A new star in 2019 : Innuos Statement Server

[divertiti]

Using HRS Center Stage footers. 1 set. Just placed under the stacked units.
Footers worked well.
Footers worked even better when placed on a HRS rack and platform.
Sean Jacob’s DC power umbilical cables.
NexGen Power upgrade.

Thanks for sharing. With the next gen PSU upgrade in place, did the dc cables bring another large incremental improvement? What do the DC cables change?

 

[divertiti]

Through forums and friends, I have discussed the Statement upgrade with more than a dozen users around the world. They all paid a very similar amount for it. Innuos demanded that I do this through the only dealer in my country. The local dealer quoted me more than 2k USD above what everyone I know has paid. This is very off putting to me, enough that I have decided to sell my Statement and use that money towards a competitor. Not sure where I will move to yet, but the shopping has started.

I wouldn't give up on Innuos just yet. Maybe contact Nuno and see if they will offer to help you out with this situation

 

[Popspin]

Thanks for sharing. With the next gen PSU upgrade in place, did the dc cables bring another large incremental improvement? What do the DC cables change?

Hi: sorry but I can’t answer your question because the upgraded DC cable was in place years before the NextGen Power upgrade.
i first upgraded to the Chord umbillicals. a nice bump in performance. Switching to the Sean Jacob's umbillicals was a far more impactful change. Details are tough to recall ((too many changes since then, years ago) but the cables have remained in the system.

 

[Sampajanna]

I wouldn't give up on Innuos just yet. Maybe contact Nuno and see if they will offer to help you out with this situation

I emailed them. Ill let you know what they say.

 

[Sampajanna]

Innuos never responded to my email. Ghosted (and, yes, it was received; I got confirmation). I am definitely moving on.
I learned 3 things from this process and talking with many of you here, and others:

1) some people can send their Statement in directly for upgrade while others must use their local dealer (even if they didn’t buy it there as was my case). I would guess this is regional.
2) dealers can charge what they want, including 2-2.5k above cost. This cannot be attributed to tax/shipping as this is technically a modification/repair and therefore subject to low or no taxes most places (very little here for example).
3) Innuos apparently doesn't care how you feel about this

 

[kennyb123]

Innuos apparently doesn't care how you feel about this

That may be an overstatement but I can understand the sentiment as I had arrived at a similar point a few years back. That lead me to seek out another server with a big part of my selection criteria being the manufacturer’s responsiveness to both existing and potential customers. I went with Antipodes and it actually turned out to be far better than anticipated. They launched their support forum not long after I purchased my K30 and that has made it super-easy to communicate with both them and with other customers. It’s also super-easy to arrange both support and consultation calls with them. What I also appreciate is their transparency around hardware upgrades.

I cannot tell you how happy you might be with the Oladra’s sound quality relative to an upgraded Statement, but I can assure you that you would be well-supported by Antipodes.

 

[Sampajanna]

That may be an overstatement but I can understand the sentiment as I had arrived at a similar point a few years back. That lead me to seek out another server with a big part of my selection criteria being the manufacturer’s responsiveness to both existing and potential customers. I went with Antipodes and it actually turned out to be far better than anticipated. They launched their support forum not long after I purchased my K30 and that has made it super-easy to communicate with both them and with other customers. It’s also super-easy to arrange both support and consultation calls with them. What I also appreciate is their transparency around hardware upgrades.

I cannot tell you how happy you might be with the Oladra’s sound quality relative to an upgraded Statement, but I can assure you that you would be well-supported by Antipodes.

Thank you. Indeed, it may be exaggerated but I am feeling frustrated.. Oladra is very much on my radar, along with Pink Faun and perhaps a used Extreme. Nice to hear your experience. It will be a tick for Antipodes

 

[kennyb123]

Thank you. Indeed, it may be exaggerated but I am feeling frustrated.. Oladra is very much on my radar, along with Pink Faun and perhaps a used Extreme. Nice to hear your experience. It will be a tick for Antipodes

All good choices. My biggest lesson-learned is that it’s best to buy servers only from manufacturers who make themselves available on an online forum. Much more care and feeding is needed for this class of products than the other components in our systems.

 

[Sampajanna]

Indeed. Zero response in this case is unacceptable. Not even a “sorry for your experience.” Especially from someone who has spent so much money with your company and who is actively trying to spend more…. FYI, I received several PM expressing similar issue….

 

[kennyb123]

Indeed. Zero response in this case is unacceptable. Not even a “sorry for your experience.”

Nuno seems to be a really good guy. He was just spread too thin back in 2020 when I still owned a Zenith Mk3. It sounds like things might not have improved that much since then. That’s a bummer as they make excellent products.

 

[luca.pelliccioli]

I had several questions emailed to Stephen (Innuos staff) that was always answered in a few hours, but I’m based in EU. The dealer support here is also excellent, when I upgraded from ZENith to Statement (already next gen) or I needed to trade in the PhoenixUSB. The software site is working collecting from customers the most wanted/desired upgrades (less responsive I have to admit here).
Having said that I agree with you, in your shoes I’d have got the same frustration.

 

[b345t]

I had several questions emailed to Steve (Innuos staff) that was always answered in a few hours, but I’m based in EU. The dealer support here is also excellent, when I upgraded from ZENith to Statement (already next gen) or I needed to trade in the PhoenixUSB. The software site is working collecting from customers the most wanted/desired upgrades (less responsive I have to admit here).
Having said that I agree with you, in your shoes I’ve got the same frustratio.

I have been messaging Steve too on and off for various reasons for over 1 year now. He responds extremely quickly, very knowledgable and helpful. Really sad to hear the lack of help given to @Sampajanna .

 

[Innuos]

Indeed. Zero response in this case is unacceptable. Not even a “sorry for your experience.” Especially from someone who has spent so much money with your company and who is actively trying to spend more…. FYI, I received several PM expressing similar issue….

Hi Sampajanna,

Can you please pm me with your ticket number from your previous contact so I can check what the context of this? This is likely more of a commercial topic so it's likely to have been routed to the Sales Managers...

Best,

Nuno

 

[Sampajanna]

Hi Sampajanna,

Can you please pm me with your ticket number from your previous contact so I can check what the context of this? This is likely more of a commercial topic so it's likely to have been routed to the Sales Managers...

Best,

Nuno

Thanks for coming here to help. I appreciate it and will PM you

 

[b345t]

I installed the Sean Jacobs umbilical cords a few weeks ago. They provide a very obvious upgrade to the sound. Like a layer has been removed; more clarity. Separation clearer and clean punchy purer bass. No downsides; only positive. The first 1 week with 24/7 music playing was a bit up and down, then the bass filled out and highs smoothed. I will be upgrading to next-gen in January so really excited to see the improvements there too; just not so keen on the break in of those mundorf caps!