collection (unless of course the internet, or your home network goes down).
The Tweek Geek Advantage
When you buy an Innuos Zenith NG streamer from Tweek Geek, you not only get the support of Innuos and their expertise, you get my 14 years experience with music streaming, and the Tweek Geek level of service as well.
Glossary of Innuos Buzzwords
Innuos ARC6 NGaN PSU: Combining the trickled-down version of the ARC6 Active Rectification board with a 300VA Audio Grade Transformer, high-performance choke and over 130000uF of Mundorf capacitors with the cutting-edge Gallium Nitride Innuos NGaN Regulation stage results in a marked improvement in sound transparency and realism compared to the ZEN Next-Gen.
Innuos PreciseAudio Mainboard: An all-new custom server-grade mainboard, ultra-tuned for low processor latency, power noise and EMI emissions; further improved by enhanced power regulators and solid capacitors.
pSLC OS SSD: Superior industrial-grade pSLC SSD (Solid State Drive) for the OS (operating system) for even lower operating noise, independently powered and with power-loss protection for extra resiliency and durability.
Innuos XSM: High Performance Expandable Storage Management System (XSM) allows a single pool of storage from multiple drives. The ZENith Next-Gen supports an internal, high performance NVMe PCIe drive up to 8TB with an additional externally accessible M.2 NVMe slot for up to 8TB for a total 16TB of seamless storage. Intelligent management and data protection provided through Sense.
FAQ
Q: If I order a Zenith NG without the storage, does that preclude it from ever being used as a server?
A: If you order the Zenith NG without storage, as long as no storage is added, it cannot store music nor act as a server. However, whether you’re going to use pre-installed storage or storage you install later it will react the same way. As long as the unit has storage installed it will operate as a server or Roon Core.
Q: Can the DDC and the Phoenix Lite boards be installed at the same time?
A: No, one can only choose either the DDC board with the additional digital outputs, or the PhoenixUSB Lite.