Yes, but my guess is distribution in the US has been creating frustration with dealers. Demand is up, bit a 3-4 month wait may have resulted in lost sales. As far as the demo once everything was working the Zenith Mk III and Phoenix sounded great. Still no Statement though.
Thanks folks
I do really like the sweet spot that John Darko is in when it comes to price point…It’s a good fit for us, ewspewcially if I can go through the used market.
Great help…Thanks again
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At Axpona they were looking for dealers in Canada, were saying some dealers carrying Aurender don’t wanna have competing products, etc… It’s a great option IMO and probably only affordable one for me as more Aurender models are above my price range.
Agree on pricing, which initially got me look at Innuos.
FWIW, and as I recall, in @Paul ‘s recent Mac Mini video, he suggested that the only tweak that help’s the Mini is having extra memory. In the light, perhaps the extra expense associated with upgrading the Mini is more about audiophile nervosa than anything tangible?
I also find it at least anecdotally interesting that the ears of the 2 gentleman chiefly responsible for creating the PS Audio line, both use either a Mac or a PC for their music server. If a Mac Mini, or PC, was so awful I’d expect Paul and @tedsmith to say so.
Of course, if one’s budget and desire allow, go for something like an Aurender. I am at least a little suspicious about the cost of those devices. They are simply underpowered computers that have proprietary software that plays the music. On that level, the Mac Mini or a PC could actually be better. So what’s left? Is it how the Aurender (etc) handles power and noise? And isn’t the DS particularly immune to such things?
The Mac, HQP/ Roon —> Matrix —> I2S setup sounds really good. I’m curious how far up the food chain you’d have to go to top it.
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dancingsea - re: the first paragraph: that’s funny, because we both paid a local guy a good chunk of change to strip brand new (at the time) Minis down, remove and turn off stuff, such as video and WiFi, install a minimal OS with his “secret sauce” on the internal and external drives. That was quieter than a stock Mini. AFAIK it is what Paul is still using - and was the digital source at RMAF.
Then - galvanically isolating the USB output, powering that chain with an LPS - all audible, though how audible in your system depends on a lot of factors, much like anything else. And you can go on from there. It still doesn’t sound as good as a current server, as most of these companies have incorporated all of those things into a purpose-built box, and they’ve been doing it for years. What you are doing with a Mini is making a non-optimal source/engine designed for a bunch of other purposes “less bad” - which is why the tweaks help.
Don’t get me wrong - I used a Mini for years. They are not “awful”. It’s great bang for the buck. Just not up to what’s out there now. A lot of people, including Paul, have not bothered to upgrade their server in years or check out the competition. That’s just not how he rolls. My sense is he just does his thing and doesn’t concern himself overly with what anyone else is doing. A few years is a very long time in this area.
I guess Paul will have to clarify his position. My interpretation from the video is that he tried Mac Mini upgrades and concluded that only increased memory really helped. With so much money invested into Music Roon Two, and if I understand it correctly that they use a Mac Mini in there, I’m not entirely satisfied with the conclusion that Paul is still using a Mini because he doesn’t pay attention to the rest of the audio world. Its his very business to pay attention to what’s going on in his business field.
I’m curious whether or not Paul/ Ted have tried these purpose built music servers and concluded the Mac/ PC was just as good, or better, or worse. And if worse, why do they not upgrade? Why have a million dollar (or more) Music Roon Two with top flight everything except for the feeble Mac Mini???
Can the reason possibly be that Paul is oblivious? That can’t be it, otherwise, why create Octave?
Are Ted and Paul just two old dudes holding on to their Victrolas?
The Matrix shipped Monday. I just received it and it’s Thursday, so a few days. Not bad from China to SF.
This is a pretty sturdy unit. Nice!!
I just hooked it up and did some comparisons. Using the Cardas usb cable and the hdmi cable I got from when I bought the DMP, a 1/2m PS Audio cable. All I can say is WOW!!!. So much clearer, more space and detail. This Matrix is one incredible piece. The highs just hang in the air with such clarity. The sound is a little duller without the Matrix. Now I know what everybody was talking about. It made the Aurender sound like it was a higher model. Now to rediscover my music collection again.
Seriously, Now I’m not sure what sounds better, the Aurender or the DMP. Could be the Aurender might have the edge, it’s that close. I’ll have to listen more, but the Aurender has become so musical, all I want to do is listen to music.
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Aurdender, Innous, or Aurilic are ALL much much better options than Mac Mini for so many reasons it’s not even debatable. OLD Mac Mini was a great option back in the day, and an OK option if you got one sticking around… it’s NOT meant for audiophile, low noise playing. Now, Paul wouldn’t advice you to get something he’s not using himself, and from what I know, PS Audio maybe working on a separate network streamer device like Aurender anyway… Maybe that explain it! 
