Love the sound of my Innuos Zen Mk3… I was an old McIntosh + Vinyl (SME model 10) guy from 90s, took a forced hiatus from hifi and STUPIDLY ‘sold’ (more like gave away) my gear.
So got a bit settled and decided to try again - went all digital and love the convenience and sound of Innuos+Qobuz, then thought, what about my small leftover collection of SACDs… got the Sony, got the Chinese box between that and the DSD DAC (mk1) - and wow! Just wow! The SACD blows the Innuos away on every level, and I haven’t even bought ‘real’ hdmi cables yet (waiting on my Morrow audio order now). Just ordered Octave’s Art of Percussion and Soundstage SACDs to triple check. Anyone else experience the same? Or is my Innuos simply not up to par with low-end, old technology like the SACD? Are there streamers that can best the <$250 Sony+ setup?
IME the DAC plays a fundamental role. The better the DAC, the less the difference between digital sources, whatever they are CD/SACD or files transports. I have had the proof of that since I added the Digital Director to my MSB DAC.
Another aspect to consider is the network connection, to elevate the sound quality of your streaming experience. Router, switch, ethernet filters and cables make a huge difference.
thanks - my Innuos hasn’t the ability to play DSD level and is limited by that it seems - hi-res Qobuz sounds amazing, but not as good as DSD from my SACDs
Not to mention you’re comparing different masters. I have SACDs released by Sony in the early days (25 years ago) and more recent issues by MoFi of the same recording. Then there’s Japanese DSD masters on CD or SACD, Qobuz files (whatever the studio provides them), vinyl cuts from 60 years ago, etc. All different flavours and it is these mastering engineers that will make a bigger difference than any transport, cables, dac, switches, fuses, power supply, etc.
Interesting point, but I hear such a huge difference even with the same recording depending on the mode - can’t ‘stream’ DSD to an Innuos Zen Mk3 and they don’t pay Sony the licensing fee anyway for SACD so I’m not sure they will ever sound as good as DSD SACD. My 2002 Deutsche Grammophon SACD of Beethoven’ 9th (Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert Von Karajan) off my Sony Blu Ray sounds so much better than the same recording in hi-res through the Innuos Zen Mk3, and my interconects between the Innuos and DAC are Audience, vs the stock hdmi between DAC and blu ray (waiting on a new cable atm). In my system it sounds like a superior medium.
Using the Innuos as server and streamer, (I suggest Sense App), you can play files saved on its hard disk. I mean DSD files purchased/downloaded from music store services.
This should be a better comparison, more apple to apple.
The DS MK I has a superior I2S/HDMI input, while on the DS MK II the USB input is equivalent. From the ZEN to the DS DAC you can use a Matrix X/SPDIF converter (from USB to I2S/HDMI). That’s not necessary with the DS MK II, you can go directly via USB from server to DAC.
You can do comparison also with CD red book, between a player and file stored on the Innuos, which can be very useful to rip the same CD by yourself.
You’ll be surprised.
Streaming from Qobuz is another thing, I repeat myself… a greater DAC and a improved network infrastructure can bring it to another level, I can’t hear a difference between CD/SACD vs files stored vs music streaming.
True - but there is also a cost element to this as well (my blu ray set up without cables came in at less than US$300) and an SACD of the same recording beats my current $3000+ Innuos Zen Mk3 setup - I am happy with the Mk3, no doubt, and it blew my Esoteric DV50 out of the water when compared using CDs through my PS Audio DS DAC - and for streaming the Zen Mk3 beat every other streamer I listened to by far - also, I actually have not purschased any DSD yet, so will try that and revisit - won’t ever pay more for an SACD transport, but will definitely upgrade my streamer at some point.
If you compare SACD (DSD) to Qobuz (non DSD) you are comparing orange to apple, no matter the devices involved.
If you compare CD (Red Book) to Qobuz (Red Book) the relevant factors are: the components and the network.
If you compare CD played vs CD ripped (played from the file saved on the server), this is an apple to apple comparison where the relevant factors are the devices involved, Transport and Streamer and DAC.
Long story short, IMHO if your goal is streaming music from Qobuz you have to focus on the Network path first, than the DAC and type of connection and lastly the streamer.
What’s your goal? Which is your prevalent way to listen to music? What’s your budget and strategy to improve things?
As I explained previously I did compare apple to apples - so thanks for that, but to answer your Q: I have a large collection of SACDs but will likely be streaming more and more as I get used to the tech and adjust, simply for convenience.
Not a fan of Qobuz for buying (buying an album used to mean the entire piece =all the movements in a concerto or sonata or symphony, not on Qobuz - on some DSD or DXD you gotta purchase movement by movement - a really poor showing on their part).
Wanted to download a DSD or DXD and listen to compare, but each movement of a Mendelssohn Violin Concerto I wanted was being sold seperately - strikes me as absurd.
Not a fan of the download world yet - still read books as well, no kindle. May be time to adjust, who knows?
Got it, thanks for clarifying and good luck with your journey!
You can more than likely rip your SACD’s to dsf files with your Sony Blu-ray and a computer. Then you could store on an internal drive or NAS.
I have the same SACD, and I can’t wait for my little box to arrive from China so I can hear it on the DS DAC like you! I’ve only played it on my Bryston DAC, which takes HDMI directly.
Interestingly the liner notes say the SACD was made from a 24/96 (PCM!) transfer, so any “bit perfect” streamer should have the advantage here assuming it has access to the same master files, but apparently something else is going on.