Innuos ZENith Mk3 Streaming Transport - True To The Music Source

Innuos streaming products have been hitting the shore of Malaysia for a few years now but it did not have an official presence before.  Local audiophiles had to purchase it from overseas. It is no longer the situation now as Audio Visual Designs have landed the deal as the sole distributor for Innuos.

I had the opportunity experience the ZENith Mk 3 unit for a few months now. Thank you to AV Designs for the loan unit. 

THE SPECIFICATIONS

This unit is solidly built but with simplicity and stability as its core as well. With a clean front fascia with just a power button and a CD slot for ripping. It measures at 420 mm x 340 mm x 83 mm (WxDxH) in size and weighs 9 kg.  

As this is a transport rather than a full stand alone streamer, this unit needs to be connected to a DAC to run it. The audio output is only via a USB2.0 which supports USB Audio Class 2, DoP, Native DSD and MQA. It does come with another USB 3.0 but that only be used for backing up the unit.

There is no wifi option hence you will need to connect an ethernet cable to its RJ45 connection at the rear section.

Audio formats - WAV, DSF, AIFF, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, MP3, MQA

Ripping formats - WAV or FLAC

CD compatability - RBCD, CDR, CDRW

The loan unit is also equipped with a 1 TB SSD built in and also Roon compatible as a Core or Endpoint.

It can also connect to Spotify, Qobuz and TIDAL.

One of the plus point of Innuos streaming units is its very own inhouse App -  The Innuos Sense. One fo the most stable app I have used and also very well laid out.

THE EQUIPMENT

• Aavik D280 DAC
• AA USB Cable
• McIntosh MA9000 integrated amp
• Borressen X3 speakers
• Roon Nucleus
• Synology NAS
• Ansuz network switch

THE SESSION

Take Five by Dave Brubeck - DSD

On this track, the saxaphone sounded more airy than my usual playback over HiFiROSE. It disperse the saxaphone sound wider. The percussion particularly the ride cymbal sounded crisp and evenly dispersed. The double bass and bass drum however fell short a bit with regards to its extension. This track is one of my reference track when it comes to low end frequency and somehow have not given me that 'kick' that I usually get from this track. Increasing the volume improved this a bit but that is not the idea. It may also be the DSD file quality that I have.

Soolaiman by Neil Diamond on 24/192

Now, this gave me the goosebumps when the percussion kicked in during the intro. His vocal also really surfaced up and sounded really deep and engaging. The ZENith really able to dig deep into the low frequency on this track.  I LIKE! Even the hollowness of the toms sounded very vintage and kept to its original tuned percussion.

The Sound of Silence on TIDAL

My my my.... this is just simply amazing. If huge soundstage is your thing, the ZENith made this track sounded even bigger than what I am used to. The vocal not only gaves me goosebumps as it was really engaging and pulls me in. This is a simple music arrangement but it depends a lot on the reproduction of the vocal through the system you listen to. I know this track was properly recorded and mastered and I also have heard this track on much higher end set ups. But with the ZENith, somehow it added some more energy to it.

Take Five by Kenichi Big Band on TIDAL MQA

Now, I was still unsatisfied with the DSD playback of the original piece on Take Five. So, I played this upbeat tempo and sure enough, I experienced a much more excited music delivery, It was not just about the tempo. Its about the overall musicality. Somehow, my experience with the online platforms have been excellent with this ZENith.

Time To Say Goodbye on ALAC

This is another reference track for me. Sarah's vocal sounded really energtic and hits the highs extremely well with no sign of ear pinching highs. Sweet and lush sounding. Andrea's vocal on the other hand, sounded a little bit too laid back. Usually, his vocal will sound really deep with full of energy. At this point, I start to wonder whether is the different sound is mainly due to the different formats I am playing or online vs on prem files?

Enter Sandman on FLAC24/96

This track gave me a completely different experience compared to Take Five and Time To Say Goodbye albeit played from on prem SSD. The overall musical presentation had all the traits that I like. Energetic vocals that pulled me in, deep extensive bass and tom drum, solid snare sound, ferocious sounding guitar solo and note by note clarity of the bass guitar. 

Temptation by Diana Krall on FLAC 16/44 ripped from CD

Now, this was the best sounding performance from Innous ZENith Mk3. I ripped this track using the unit's ripping feature. I must say, nothing beats the musicality from playing directly from an SSD. Comparing to the glorious sound I experience from TIDAL or Qobuz on this unit, I find that playback from its SSD provided an overall balanced performance across different frequency spectrum. It also retains the depth of different instrument layers plus the proper soundstage. Diana's vocal sounds convincing and engaging. The drums sounded sharp and well placed while the guitar solo was sufficiently melodious.

THE CONCLUSIONS

This is actually a tricky one. The ZENith Mk3 is actually a very capable player with the system stability that surpasses my expectation. Together with a seamless UI of the Sense app, it is one of the best streaming transport that I have ever reviewed.

Now, how do I explain the different experience I had with the unit? First of all, let me explain a few things.

