Innuos Pulsar ????

[tedwoods]

What a hobby, it just never ends.

Most certainly true...!!!
At Munich we'll see the new Zen and Zenith NG:

ZEN NG - Innuos - Upgrade your streaming

ZEN NG is the first model within the ZEN Series of music servers & streamers to include both new and trickled-down NG technology developments.

innuos.com

ZENith NG - Innuos - feel the presence of your music

With the ZENith NG it's no longer about the frequencies, pace or even the size of the soundstage; details in music now emerge as if by revelation.

innuos.com

 

[skids929]

I’ve sent three emails to Innuos asking if the i2s is generally better /preferred over USB if a DAC has both inputs, but I can’t get clarification on the topic. Logic would suggest that i2s chosen as this their first board conversation option to USB should sound better than ABS/EBU or Spdif on the Pulsar.

yes but how many dacs have i2s inputs? Very few that I know of

 

[skids929]

So the Pulsar has most certainly opened up and warmed up since my intial plug in last week. Definitely sounding good. I plugged the ground in today and really ticked up the clarity on it...Not sure how I feel about it yet. Some tracks I like it and some gives a little more harshness or thinner sound. HI frequencies are crystal clear...Plugging it into the Puritan ground box certainly makes an audible difference.

 

[Vangelis]

yes but how many dacs have i2s inputs? Very few that I know of

Are you using the Ground Master city or a dedicated ground line outdoors? Regarding i2s there seems to be more DACs coming out that look very interesting with i2s. At the Axpona show, Innuos was demonstrating two different Pulsars, one having USB out and the other with i2s, both feed into the same Lampitzator DAC. One report I heard directly from someone who heard the comparison said, he felt the i2s was better sounding. This is especially interesting for myself, where I would love to ditch my PhoenixUSB, the two USB cables and an expensive power cord and create more desperately needed shelf space. I will be looking for more observations from listeners that have installed the iS2 option into their Innuos streamers.

 

[skids929]

Are you using the Ground Master city or a dedicated ground line outdoors? Regarding i2s there seems to be more DACs coming out that look very interesting with i2s. At the Axpona show, Innuos was demonstrating two different Pulsars, one having USB out and the other with i2s, both feed into the same Lampitzator DAC. One report I heard directly from someone who heard the comparison said, he felt the i2s was better sounding. This is especially interesting for myself, where I would love to ditch my PhoenixUSB, the two USB cables and an expensive power cord and create more desperately needed shelf space. I will be looking for more observations from listeners that have installed the iS2 option into their Innuos streamers.

Im using the regular Groundmaster to a 4 foot copper rod into earth below my home. Yes I heard about the new connection modules that Innuos is releasing with I2S being the first, hoping for AES second. I am sure the I2S betters the regular USB with the inherent problem with the power rail in USB. Issue for me is my DAC everything but I2s and I wouldn't trade this DAC for any other right now so I will live with the USB.

I get what you are saying about consolidating all the boxes, the whole streamer thing can get out of hand pretty quickly when you think about all we try to mitigate with the streamer..Thankfully the clock is built into the Pulsar, but I still have the switch, the fiber isolator boxes, it add up pretty quick.

 

[tedwoods]

Im using the regular Groundmaster to a 4 foot copper rod into earth below my home. Yes I heard about the new connection modules that Innuos is releasing with I2S being the first, hoping for AES second. I am sure the I2S betters the regular USB with the inherent problem with the power rail in USB. Issue for me is my DAC everything but I2s and I wouldn't trade this DAC for any other right now so I will live with the USB.

I get what you are saying about consolidating all the boxes, the whole streamer thing can get out of hand pretty quickly when you think about all we try to mitigate with the streamer..Thankfully the clock is built into the Pulsar, but I still have the switch, the fiber isolator boxes, it add up pretty quick.

Since my QKORE1 deal fell through (...), I'll also be looking into the Groundmaster City as an alternative.
The main thing with the I²S interface is that it puts the "master" clock at the source (server/streamer) side, rather than the DAC one.
AES or spdif do more or less the same but the clock lines are embedded in the signal and do need de-coding at the DAC side.
So, it all boils down to overall implementation.
If the clocks at the DAC side are up to the task, differences are bound to be of a smaller significance.
Here's a Munich 2024 video, hinting at the planned Innuos digital outputs:

 

[skids929]

Since my QKORE1 deal fell through (...), I'll also be looking into the Groundmaster City as an alternative.
The main thing with the I²S interface is that it puts the "master" clock at the source (server/streamer) side, rather than the DAC one.
AES or spdif do more or less the same but the clock lines are embedded in the signal and do need de-coding at the DAC side.
So, it all boils down to overall implementation.
If the clocks at the DAC side are up to the task, differences are bound to be of a smaller significance.
Here's a Munich 2024 video, hinting at the planned Innuos digital outputs:

So glad he mentioned the AES module! Thanks for the video very informative. The new NG versions are tempting I am sure that GAN power makes a huge sonic difference.

