The Asona – Innuos Room

When I first saw the big black banner on the wall in importer/distributor Asona's room, which was, despite the chronological order of my postings, actually one of the first rooms I'd visited at the show, inscribed in big bold letters with Innuos across it, I thought: "Hey, Innuos, isn't that the company that makes streaming products? I guess they're exhibiting this year." By the second day of the show, every time I'd enter another room using an Innuos source, I'd be like, "Man! Is this the Montreal Innuos Show, or what?"

I don't mean this as a slight against the show but as an observation of Innuos's seeming ubiquity in the world of digital streamers, at least in choices made by exhibitors at Canadian audio shows. That's telling because, to state the obvious, exhibitors show products that are reliable and sound really good. That's how they avoid stressful situations and win the hearts of consumers, respectively.

I can attest that during the Montreal show, I never saw an Innuos product break down mid-song or sound less than musical. And musical this room sounded, using Innuos's ZENith Mk3 server/streamer ($4000), a one-box unit that employs a triple-linear PSU with Mundorf capacitors and a custom-treated solid state drive.

Upstream components included an Innuos PhoenixUSB reclocker ($3510 US) and ethernet-purifying PhoenixNET ($3500). Amplification was provided by the tubed, 45Wpc Pathos Impol2 Mk2 integrated amplifier from Italy ($13,000), and loudspeaking duties were handled by a pair of ribbon-tweetered Apertura Armonia Evolution speakers from France ($8900). Analysis Plus Silver Apex cabling kept the electrons flowing.

The highlights of this system's sound included very good imaging and definition, nice texture, airy highs, an uncluttered soundstage, and good musical momentum, all of which also made for an auspicious start to the time I'd be spending with Innuos.

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