Roon Nucleus vs Innuos

David Ten there is really no empirical evidence that separating a Roon Core and Endpoint are actually better on the contrary, you are now sending the data from the Core to the Endpoint which adds the variable of the sending data over the network.
We looked at the Roon Nucleus when it came out and we were not impressed by what Roon was offering for the price vs the Innous.

The Nucleus is an inexpensive Intel Nuc based device, the Intel Nuc is a powerful computer chip based mini computer, which Roon loads an optimized version of their software, the two models differ in having an external power supply.
Compare that with an Innous and you will see a very large difference.
The Innous products all use a custom built motherboard, use a custom operating system, the Zen model uses a two rail power supply which was designed by Dr Sean Jacobs an expert in digital power supply design, the Zenith use a three rail design with Mundorf caps, ethernet noise filters are used to eliminate line noise coming into the the servers as well as leaving the server in the case of an ethernet connected streaming dac, both devices use well shielded cases, and have been built to minimize noise and vibration.
Innous takes a very focused approach to their designs they are working to eliminate noise which can muck up the digital output of the sever.
For all of these reasons people have been raving over the sound quality of the Innous servers.
We have many happy Innous clients who report that the servers made a very noticeable sonic improvement

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Innous dealers

Thanks for the information. Can the innuoud server be used in conjunction with the Roon ?

The innous servers are designed as Roon Cores.

Out of the box to setup to music 5 mins.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Innous dealers

Innuos can be used as Roon Core, Roon Endpoint (Player), or Roon Core + Roon Endpoint (Player).

there is really no empirical evidence that separating a Roon Core and Endpoint are actually better

There is a ton of user feedback on separation of the two functions yielding better overall performance. One can head over to Audiophile Style (formerly Computer Audiophile) to learn about this.

I have taken and tested this approach. Isolating and separating the functionality clearly has been superior in my applications. N of 1.

NOTE: I’m not saying this is or isn’t the case with Innuos. Nor did I say so in my above post.

For example, Antipodes (a Server/Player company) has found this to be true (for them) and has taken the approach of optimizing Server/Core and Renderer/Endpoint/Player capacities SEPARATELY as their BEST OPTION.

As always, there are many approaches to achieving performance, with different companies taking different paths.

adds the variable of the sending data over the network.

I agree. However there are solutions to allow for the elimination of a Network Switch (if this is what is being referred to). The data has to be delivered over the network, no matter what.

I compared the Nucleus to the Innuos Zen MK3. Heard the Nucleus first and thought it sounded really good. A few weeks later heard the Innuos. The Innuos sounded so good had to go back and listen to the Nucleus again. Both sound really good, but the Innuos was no question the quieter and more musical piece. I bought the Innuos and have been enjoying for a month with not one single hiccup. Very stable and well constructed. Extremely satisfied!

And this is from Innuos in regards to the Roon Core...

Roon Core on the ZEN should sound better as it takes more steps to reduce system noise, especially in regards to excessive network traffic noise on the Ethernet.Running with no DSP would also be our recommendation.Best Regards,


Good luck with your search.