 

[tedwoods]

So glad he mentioned the AES module! Thanks for the video very informative. The new NG versions are tempting I am sure that GAN power makes a huge sonic difference.

I am wondering whether the NGAN regulator module would be offered as an upgrade for the Pulsar...

 

[skids929]

I am wondering whether the NGAN regulator module would be offered as an upgrade for the Pulsar...

Doubtful but they are responsive to questions like this so doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[skids929]

I’m currently breaking in a Grimm MU2 but I still have my Pulsar which I will retain until make any clear judgments on the differences over weeks of break-in. Too early to have clear judgment on the differences.

I have to tell you that I found that after a full month, nearly 800 hours my Pulsar was not clearly better than my Zenith MKII SE and then, BAM everything came into focus, it smoothed out and it sounded like it grew a pair and had a shot of testosterone and it really started to swing with whole new weight to the presentation. It was a big obvious change. Now that being said, a close friend of mine got caught up over my excitement of my Pulsar once it was broken in, and purchased one. This friend was a break-in skeptic and made the same observations that you’re making now. He was totally frustrated that it did sound better than his old Melco. I told him be claim, patient, meditate and have a few strong drinks over a month and things will improve. I got a call from him a few weeks ago, and he was dumbfounded that one morning he sat to listen and his jaw dropped. He could not believe it finally woke up almost overnight from playing over a month. He is no longer a break-in skeptic. My advice is, absolutely give it 30 days nonstop music play. 200 hrs isn’t even hinting at its final performance potential.

Where did you end with your Pulsar and MU2? Just curious how it was having them side by side.

 

[tedwoods]

On the subject of usb sticks:
The "strangest" thing has happened to me...
I was using a Sandisk Ultra Flair 256GB stick (w/h under 100GB of stored files in it) for all my initial listening.
I had thought of trying other sticks, but didn't really think differences would be that significant between them, so I didn't pursue that avenue at the time.
However, I got a Kingston Data Traveler 128GB stick to use as a backup, which prompted me to give the above a try, after all.
What can I say?
Differences are considerable, to say the least...!
I honestly don't know where exactly to attribute them (differences in stick internal technology, size differential, other factors...) but the Kingston sounds immensely better the the Sandisk: music is more dynamic, has real presence and is rather enjoyable.
Obviously, it's not an "ultimate" solution, but since I do almost all my listening through streaming services these days, it was enough for me to simplify my situation and put my NAS to rest.
Now that I've had this rather positive development, I'm going to try other sticks too (like the Sandisk Extreme Pro, for example).

 

[skids929]

On the subject of usb sticks:
The "strangest" thing has happened to me...
I was using a Sandisk Ultra Flair 256GB stick (w/h under 100GB of stored files in it) for all my initial listening.
I had thought of trying other sticks, but didn't really think differences would be that significant between them, so I didn't pursue that avenue at the time.
However, I got a Kingston Data Traveler 128GB stick to use as a backup, which prompted me to give the above a try, after all.
What can I say?
Differences are considerable, to say the least...!
I honestly don't know where exactly to attribute them (differences in stick internal technology, size differential, other factors...) but the Kingston sounds immensely better the the Sandisk: music is more dynamic, has real presence and is rather enjoyable.
Obviously, it's not an "ultimate" solution, but since I do almost all my listening through streaming services these days, it was enough for me to simplify my situation and put my NAS to rest.
Now that I've had this rather positive development, I'm going to try other sticks too (like the Sandisk Extreme Pro, for example).

Are you using these in the Pulsar? I just tried a Sandisk for the first time yesterday since I am breaking in a new set of speakers that are notoriously long to break in. I am using a sound frequency file from the manufacturer and had to download it to a stick it was so large, havent' tried just regular music through that method yet. Interesting finding on your part.

 

[tedwoods]

Are you using these in the Pulsar? I just tried a Sandisk for the first time yesterday since I am breaking in a new set of speakers that are notoriously long to break in. I am using a sound frequency file from the manufacturer and had to download it to a stick it was so large, havent' tried just regular music through that method yet. Interesting finding on your part.

