Streamer for LTA Aero
I've been shopping for a highly capable, yet sensible streamer to pair with a LTA Aero DAC... on order. I'm trying to read everything, but being just about as far away from tech savvy as one can be, I have to give great weight to the guidance of others. The streamers that are most of interest to me are the Aurenders N200 and N150, and the Innuos ZEN and ZENith. My interest in the Innuos line is due mostly to their ripping feature - that might be unfair - I have a couple thousand CDs. That being said, I'm not deaf to those who advise that If I get the streamer/DAC thing right, I'll never reach for a CD again. My interest in the Aurender line is not only that they are high end, but that they are a friendly choice for those with limited computer savvy (I ain't kidding either, my new cellphone is kicking my behind). After talking with the Aurender rep at Axpona, I was all in on the N200. Now that I've chosen the Aero DAC, I'm considering that I'll be paying for capabilities, not relevant to the Aero, and that the N150 might provide essentially the same SQ at half the price. I'm very happy with my amplifier/speaker combination and believe that it's a highly capable pairing. They're pretty obscure in this country, but FWIW, I have a New Audio Frontiers Supreme 300B SE integrated feeding SoundKaos 40 speakers. I'm open to criticism as well.
@phaelon - Innuos Zenith III owner here. Very happy with it. I’ve read that the Innuos Sense software sounds better than Roon, but I wouldn’t know. I’m curious about how some of the other steamers may present the music, but I see no reason to upgrade anytime soon. |
@bluethinker Same here. I've ripped a number of cds that I can't stream, but I see no need to rip all of my cds. Streaming is super easy and sounds great. I'm a big fan of the German band RPWL. I have around 11 of their cds and only 5 of these are on Qobuz. I'm listening to a ripped copy now. |
I understand your concern about possibly missing out on sound quality if certain tweaks aren’t applied, but I guess I have not heard that is necessary with the higher models of Innuos, or Aurender for that matter. Implied in my post, and based on your desire to avoid a highly technical solution, Innuos provides the ease of CD ripping combined with a well designed and thoughtfully evolving user interface. I was a software engineer for decades, so very technical, but I greatly value a user interface with good flow and visual appeal. I have found that with Innuos, I don’t think you would be disappointed. |
Between the ZEN and the ZENith, what I'm taking away from the Innuos website as well as other reviews, is that the ZENith is a little more refined and mellow than the ZEN. If that's fair, and my current system lacks neither, I'm leaning towards the ZEN. Appealing to those who have listened to both, is that a fair assessment of the difference? |
