I would advise a degree of caution reading too much into one review. Take Darko's Devialet specific comment:
A similar story played out with Devialet’s Expert 200 where performance delta daylight between the mirrorbox’s Roon Ready Ethernet input and the Zenith MKII SE (running as a Roon ready streamer) was even wider. The Devialet all-in-one really benefits from an uptick in audible richness wrought by the Innuos box.
OK, seams clear enough, but this does remind me of my trials with various streamers with the Expert series. As I have posted previously, better results could be achieved with streamers outputting AES/EBU versus USB into the Devialet. To me, this manifested itself most clearly with bass accuracy and definition (possibly jitter related phenomenon). How noticeable this may be would be very dependant on the speaker used. As an example, the Aurender N10 can output either USB or AES/EBU. Into a Devialet it sounded superior via AES/EBU, but you could say that it sounded 'richer' via USB. Depending on speakers or even personal preference, this could subjectively sound better. My own microRendu via USB into an Expert sounded nominally 'bassier' than AIR, but it is not better defined bass compared to AIR. The Aurender N10's bass via AES/EBU is more like AIR than the N10's bass via USB. To be honest, the article does not really say that much, or at least nothing that specific, with respect to sound quality, which is why I would advise caution reading too much into what Darko declares as better in one specific system.
As for the 5700€ cost, that may be worth it for someone wanting a single box all in one solution. But there are arguably better ways to spend the cash. As an example, the sound quality of AIR in the Pro series is significantly better than AIR with the Expert. 5700€ is enough for a Pro upgrade. (time will tell what the Core Infinity board brings to the equation) The Antipodes is worth looking at as an alternative if you want a single box solution with decent sound quality. 5700€ would also buy you a Mutec REF10, MC3+USB and something to feed it with. OK, not a single box solution, but from a technical perspective if ultimate sound quality is your goal, I suspect this will be a significant level up from something like the Innuos
A similar story played out with Devialet’s Expert 200 where performance delta daylight between the mirrorbox’s Roon Ready Ethernet input and the Zenith MKII SE (running as a Roon ready streamer) was even wider. The Devialet all-in-one really benefits from an uptick in audible richness wrought by the Innuos box.
OK, seams clear enough, but this does remind me of my trials with various streamers with the Expert series. As I have posted previously, better results could be achieved with streamers outputting AES/EBU versus USB into the Devialet. To me, this manifested itself most clearly with bass accuracy and definition (possibly jitter related phenomenon). How noticeable this may be would be very dependant on the speaker used. As an example, the Aurender N10 can output either USB or AES/EBU. Into a Devialet it sounded superior via AES/EBU, but you could say that it sounded 'richer' via USB. Depending on speakers or even personal preference, this could subjectively sound better. My own microRendu via USB into an Expert sounded nominally 'bassier' than AIR, but it is not better defined bass compared to AIR. The Aurender N10's bass via AES/EBU is more like AIR than the N10's bass via USB. To be honest, the article does not really say that much, or at least nothing that specific, with respect to sound quality, which is why I would advise caution reading too much into what Darko declares as better in one specific system.
As for the 5700€ cost, that may be worth it for someone wanting a single box all in one solution. But there are arguably better ways to spend the cash. As an example, the sound quality of AIR in the Pro series is significantly better than AIR with the Expert. 5700€ is enough for a Pro upgrade. (time will tell what the Core Infinity board brings to the equation) The Antipodes is worth looking at as an alternative if you want a single box solution with decent sound quality. 5700€ would also buy you a Mutec REF10, MC3+USB and something to feed it with. OK, not a single box solution, but from a technical perspective if ultimate sound quality is your goal, I suspect this will be a significant level up from something like the Innuos
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
