Innuos Statement Server Player and CD Ripper
REFERENCE AUDIO – WITHAM ESSEX
BOB’s Review Series - No 15 – Innuos Statement Two Box Server / Player
Introduction – Innuos was founded in 2009 in the UK but is based in Portugal where it designs and manufactures a range of servers / players for the home audio market. Starting the range at just £899 is the the Zen Mini which is a half width unit that can be enhanced with a matching add on power supply at £499. The Zen Mini includes an onboard DAC and is their only product to do so, this means that unlike all their other servers it also has analogue outputs on RCA. The Zen Mk 3 is their next product in the line-up, a one box full width solution at £1,899 and the Zenith Mk3 comes next at £2,999 for the 1TB storage device and includes better power supplies and clocks for an enhanced sound. For a while in 2018/19 Innuos produced the Zenith SE at £5,000 but only made 100 units of this special edition server and it’s no longer available. Last year Innuos released their half width USB Reclocker at £2,249 designed to fit between the Zen or the Zenith and your outboard USB DAC to provide a more refined reclocking action and reduced jitter.
Top of the current range is the two box Statement reviewed here at £9,799 with 1TB SSD storage, £10,299 for 2TB and £10,799 for 4TB (all at the time of writing). (Post Review Note: Excluding an appox 15% price increases from 1/4/21).
Technology – Innuos products are all Roon Ready and have three methods for operation.
- As a Roon Core Server and Player that can be connected to a standalone DAC of your choice via USB (this is how I used it for this review).
- As a Roon Core only where it does not play music it just ‘serves’ music to another Roon-ready device such as a Network Bridge or where the user has a multi-room system using Sonos or similar devices.
- As a Roon Player only.
The Statement, along with all other Innuos servers can rip CD’s via its built in Teac slot loading drive to its internal SSD storage in uncompressed FLAC, which is best for sorting Metadata, or in WAV format. It takes 4 or 5 minutes to rip a CD. It can also upload music from a USB stick, or a USB Drive attached to its dedicated USB input rear connection.
Inputs include an Ethernet LAN connection (essential for metadata retrieval and streaming from on-line providers or your NAS Drive), USB for data upload and a USB service only port. Outputs include USB 2 for connection to a USB capable DAC, Ethernet Streaming port for connection to a Network Bridge (no network switch required) and a USB 3 port for backup to a suitable external USB hard drive. Innuos servers will not work without being connected by wired ethernet to your home hub or similar device, they do not have wi-fi connectivity.
The onboard SSD storage comes in 1TB, 2TB or 4TB sizes specified at time of purchase. Unless you have a vast CD collection or a massive collection of High Resolution or DSD files then I find the 1TB more than enough. I have more than 1200 CD’s ripped and loaded and many high-res files on my 1TB Zenith and it is still less than half full. It supports MQA via a suitably equipped DAC and files from 44.1 to 384kHz (DSD to 128) and 16/24/32 Bit files.
The two boxes of the Statement are designed to be stacked with the power supply box located below the Player box. The power supply weighs 13.4Kg and connects to the 8.2Kg server box with two short umbilical power cords (around 200mm long), longer ones can be provided by Innuos at extra cost if you prefer to have separate shelves for each box. The PSU was designed and built by Sean Jacobs who also designs and builds power supplies for Naim Audio. The PSU includes 8 independent power supplies, and the server has a built in Reclocker, so the separate USB Reclocker is not needed here.
Control is by third party Apps such as iPeng (iOS) or Orange Squeeze (Android) working with licenced streaming service providers such as Tidal or Qobuz (licence not included). But it is best used via Roon which is an annual subscription of around £100 in the UK and this is how I used it for this review.
System Components – I replaced my own Innuos Zenith Mk 3 and Innuos USB Reclocker with the two box Innuos Statement in my home system comprising Michi P5 Pre-Amp and M8 Monobloc Power Amps, speakers were my usual Marten Mingus Quintet with cables from Jorma Design. I ripped a number of CD’s from my collection into the Statement and also uploaded some high-resolution files from a USB storage device. The Statement was connected by USB to the DAC built into the P5.
