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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
soix
9,577 posts
 

Thank you, zlone. My main caution with Innuos is the quantity of posts with owners describing the number of ancillaries they added to attain optimal SQ.

What are you even talking about here? You can add an LPS to something like a Zen Mini or Pulse Mini and get great improvements, but anything from the Zen on up already has an LPS so not required. If you wanna add a DDC you can do that to any streamer and likely improve sound quality, but that’s not unique to Innuos. Buy a used DDC and see if it works better and if not just sell it, but I doubt you will, especially if you can get the benfits if an i2S connection. Just my $0.02 FWIW.

tkrtrb125
373 posts
 

@soix +100 . 

 

e. My main caution with Innuos is the quantity of posts with owners describing the number of ancillaries they added to attain optimal SQ.

W.What are you even talking about here? You can add an LPS to something like a Zen Mini or Pulse Mini and get great improvements, but anything from the Zen on up already has an LPS so not required. If you wanna add a DDC you can do that to any streamer and likely improve sound quality, but that’s not unique to Innuos. Buy a used DDC and see if it works better and if not just sell it, but I doubt you will, especially if you can get the benefits if an i2S connection. Just my $0.02 FWI

bluethinker's avatar
bluethinker
188 posts
 

@phaelon - Innuos Zenith III owner here. Very happy with it.
I thought I’d burn more CDs to the hard drive, but streaming with Qubuz is so good, my motivation to do so has dwindled. 

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.  

sls883
387 posts
 

@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. 

classic8
87 posts
 

@jasonbourne71 +1 

I am happy with my Aurender N150

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