[TheR0v3r]

I have now been running the Sean Jacobs mini DC4 with mini pulse and Phoenix USB for three months and the wonderful thing about the Sean Jacobs power supplies is that they just seem to get better as time goes on, at first you hear great bass and then over the next few months the highs just open up. If you like a clean neutral sound these power supplies are fantastic. I have just added another DC4 for my Mscaler and what I thought would be a modest improvement is turning out to be quite an eye opener and I am still breaking in the new unit...

Congrats, those power supplies sure do look amazing

 

[skids929]

I have now been running the Sean Jacobs mini DC4 with mini pulse and Phoenix USB for three months and the wonderful thing about the Sean Jacobs power supplies is that they just seem to get better as time goes on, at first you hear great bass and then over the next few months the highs just open up. If you like a clean neutral sound these power supplies are fantastic. I have just added another DC4 for my Mscaler and what I thought would be a modest improvement is turning out to be quite an eye opener and I am still breaking in the new unit...

are you running the DC4 in lieu of the Innuos additional power supply?

 

[countercan]

I am using the DC4 instead of the mini-pulse supplied power supply. The specs on the DC4 are above what Sean uses in the Pulsar and I am not sure if they aren't very similar to the Statement. Combined with the Phoenix USB you get a player which punches above the Pulsar for not too much extra investment .

 

[countercan]

Sean makes the DC4 to run at 21volts.

 

[skids929]

Sean makes the DC4 to run at 21volts.

thanks..I have a guy in Vietnam (HNE Audio Designs) who makes these power supplies was thinking of commissioning one with him. All the same parts similar design. My issue is my DAC is AES and SPDIF only (Audio Note) so I wouldn't see the benefit of the Phoenix reclocking..Probably better off with a more DAC neutral streamer over the Innuos products but I love the sound of this little Pulse Mini and thinking one of these power supplies can take it to another level.

 

[TheR0v3r]

I own and use both the Zenith Mk3 and the pulse, 2 separate systems. I purchased the Zenith a few years before the pulse came out back in 2019 and in all honesty if there is a sound quality difference i am unable to detect it in any manner that would provide for quality feedback to anyone. I’m utterly satisfied with both especially the Pulse which has multiple outputs and allowed me to get off USB on my main system which was essential for me because i was using a Berkeley Reference series DAC and i simply had a preference to feed it via AES using the Pulse. I feed my Zentith mk3 to a Lampizator Baltic DAC using an FTA Callisto USB cable and that combination is very satisfactory. I enjoy the Pulse unit enough that i am contemplating purchasing a second one to put into my HP rig so that i can use the Sense software across all 3 systems for consistency.

To be fair though and transparent i do feed the Pulse unit from an Innuos Phoenix network switch which has their very fancy and expensive clock so whatever sound quality upgrade i get on the Pulse unit so that i cant tell the difference between it and the Zenith i attribute to that.

In the end I also went with the Pulse. Those SPDIF outputs are very nice and gives additional output options.

 

[skids929]

In the end I also went with the Pulse. Those SPDIF outputs are very nice and gives additional output options.

Yeah I agree...I do want those inputs.

 

[TheR0v3r]

Update after week 1
Now I’ve had the Pulse for about a week and it was time to share som thoughts:

• The sound improved even further after a couple of days (power supply related?)
• Right now I’m using the stock power cord, actually seems to work the best.
• Those SPDIF and AES/EBU outputs are fantastic!
• The Sense software works great, not a single issue during the whole week.
• The Pulse works great as a ROON bridge.

One thing that I’ve noted is how different music sounds when listening with Sense vs ROON. The presentation is much more ”forward” with Sense than ROON.

 

[TheR0v3r]

One thing that I’ve noted is how different music sounds when listening with Sense vs ROON. The presentation is much more ”forward” with Sense than ROON.

This is actually confusing. Why is music presented differently with Sense vs Roon?

It’s not just tonal differences, Sense having more ”weight”, it’s actually more about the actual presentation. The initial impressions are that Sense has a more uniform way of presenting music (more ”forward”) vs Roon where the placement and soundstage tends to change more between recordings.

 

[carboncopy]

It is a strange thing (difference between software and software), but it is definitely there.

I was suprised how much better is JPlay opposed to Roon. Actually I sold my Nucleus and cancelled my subscription.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

It is a strange thing (difference between software and software), but it is definitely there.

I was suprised how much better is JPlay opposed to Roon. Actually I sold my Nucleus and cancelled my subscription.

Better or just plays louder? I use Roon and all the comparisons I tried to make, e.g. with Tidal Connect, Jplay, MConnect, made me believe that software has little, if any, impact upon sound quality. In fact, Roon never claimed that it would improve sound quality. It's all about the experience, the available information and the multizoning functionality. Can't comment on Sense because I never heard an Innous, but I'm not surprised that Innous optimized the integration of its software with its own hardware.

 

[skids929]

Better or just plays louder? I use Roon and all the comparisons I tried to make, e.g. with Tidal Connect, Jplay, MConnect, made me believe that software has little, if any, impact upon sound quality. In fact, Roon never claimed that it would improve sound quality. It's all about the experience, the available information and the multizoning functionality. Can't comment on Sense because I never heard an Innous, but I'm not surprised that Innous optimized the integration of its software with its own hardware.

Software controls the hardware..Well written software and drivers will in fact yield better results in how the hardware performs and ultimately produce better sound. It's part of the reason the sense software sounds better than Roon. It's well writtten, and written specifically for Innuos hardware, and not bloated like roon trying to be all things to all hardware.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

Software controls the hardware..Well written software and drivers will in fact yield better results in how the hardware performs and ultimately produce better sound. It's part of the reason the sense software sounds better than Roon. It's well writtten, and written specifically for Innuos hardware, and not bloated like roon trying to be all things to all hardware.

I have to say I really like Roon, the sound, the experience and the ability to integrate my speaker system in the living room (works perfectly with Hegel H120) and the Headphone system in the office (also perfect integration with the Zen Stream). The only brand that I'm curious about is Innuos because I've heard so many good things about the devices and Sense. So, I'll take your statement as further evidence that Innous streamers may be worth it. Cheers

 

[skids929]

I have to say I really like Roon, the sound, the experience and the ability to integrate my speaker system in the living room (works perfectly with Hegel H120) and the Headphone system in the office (also perfect integration with the Zen Stream). The only brand that I'm curious about is Innuos because I've heard so many good things about the devices and Sense. So, I'll take your statement as further evidence that Innous streamers may be worth it. Cheers

I used to have a K50 and used Roon, it's great for integration, but the clear winner in my system was Innuos with sense. I wouldn't go back to Roon, Innuos was smart and realized if they can get you hooked on the software it's would put a dent in the amount of Roon users.

 

[Whazzzup]

Ill confirm here, im interested in phoenix usb, for those with innous or antipodes you folks liked the addition. Im using usb so NET hasn't a place in my rig.