Performance – I have been listening to and enjoying The Beatles for too many years to think about but spent most of my early teenage years listening to them on LP and on a small transistor radio and I remember making a special trip to Oxford Street to buy several of their albums funded from my hard-earned paper round pocket money. That would have been around 1968 or 69. I was ‘too young’ not to remember the 60’s, if you get my drift, I was just 16 when the 60’s became the 70’s. Just recently Tidal have been listing a number of Beatles EP’s and playing these via the Statement gave me a new insight into just how good The Beatles were and how relevant they still are today, I’ve never heard them sounding better with so much of the vitality that in the 60’s brought hope, promise and a sense of change to a new generation – you really had to be there to understand what this meant and its just as relevant today when we are all struggling with the impact of Covid 19 on our lives and the Statement presented them as good as I have ever heard in my home system or anywhere else.
Chris Jones track ‘Thank You (R.J. Reynolds)’ on his Roadhouses and Automobiles album is a song about the pitfalls of smoking and the effect the tobacco giants have had on so many lives. This sounds like it’s going to be a bit if a downer, but it is a really well recorded album and the Statement presented it with depth of detail, bass with content and served it as a completely immersive experience. Hotel California by the Eagles (Tidal 24/192 MQA Studio) was lively, and a bit more forward than I’m used to but not in a shouty way, even the clapping and screaming at the end of the live track was more bearable than it normally is. It seemed to present a more realistic and believable live event where many sources render live events too bright or too dull to listen to for long.
I found little difference in sound quality between ripped CD’s and streamed music via the Statement although I found that ripped CD’s do have a slight advantage although streaming is catching up quickly. However, CDs played through one of our high-end players still beats anything that streamers can do but the gap is closing all the time and of course streamers offer much greater user flexibility and ease of use.
My Zenith MK3 is no slouch especially when used in conjunction with the USB Reclocker but the Statement at around twice the price of my pairing is clearly a step higher up the audio ladder in terms of how it presents an involving musical experience and how it just keeps you listening for longer.
Keb’ Mo’s Every Morning is a simple guitar and vocals track but the Statement gave greater passion to his singing and to his guitar playing, presenting it in a way that sucks you in and leaves you wanting more. This I find is always a good indication of just how good some high-end equipment can be and what makes the very good ones seem like real value for money.
I listened to the entire Just a Little Lovin’ album by Shelby Lynne, a tribute to Dusty Springfield, and also to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Tango in the Night’ and again found the Statement to give a thoroughly involving experience. The mid-range and highs are detailed without being offensive and articulate without being overly tiring leading to long listening sessions. But the bass is where it really scores by giving life and detail where many sources can only deliver ‘one note’ bass and this makes all the difference to how much enjoyment is delivered.
Listen to The Civil Wars ‘Live at Eddie’s Attic’ album for that full live event feel.
Summary – The Statement brings out the detail in the bass that other players, servers and sources just seem to struggle with. Gone is the one note bass that most of us have to live with and its replaced with bass that has real content, timber and musical involvement. And it also does this right across the range. Is it better than the Zenith MK3, yes in almost every way but then it is more than three times the price? Adding the USB Reclocker to the Zenith MK3 brings it closer to the Statement and closer still to what I remember of the Zenith SE but it’s still bettered by the two box Statement.
The only competition I would consider at this price point is the Pink Faun 2.16 (£7,950) which I was in the process of reviewing when it had to go out on a customer loan. The 2.16X (£13,950) is even better and from what I’ve heard in the showroom both can compete with the Statement and this is where individual choice kicks in. The Pink’s don’t have the built in CD ripper so for some this might be a deciding factor, but they can of course upload music stored on a NAS or USB drive to their internal storage. They are magnificently built kit, look out for my review in the near future.
But for me the Statement will be my next upgrade even before upgrading my DAC, unless I will the Lottery and then it’s a Nagra system all the way.
Bob – Team Reference Audio