Innuos Phoenix USB Reclocker - Sounds Worse?
I picked up a Phoenix USB Reclocker, mint condition store demo. I think this must be the first of many, many reports where the Phoenix does NOT seem to improve the sound. So many posts and review after review indicate positive results with this device added to systems. I’ve not seen one single account where the results weren’t clearly superior. Yet that seems to be the case for me, sadly!
My system:
Adding the reclocker makes the sound more constrained, tighter, with less separation, and is generally less engaging. This seems to be almost the opposite of 100% of everyone else’s experiences. I thought maybe the new USB cord needed to be broken in (it’s been 40 hours now) but I don’t think it could be this much worse prior to completing the breakin. And the Reclocker was a demo so in theory it should be broken in.
Some may theorize that my Gryphon DAC may be better and that the Reclocker is dragging my DAC down instead of elevating it. But that logic I don’t think makes sense, because the Phoenix reclocker tech is included in Innuos’ top Uber expensive Statement. I can’t imagine that the Statement in my system would sound worse than my Zenith Mk III which is less than half the cost!
Not sure what’s up… I will give it another few days and then contact Innuos to see if they have any thoughts.
@antigrunge2 , just checked and no, they seem to think the USB cable going to the DAC doesn’t matter as much: Which USB cable has a greater impact?From my listening tests, the stereo takes the character of the cable between the server and Phoenix much more. You could still hear the differences in cables from the Phoenix to the DAC but it’s more subtle.
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@nyev Did some back and forth today and the reclocker definitely helps my system. It’s a tonal thing. Strings instruments seem more real. I am using curious USB cables. Interesting to me that I tried their evolved cable a while back and could not tell a difference over the regular curious cable. I just assumed that whatever advantage the evolved has is fairly minimal when a great reclocker is in chain so I sold it. also I would definitely get I touch with Innuos. They have been awesome for me and really knowledgeable. Maybe you have a defective unit? |
@chcook, if you see higher in the thread my Phoenix sounds awesome now. Just took a few days for whatever reason. For me everything is more open, more transparent, and all tones have less bloom and more focus and definition. |
@antigrunge2, I have two AudioQuest Diamond USB cables, and one is .7m and the other is 1.25m or so. I’ve had the long one going from the Phoenix to my DAC so far. Just to see the effect, I swapped the longer and shorter USB cables, with the shorter one going to the DAC instead. Sounded terrible! All closed up and compressed like how the Phoenix first sounded. I then tried going straight from my Zenith to my DAC alternating between long and short USB cables to see if I could hear any difference. I could not. This hobby is black magic; nothing makes sense. It’s all trial and error I guess… My next experiment was to try replacing the short AQ Diamond from the Phoenix to the Zenith streamer with the crappy USB cable that came with the Phoenix, and I’m sure it sounds better! All the detail and a little more relaxed in the high frequencies. The crappy cable is a bit longer than my short Diamond cable. Maybe the Phoenix doesn’t like my .7m Diamond as much…. Not proven yet, but while the DAC and Zenith didn’t seem to care about the long vs short USB cable, the Phoenix appears to not like shorter cables with on input OR output, at least in my system. |
