Hi.
Welcome to Audiophilia. We publish honest and accurate reviews of high end audio equipment and music.
Welcome to Audiophilia. We publish honest and accurate reviews of high end audio equipment and music.
All in Digital
For a deep dive into the big sibling of the new HomePod mini ($99), please refer to our review of the original, full sized Apple HomePod (and our six month follow up). Many HomePod features found at launch and in updates can be found on the new mini.
With the mini, Apple’s smart home ‘Homekit’ features have been improved. Even silly Siri is better and she has added a useful ‘Intercom’ feature. Security, as always from the mothership, is a priority. No ‘anything goes’ Alexa.
There are literally hundreds of reviews on the web and YouTube videos with in depth looks at the features of the mini. I’ll list some important ones below then jump right into our brief, with focus on its use and sound.
If you would like a deeper dive into Innuos as a company and its philosophy, please read my review of their ZENith Mk3 1T Black Music Server ($4249). As promised in that review, here we have a review of Innuos’ top music server, aptly called Statement. The $13,750 Statement is a no-holds-barred entry into the super server sweepstakes. With apologies for the alliteration, the ‘super’ is appropriate—the Statement will be compared to some very serious high end digital players. With the Statement, Innuos has joined an exclusive club after only four short years of manufacturing. Quite remarkable.
Interestingly, as this type of storage device becomes more de rigueur in a high end system, prices have been creeping up. A music server is basically a computer with a high end audio personality, meaning incredibly quiet power supplies (and many other attributes) bringing extraneous noise down to micro levels (there’s so much of it on standard computers through processing, apps, etc), leading to smoother, effortless digital sound for the DAC to apply its magic. Expect to spend several thousands to get top quality servers.
I first heard an Innuos product and the considerable buzz about this fairly new Portuguese company—formed in 2016 in the sunny Algarve—at the 2018 Rocky Mountain Audio Show. The Innuos unit I heard at length was the Statement Music Server, the top of the line unit (up to $15,000—review unit requested). In fact, numerous Innuos units were placed in several rooms—all rooms sounding uniformly collaborative. I heard Innuos models serving products from Spatial Audio, Anticables, QLN Loudspeakers, and Vinnie Rossi integrated amplifiers, amplifiers and preamps. They were all singing Innuos’ praises and the Innuos servers, right back at them. In fact, rarely have I been so engrossed in different showrooms playing digital content.
I enquired about a review unit of any of their products for our readers. Then came the typical, glacially-paced song and dance between reviewer, distributor, dealer and manufacturer after the craziness of a show. When we did finally connect, I found the Innuos chain, from US distributor Well Pleased Audio Vida to Portuguese home base, efficient and patient. As such, I’d like to thank Mark Sossa of Well Pleased Audio Vida and Mandy De Castro, Event Manager of Innuos, for their kind considerations.
The excitement in late Spring 2020 was palpable. Sonos was debuting its most exciting product for years, the Arc ‘Premium Smart Soundbar’ ($799), successor to Sonos’ very popular and very fine Playbar.
Getting an Arc was a challenge, with (communication) hurdles at every level, corporate, distributor, dealer and mass market. I dug deep and found one nailed to the floor of my local ‘Sonos Platinum’ dealer. As usual, the staff were very kind and allowed me a long stretch with its sole Arc for the day. You can read my thoughts here.
