Innuos Pulsar ????

[tedwoods]

What a hobby, it just never ends.

Most certainly true...!!!
At Munich we'll see the new Zen and Zenith NG:

ZEN NG - Innuos - Upgrade your streaming

ZEN NG is the first model within the ZEN Series of music servers & streamers to include both new and trickled-down NG technology developments.

innuos.com

ZENith NG - Innuos - feel the presence of your music

With the ZENith NG it's no longer about the frequencies, pace or even the size of the soundstage; details in music now emerge as if by revelation.

innuos.com

 

[skids929]

I’ve sent three emails to Innuos asking if the i2s is generally better /preferred over USB if a DAC has both inputs, but I can’t get clarification on the topic. Logic would suggest that i2s chosen as this their first board conversation option to USB should sound better than ABS/EBU or Spdif on the Pulsar.

yes but how many dacs have i2s inputs? Very few that I know of

 

[skids929]

So the Pulsar has most certainly opened up and warmed up since my intial plug in last week. Definitely sounding good. I plugged the ground in today and really ticked up the clarity on it...Not sure how I feel about it yet. Some tracks I like it and some gives a little more harshness or thinner sound. HI frequencies are crystal clear...Plugging it into the Puritan ground box certainly makes an audible difference.

 

[Vangelis]

yes but how many dacs have i2s inputs? Very few that I know of

Are you using the Ground Master city or a dedicated ground line outdoors? Regarding i2s there seems to be more DACs coming out that look very interesting with i2s. At the Axpona show, Innuos was demonstrating two different Pulsars, one having USB out and the other with i2s, both feed into the same Lampitzator DAC. One report I heard directly from someone who heard the comparison said, he felt the i2s was better sounding. This is especially interesting for myself, where I would love to ditch my PhoenixUSB, the two USB cables and an expensive power cord and create more desperately needed shelf space. I will be looking for more observations from listeners that have installed the iS2 option into their Innuos streamers.

 

[skids929]

Are you using the Ground Master city or a dedicated ground line outdoors? Regarding i2s there seems to be more DACs coming out that look very interesting with i2s. At the Axpona show, Innuos was demonstrating two different Pulsars, one having USB out and the other with i2s, both feed into the same Lampitzator DAC. One report I heard directly from someone who heard the comparison said, he felt the i2s was better sounding. This is especially interesting for myself, where I would love to ditch my PhoenixUSB, the two USB cables and an expensive power cord and create more desperately needed shelf space. I will be looking for more observations from listeners that have installed the iS2 option into their Innuos streamers.

Im using the regular Groundmaster to a 4 foot copper rod into earth below my home. Yes I heard about the new connection modules that Innuos is releasing with I2S being the first, hoping for AES second. I am sure the I2S betters the regular USB with the inherent problem with the power rail in USB. Issue for me is my DAC everything but I2s and I wouldn't trade this DAC for any other right now so I will live with the USB.

I get what you are saying about consolidating all the boxes, the whole streamer thing can get out of hand pretty quickly when you think about all we try to mitigate with the streamer..Thankfully the clock is built into the Pulsar, but I still have the switch, the fiber isolator boxes, it add up pretty quick.

 

[tedwoods]

Im using the regular Groundmaster to a 4 foot copper rod into earth below my home. Yes I heard about the new connection modules that Innuos is releasing with I2S being the first, hoping for AES second. I am sure the I2S betters the regular USB with the inherent problem with the power rail in USB. Issue for me is my DAC everything but I2s and I wouldn't trade this DAC for any other right now so I will live with the USB.

I get what you are saying about consolidating all the boxes, the whole streamer thing can get out of hand pretty quickly when you think about all we try to mitigate with the streamer..Thankfully the clock is built into the Pulsar, but I still have the switch, the fiber isolator boxes, it add up pretty quick.

Since my QKORE1 deal fell through (...), I'll also be looking into the Groundmaster City as an alternative.
The main thing with the I²S interface is that it puts the "master" clock at the source (server/streamer) side, rather than the DAC one.
AES or spdif do more or less the same but the clock lines are embedded in the signal and do need de-coding at the DAC side.
So, it all boils down to overall implementation.
If the clocks at the DAC side are up to the task, differences are bound to be of a smaller significance.
Here's a Munich 2024 video, hinting at the planned Innuos digital outputs:

 

[skids929]

Since my QKORE1 deal fell through (...), I'll also be looking into the Groundmaster City as an alternative.
The main thing with the I²S interface is that it puts the "master" clock at the source (server/streamer) side, rather than the DAC one.
AES or spdif do more or less the same but the clock lines are embedded in the signal and do need de-coding at the DAC side.
So, it all boils down to overall implementation.
If the clocks at the DAC side are up to the task, differences are bound to be of a smaller significance.
Here's a Munich 2024 video, hinting at the planned Innuos digital outputs:

So glad he mentioned the AES module! Thanks for the video very informative. The new NG versions are tempting I am sure that GAN power makes a huge sonic difference.