I was at RMAF and heard the demo where Innuos played the Zenith MKIII, then played the same song with the Zenith MKIII and the Phoenix reclocker and then the same song with the Statement. I was in the room for 3 or 4 of these demos (each demo the same thing with a different song, i.e., Zenith, Zenith + reclocker and then Statement). I was shocked at how much of a difference the Phoenix reclocker made. I thought it might be more marketing hoopla when i first heard about it, but it made a huge difference with the width and depth of the sound stage as well as the instrument separation. The Zenith and the Phoenix combined were almost identical to the Statement and the difference was very subtle at that point: the Zenith plus the Phoenix seemed to me a great deal in comparison to the Statement.
After RMAF I was able to borrow a Zenith without a Phoenix and listen to it in my system and it was certainly better than my junky laptop. I was also able to borrow at a different time the Aurender N10 and W20SE. the W20SE was simply amazing, although at $22,500 it is very expensive. With that said, often times I find that expensive doesn't mean better, however the W20SE was definitely the best digital server/player i have ever heard. the N10 was also great, but closer to the Zenith combined with the Phoenix.
After RMAF I was able to borrow a Zenith without a Phoenix and listen to it in my system and it was certainly better than my junky laptop. I was also able to borrow at a different time the Aurender N10 and W20SE. the W20SE was simply amazing, although at $22,500 it is very expensive. With that said, often times I find that expensive doesn't mean better, however the W20SE was definitely the best digital server/player i have ever heard. the N10 was also great, but closer to the Zenith combined with the Phoenix.