Innuos: A Cautionary Tale.



This post is a cautionary one in buying a Zen Mini used. I bought a four-week-old unit from a reputable seller. Unfortunately, the unit failed the first week and thus began a long and unfortunate set of events. If and this is critical one is to buy a used or second-hand unit the only way is from a dealer. Innuos customer service was next to useless and was simply dismissive. The lead designer could not connect with the unit, remotely, as the Ethernet port was the source of the problem, to reach him took multiple emails and a phone call, International,  over several days. After the unit was determined to have failed, several more emails were required to find out the next step. I was instructed, “go to the dealer you bought it from.” Hence the crux of the problem, I had no dealer to go to. I asked more than once to inform me where the unit was bought from, no response.

The seller would also not provide where he bought it from, so much for reputation. I was in an endless, time-consuming, and expensive circle. I reached out again to the lead designer, again after a clear and detailed email, explaining my dilemma, the response was clear: “send it to the dealer.” Fortunately, I was able to go through PayPal dispute the charge and receive a refund minus shipping costs.  

The unit when it worked was musical and engaging. My decision to go with another manufacturer was not a difficult one. So if one is to buy an Innuos please only go with a dealer.   Mike at Tweek Geek is a man of integrity and willingness to help.


lndryguru
There are important lessons to be learned here.  If you’re buying something used, know if the warranty is transferable.  And even if it is, get proof that it was bought at an authorized dealer if that is required for warranty service.  You apparently didn’t do these things and stepped on a land mine, and Innuos did try to help despite likely not being required to do so, so I don’t think it’s fair to blame them for this unfortunate confluence of circumstances.  Frankly, if I’m you I’d be feeling very fortunate that PayPal largely bailed me out in learning what could’ve been a much more expensive valuable lesson.  Many situations like this don’t end nearly as well. 
I now buy mostly used components and I can’t agree more with buying from a reputable dealer, preferably one with a brick and mortar location. My only bad experience had to do with a failing DAC, not with the dealer. I bought a used Theta Gen V DAC from Music Lovers (in Berkeley) that failed the first night I brought it home. I brought it back the next day, and after hooking it up to test it, they returned my money without argument. This doesn’t really conform to the OP’s experience, but it does point out the value of having a trusted local dealer.
Let me clarify:
1.  Innuos has a transferrable warranty.
2.  Innuos confirmed that the unit at the time of failure was 4 weeks old.
3.  They would not tell me where it was bought from, and which dealer to send it to.
4.  The seller would not confirm where he bought it from.
5.  Innuos was very I am mean very unpleasant to deal with.
6.  I would never buy another product at this price point unless from a dealer, and in the case of Innuos I will never own anything of theirs again.
7. The intent of this post is not to bash the sonic qualities of their product, which are excellent, rather, ONLY buy from one of their dealers and clarify with the said dealer the warranty process.  
8.  I purchased a Roon Nucleus and use it at a streamer and core, it sounds wonderful.

Roon Nucleus doesn‘t even come close to Innuos SQ. Sounds like you bought from a very dodgy reseller and are now spreading sour grapes on Innuos which I think is pretty unfair