To me, based on my research, Innous Zen Mini with its own PSU or even a good 3rd party linear power supply is the BEST bang for the buck. It even rips your CDs automatically and you don’t have to worry about that part, it’s a robust Roon without issues of the Bridge. Generally I find the lower range of these products suffice and spending more has a much bigger diminishing returns than things like Speakers, or Amps where middle of the range is usually the sweet spot.
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The Innuos App sounds better than Roon to my ear, but the Roon app for library management is addictive. I believe there may be a way to use the Innuos App for play back and Roon for library management simultaneously. From what I heard at RMAF Innuos has a new app coming out late fall of 2019. I could not get any detail as the reps were distracted by equipment issues. The Zenith series is the sweet spot in their line IMHO. A used Zenith MK II may be an option. The Zen with an Innuos LPS is a great value option. The strength of the line lies in the App and LPS.
Hope you find this helpful. 
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Oh, anything used is a great option!
Yes, this is the standard highbrow Audiophile line. And it may be correct. But there are other Audiophile circles, more PC types, that think Aurenders are underpowered ripoffs.
I have no idea who is right. But, it would be interesting to see a hyperbole free investigation into the reality of a properly setup PC or Mac system running good audio software like HQPlayer vs an Aurender et al.
Maybe Frontline will run a story 
Lord knows the Audiophile media won’t.
I have no position in this other than curiosity. Forums like these make it very difficult to find apples to apples comparisons.
But I do, out of principle, reject the notion that an Aurender is inherently better just because it’s supposed to be. These are all just computers in some form or another. And I take it as a given that we audiophiles are in no way immune to the placebo effect!
this
I am a computer engineer, and while I haven’t done an A to B comparison blind test, the explanations for WHY those products should sound better makes 100% sense, and what I’ve heard so far match those expectations.
Now, Aurender is over-priced IMO and out of my budget, hence I personally like Innous as it seems more reasonable and better bang for the buck for what you get.
Alternatively, you could build an audiophile computer to do most of these, need a linear PSU which is $400-500 anyway, then you have to build components, figure out software and apps, etc… which would probably end up costing more than Innous offering. I might do that though, as I love projects like that and I build my own PC, servers, networking, home automation, etc…
OP. Here’s a quick comparison by Darko of Mac vs. Innous…
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Oh boy, this is really getting wild. Alright, here you go.
I still use Mac minis. I have three, one for each music room at PS Audio. I also have a Mac mini dedicated to the shows. These are not the Minis Beef is thinking about as modified by Bill. They are off the shelf with SSD and the most RAM possible.
I have personally stripped them of all programs and duties other than their assigned task. That whole activity takes some time and fiddling.
I make sure their WIFI is disabled and they connect only via ethernet. I make sure to use the best sounding USB cables between the Mini and the DAC. Those vary, depending on which of the systems they are used in (for best synergy in systems).
In Music Room One I am still using the Curious Cable. I make sure the Mini is plugged into a Power Plant on its own outlet (that matters a lot).
Each Mini has both a reference library installed and a Qobuz account. I use exclusively Audirvana set up the way I like. DSD is always enabled.
How these perform next to, say an Aurender, is quite close. The Aurender has a bit of an edge but not enough for me to invest in them.
The Minis, as configured, are quite respectable sounding and do the job.
They will all be retired when Octave is ready.
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Paul I got the hint on the Power Plant. In your configuration is the Power Plant dedicated to the Mac Mini and sources?
Yes. We use a dedicated P15.
HiFi on a shoestring here, so using Raspberry Pis running squeezebox firmware (now open source and modified for Pis etc.) and a Synology NAS running the logitech media server (now open sourced, thank goodness).
Results - well with the care I have taken with elec isolation and linear PSU as appropriate, and direct digital out and routed to the DAC, it sounds pretty damn good. Equal or slightly better than the 2009 Mac Mini they replaced (which also had some care put into software and external hardware).
As Paul alludes to though with his Minis, any built-it-yourself solution needs time from a software and a hardware perspective.
Nevertheless I’m all in for 100 quid (excluding the NAS which I already had), it will go up when I upgrade the external optical pass through (I hope!).
I’ll be taking a good luck at the PS Audio server when it’s ready, if it’s beyond my means (most likely) it can still provide interesting info that may be of use in my own DIY adventures 
I didn’t add the link to the apple site BTW, assume something did it automatically on here?
Yes, the forum has a list of words which, when used, are linked to resources, etc.
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