As I type these words, an Innuos Nazaré music server/streamer ($50,000) with 8TB of internal storage is en route to my home in Port Townsend for review. The Portuguese company's new flagship, named after the deepwater canyon off the coast of Nazaré that generates some of the world's largest waves, made its official debut at this year's High End Munich. The unit is expected to begin shipping in September.
According to the press release, Nazaré features a deeply customized PreciseAudio mainboard with new PreciseUSB and PreciseNET boards, each independently powered and directly connected to the CPU. It includes 10 performance cores to enhance AudioCore processing and supports up to 16TB of internal SSD storage.
Innuos says the new product features high precision multifilar toroidal transformers, custom made Lundahl inductors, and premium internal cabling. Ensuring clean, stable power delivery are "advanced DC4 regulation modules with low noise foil resistors, innovative GaN based active rectification, and an upgraded NGaN+ regulator with high performance filters." Moreover, the Nazaré boasts "an immense 752,000μF of capacitance, provided by dual banks of eight high quality capacitors for uncompromising power quality."
More details will appear in my full review.
At the show, the Nazaré was paired with MSB's new Cascade DAC, Gryphon's Commander preamplifier and Apex stereo amplifier, Marten Coltrane Quintet loudspeakers, Transparent cabling and power conditioning, and an Artesania Exoteryc rack.
Ultimately, the Nazaré stack will include three boxes: the server/streamer itself, which is entering production; the forthcoming Nazaré Net reclocking Ethernet switch; and the Nazaré Flow reclocking output stage whose outputs include USB, I2S, and a dedicated output module for DACs with proprietary interfaces. No prices were given for the Net and the Flow.
At Munich, the only Nazaré Flow available included a dedicated MSB ProISL output, which necessitated use of MSB's new reference Cascade DAC—one of the few DACs that accept that input. Innuos plans to develop other Flow output modules to support DACs with proprietary interfaces, including dCS's upcoming Varèse. Their release timeline remains unclear. Following my review of the Nazaré server/streamer, I plan to evaluate the Net and Flow components once production units become available.
And the sound? With music routed through all three Nazaré boxes, transparency was marvelous, and colors bold, distinct, and full. In back and forth comparisons, the Statement NG's soundstage felt less transparent. Boris Blank and Malia's "Celestial Echo," which had sounded mind blowing in the Magico/D'Agostino room at AXPONA, sounded wonderful here too—though different, of course, given the completely different setup. Compared to the Statement NG, the three box Nazaré brought me closer to the source, with larger, more dimensional images.
A gear change to Ella Fitzgerald's "Good Morning, Heartache" revealed her in exceptional prime voice, the detail pristine. Ditto for Chie Ayado's intriguing cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."
Comparisons, however, were not as straightforward as I would have liked. For starters, the Statement NG operated without the upgraded umbilical cords that I have. Those cables raise its performance by an audible notch.
Additionally, the Statement NG received signal from the same PhoenixNET reclocking switch I'll use in my review, while the Nazaré had the presumed advantage of the prototype Nazaré Net reclocking switch. Add to that the fact that the Statement NG used a USB output, while the Nazaré Flow fed MSB's proprietary ProISL connection.
I'm fairly certain, however, that the Nazaré would have sounded better regardless. I first heard an early prototype of the Nazaré in Portugal a year ago, shortly before High End Munich 2024. Then dubbed "Frankenstein" because it consisted of an open box with a frightening mess of wires sticking out, it audibly bettered the Statement NG. The amount of detail and clarity the prototype Nazaré delivered was astounding. If the production unit is half as good, we're in for something special.
According to the press release, Nazaré features a deeply customized PreciseAudio mainboard with new PreciseUSB and PreciseNET boards, each independently powered and directly connected to the CPU. It includes 10 performance cores to enhance AudioCore processing and supports up to 16TB of internal SSD storage.
Innuos says the new product features high precision multifilar toroidal transformers, custom made Lundahl inductors, and premium internal cabling. Ensuring clean, stable power delivery are "advanced DC4 regulation modules with low noise foil resistors, innovative GaN based active rectification, and an upgraded NGaN+ regulator with high performance filters." Moreover, the Nazaré boasts "an immense 752,000μF of capacitance, provided by dual banks of eight high quality capacitors for uncompromising power quality."
At the show, the Nazaré was paired with MSB's new Cascade DAC, Gryphon's Commander preamplifier and Apex stereo amplifier, Marten Coltrane Quintet loudspeakers, Transparent cabling and power conditioning, and an Artesania Exoteryc rack.
Ultimately, the Nazaré stack will include three boxes: the server/streamer itself, which is entering production; the forthcoming Nazaré Net reclocking Ethernet switch; and the Nazaré Flow reclocking output stage whose outputs include USB, I2S, and a dedicated output module for DACs with proprietary interfaces. No prices were given for the Net and the Flow.
At Munich, the only Nazaré Flow available included a dedicated MSB ProISL output, which necessitated use of MSB's new reference Cascade DAC—one of the few DACs that accept that input. Innuos plans to develop other Flow output modules to support DACs with proprietary interfaces, including dCS's upcoming Varèse. Their release timeline remains unclear. Following my review of the Nazaré server/streamer, I plan to evaluate the Net and Flow components once production units become available.
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