So, you're comparing the two streamers going into different inputs on your dac with different cables. It could be that your dac does better with a coaxial input. I have no idea, but you're comparing more than just the two streamers.
What happened to the Innous discussion
I really wanted to read the Innous discussion because I recently bought, and then returned, an Innous Zen. I had several people listen to it a/b with my Bluesound Vault and the difference was so minor that most couldn’t hear a difference. One person heard a small difference and thought the Zen had more "punch", but also thought it wasn’t as clear and revealing as the Bluesound Vault
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@guscreek I suppose that’s always a possibility and your decades of experience certainly seems impressive. But it sounded better to me and made me happy when I bought it. |
@randymaqp I went from the N200 to a Pulsar. They’re both very nice units but IMO you made the right decision. You’re too diplomatic. These forums are full of “experts” with “decades of experience” that because of their vast knowledge believe you do or don’t hear what you know you do. Believe your ears. After all it IS your money. |
sls883, True, but I bought a very nice USB cable,. and I've read here that usb might be better than coax. I tried to be as fair as possible and may have even cheated a bit in favor of the Innous streamer because I really wanted to like it. But it was no better than the Bluesound Vault. I even tried the Zen with and without the Weiss DAC. So maybe the addition of the DAC to the Vault made the quality as good as the much more expensive Zen option. |
@mojo771 I don't know which would work better with your dac. I believe USB uses the clock in your dac where coaxial uses the clock in the source. That could create a difference in sound quality. I bought a USB cable that retails around $500 when I bought my Innuos. I haven't done any comparisons with other USB cables. I know some guys spend a lot more on USB cables. I had always felt that my streamer sounded better than my cd/sacd player which I connect to my dac via coaxial digital. I bought an Acoustic Zen MC2 coaxial cable and now the sound quality is close. I never thought a digital cable would make much difference, but it did. There may very well be little difference between the Innous streamer and the Vault. IDK. My Innous goes to a U18 ddc and into the i2s input on my dac. I haven't listened to it by going USB directly into my dac. I already had the U18, so I'm using it. I was just pointing out that you're looking at more than just the difference in streamers. I'm not saying that your conclusion is wrong. |
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