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.
@petaluman that would be a good experiment, but I might wait a few days to enjoy the improvement before I go there! As I mentioned at the top I also had a new AQ Diamond USB cable, so that was breaking in as well. But can’t imagine it could make that much difference. Still not broken in fully, I think it probably has 120 hrs or so at this point; same for the Phoenix. Sound has been stable since the change, with all the improvements. |
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@antigrunge2, makes sense but I’ve also read a pro review that did extensive testing of different cabling with the Phoenix. Their comment was that the power cord didn’t matter as much and that event the stock cord is fine to use. They did note improvements with premium cables but they said the difference was small. They also said that if one of your USB cables is better than the other, the better one should go between the streamer and the Phoenix, and not as good cable from the Phoenix to the DAC. They noted that the quality of the cable from the Phoenix to the DAC didn’t seem to matter as much. I couldn’t find the link if interested but don’t have offhand. Not sure if it’s valid or not. i can see isolation feet helping. |