Yes, all were plugged into the Pulsar.
Although different hardware are bound to affect the "physical state" state of bits (to paraphrase @Blackmorec 's explanation on another extremely interesting thread on the forum) and I have personally noticed the same file sounding different whether on HDD, SSD or NVMe, somehow it never occurred to me that the same might hold true for USB sticks.
Personally, I am not so concerned with the technical explanation of this "happy accident" right now, as I am truly content with just listening and enjoying my files off the USB stick, but I will try and delve into it a bit more, time permitting.
It's a hobby after all...

 

[Lio67]

interesting the USB stick subject !
Can you share your model in picture ?
because there are many models of Data Traveler for Kingston
I had read that there are at least 2 design structures to make a USB stick, some are made in one piece, are they better for sound quality ?

 

[tedwoods]

interesting the USB stick subject !
Can you share your model in picture ?
because there are many models of Data Traveler for Kingston
I had read that there are at least 2 design structures to make a USB stick, some are made in one piece, are they better for sound quality ?

This is the one I'm currently using: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-DataTraveler-Kyson-Flash-Drive/dp/B08KHVTS1M
and this was the old one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Ultra-Flair-Flash-Drive/dp/B06XG9XP49
Specs are a bit better on the Kingston: 3.2 and up to 200MB/s read speed vs 3.0 and 150MB/s on the Sandisk, but I can't say for sure that's the actual determining factor.
It could just as well be power consumption, as the Sandisk seemed to be running hotter too...
Also, and that's the interesting part, there could be much better flash drives out there, just waiting to be found...
Although, now that I think about it, why not try a portable NVMe drive with external power connected through a decent USB cable?
Hmmm, food for thought...

 

[Synaxis]

Here is an opinion of the Pulsar vs. Antipodes. The Pulsar did quite well:

 

[Lio67]

This is the one I'm currently using: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-DataTraveler-Kyson-Flash-Drive/dp/B08KHVTS1M
and this was the old one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Ultra-Flair-Flash-Drive/dp/B06XG9XP49
Specs are a bit better on the Kingston: 3.2 and up to 200MB/s read speed vs 3.0 and 150MB/s on the Sandisk, but I can't say for sure that's the actual determining factor.
It could just as well be power consumption, as the Sandisk seemed to be running hotter too...
Also, and that's the interesting part, there could be much better flash drives out there, just waiting to be found...
Although, now that I think about it, why not try a portable NVMe drive with external power connected through a decent USB cable?
Hmmm, food for thought...

I bought the Kingston key
I confirm, the result is very good, thank you for this information

 

[Tuckers]

This is the one I'm currently using: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-DataTraveler-Kyson-Flash-Drive/dp/B08KHVTS1M
and this was the old one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Ultra-Flair-Flash-Drive/dp/B06XG9XP49
Specs are a bit better on the Kingston: 3.2 and up to 200MB/s read speed vs 3.0 and 150MB/s on the Sandisk, but I can't say for sure that's the actual determining factor.
It could just as well be power consumption, as the Sandisk seemed to be running hotter too...
Also, and that's the interesting part, there could be much better flash drives out there, just waiting to be found...
Although, now that I think about it, why not try a portable NVMe drive with external power connected through a decent USB cable?
Hmmm, food for thought...

I have been working with better quality USB drives for music storage, for portability. I have not plugged one in my Pulsar though. I found a superior USB drive from a performance perspective though. I had the fastest transfer speeds, and didn't slow down on large transfers of over 20GB at all. Most of these drives slow down with large transfers which shows that the chipsets are just not keeping up. This probably is an indicator that they will work well with audio as well. And it is fairly small but it is completely made from molded aluminum and feels very high quality.

It is the PNY 1TB PRO Elite USB 3.1 Flash Drive - 400MB/s

 

[Vangelis]

Here is an opinion of the Pulsar vs. Antipodes. The Pulsar did quite well:

Mike, in his review, mentioned “hours of break-in”. As we have all experienced, it requires a full 6 weeks of 24/7 music for the Pulsar to wake up. He may not have been comparing a broken in Pulsar.

 

[Synaxis]

Mike, in his review, mentioned “hours of break-in”. As we have all experienced, it requires a full 6 weeks of 24/7 music for the Pulsar to wake up. He may not have been comparing a broken in Pulsar.

Hi Vangelis,

It certainly is possible the Innuos didn't have all the time it needed. I received a demo unit so it already had time on it, though I don't know how much. Then I also added burn in time as well.

Regardless, the Innuos is an excellent unit for sure.

I am a huge proponent of burn in so I try and give gear plenty of time and track the hours closely prior to any serious listening. Again, on this one though I am not sure due to its previous use.