Playback - The unit is capable of playback from 3 different sources:

• Online streaming e.g. TIDAL and Qobuz
• Built in SSD - files can be from ripping or transferred from other NAS or HDD
• From a NAS

The different experience I had above is mainly due to the source itself. I would rank the ZENith Mk3 playback as follows (from best to the OK)

• From built in SSD - ripped
• From built in SSD - transferred from other NAS
• Online streaming
• From a NAS

Now, many would debate that digital files are digital files regardless from where the playback is. I beg to differ! I have gone through so many streamers, PCs, laptops, online platform, HDD, NAS, SSD... every one of them gives out different sound quality or the least is different volume levels.

There are some limitations to this model for my way of utilization.

1. I have tested it as a Roon Core and Endpoint. It works perfectly. But, I can only choose either or. Either use it as Roon or as Innuos Sense platform

2. The CD slot is purely for ripping. No direct CD playback.

3. The biggest challenge I have is that it can only connect to 1 NAS at a time. I am running 4 different NAS in my network. So, it is a big limitation for me.

So, my conclusion is that, this ZENith Mk3 delivers a very balanced musical deliver overall. It is a very honest and true to the music source type of streamer. Fill up its SSD with good quality mastered files and you will be in musical heavan. You will not go wrong with this.

For those who already have a decent file collection, if you can be patience and transfer them to the SSD, you will not regret it. 

For those who just about to start building your digital library, I suggest for to fully utilize the ripping feature. One album CD will just take 5 to 8 mins to rip.

Audio Visual Designs carries the whole Innuos product line up. Do visit their shop for a demo.

Chit Chat with Yaohan Yang - Innuos Sales Manager

 A light chit chat with Mr. Yaohan Yang, Innuos  Sales Manager of Middle East and APAC. We talked about:

1. Innuos design philosophy

2. Roon and Innuos native app

3. Is it just another PC?

4. USB vs Coax connection

5. ZENith Mk3 features clarification

6. Ripping CDs quality

7.... etc...

Thank you sir, James Tan and Chan Weng Low of Audio Visual Design Sdn. Bhd. for arranging this.

TAD R1TX, M700S, DA1000TX and Full Suite of Innuos Products Launched in Malaysia

Its like the HiFi and AV industry in Malaysia is back into the good old days. More and more shops are bringing in more variety to the audiophiles. A long pending components to be open to the fans are the TAD R1TX speakers, M700S stereo power amp, DA10000TX DAC and also the full suite of Innuos Products. Although TAD has been traditionally part of Audio Visual Designs Sdn. Bhd list of brands, the Innuous has just came onto the list and is now officially available for demo and purchase for local fans.

On Friday 7th July, these products have been officially launched at their outlet. Attended by the usual audiophiles and other media reps, the full capability of the set up was demoed to all attendees.

Excerpt of the event report from my article in hifi4sale.net is as below:

'Audio Visual Designs Sdn Bhd (AV Designs), the official distributor of TAD Laboratory products in Malaysia, launched the R1TX flagship speakers along with the M700S power amp and DA1000TX DAC on July 7. Apart from these TAD products, AV Designs also launched the full suite of Innuos products into the Malaysian market. AV Designs only recently took up the Innuos distributorship.

The launch event started with a quick recap of the R1 speakers' evolution over the past 16 years, followed by an introduction to the Innuous products. Guests and media folks were then entertained with various music genres prepared and presented by local hi-fi celeb Joseph Ki.

  

   

  

The original R1 came out in 2007, followed by R1MK2 in 2012 when the woofer cone design was upgraded. The R1MK2 remain as TAD's reference speaker until 2019, after which the R1TX was officially launched. However, due to the pandemic that followed, the R1TX could only be brought into Malaysia this year.

Although the R1TX retains the original cabinet design, TAD has enhanced its forming and processing method for the baffle. This new cabinet is made by Tendo Mokko, where the reinforcement and fitting methods were improved; the side to back panel configuration was also changed from three pieces to two. Besides these, TAD also enhanced the woofer suspension system. The R1TX comes in a full black design, apart from the traditional wood design on the side panels.

The M700S was also launched in 2019 by TAD but only reach our shores early this year. This stereo power amplifier (a mono version is also available) replaces the M600 which was launched back in 2009. The enhancements include an upgraded transformer from 2kVA to 2.8kVA, increased wattage from 600W to 700W, aluminium chassis instead of iron and also a new spike construction.

 

 

                                              

On the source side, the full Innuos suite of streaming solutions is now available officially in Malaysia. During the launch, the flagship Statement model was used as the source for the demo of the TAD set up. The Statement is a two-piece dedicated streaming unit with a separate power supply box. This brand from Portugal is not new name to streaming fans in Malaysia. The full range, from the entry-level called PULSEmini to the Statement, is now available from AV Designs.'

AV Designs has also taken the liberty to list Bassacontinuo HiFi racks as one of the brands on their list.

When I lookd at the size of the speakers, I had a concern of an overwhelming bass response. I am not fond of bass that gives out literally a physical impacton my body. One of those too hard of hitting that it makes it uncomfortable to listen to. But not with these TAD R1TX. Excellent balance of low frequency response coupled with high clarity in the mids and highs. The bass drum and also the percussion sounded really enegrized going through this system. It really gets me going, bringing me back to my younger days of clubbing. Now, on another piece, the sound of saxophone was really melodious and engaging. It matches well with the Innuos source. 

\

Sampler 1

Sampler 2

For a demo session, please contact AV Designs (03-6241 1237).