"It Does About Everything You Will Ever Need"
The ZEN Mk3 high-fidelity music server from Innuos provides another leap in sound quality compared to the ZENmini. The ZEN Mk3 boasts an integrated dual-linear PSU, isolated dual-ethernet ports, and asymmetrical anti-vibration feet.
The ZEN Mk3 represents tremendous value in digital audio performance and will please the most discriminating audiophile with its combination of features, sound quality, and convenience.
"It Simply Puts a Smile on Your Face"
"It does just about everything you will ever need combined in a neat, lovely, and self-effacing package," notes Howard Milstein in his review for thesoundadvocate.com. "Most importantly; it reproduces music and sound with the utmost authority, naturalness, and 'live' performance characteristics while exhibiting a sense of ease and distinct listening gratification. This music server simply puts a smile on your face as you listen to it perform. What else can anyone ask for? A spectacular value!"
"An exceptionally quiet, very musical server," reports Anthony Kershaw, audiophilia.com. "Technically, it'll keep your digital rear guard covered for the long term, an important feature set when the landscape seems to change daily. Pair it with a top notch DAC, and you are set for stored files of all types, ripping your CD collection bit perfect, and, most importantly, the ability to stream at very high quality."
"Had Me Fully on Board"
"It manages your music collection so elegantly and instinctually, your interaction with music becomes that bit more effortless," observes Alan Sircom, Hi-Fi+.
"Responsiveness and tidy well-organized menu structure are enough to be happy, while the ease of adding tracks/albums to playlists in Innuos Sense had me fully on board," notes Dawid Grzb, Hi-Fi Knights. "Just one button press to select a song and put it just where I want goes a long way."
CD Player / Ripper, Internal Storage, and USB Output
Looking for a tidy solution for all your CDs, and for the files laying around on the computer - and an easy way to stream and listen to all your favorite music? The ZEN Mk3 has a built in CD player / ripper, and you can specify it with a 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB internal drive for lots of onboard music storage. The USB 2.0 output lets you connect directly to all your favorite devices, such as compatible soundbars, AV receivers, or integrated amplifiers.
Dual-Linear Power Supply
The ZEN Mk3 ensures a cleaner digital signal by reducing power noise that could otherwise muddy sonic fidelity. Through a dual-linear power supply, designed by Dr. Sean Jacobs, with ultra-low noise regulator design, Nichicon MUSE Capacitors, and medical-grade mains filter, your music opens up and reveals new levels of realism that you probably never considered possible with digital music components.
Custom-Made Motherboard
Innuous goes the extra mile and then some in order to keep the audio signal pure. A custom-made Innuos motherboard is completely reworked for optimized audio performance in the ZEN Mk3. Sources of EMI have been removed and internal clocks have been optimized, resulting in a "blacker" music background and enhanced realism. If you though you knew how great hi-res digital music can sound, hole onto your hat and prepare for a truly hair-raising stunning and pleasurable experience.
Ultra-low Noise Streamer Output
Another example of the exceptional care that Innuos has put into the ZEN Mk3 is the including of dual-ethernet ports with isolation transformers. These ports provide an ultra-low noise network connection for your streamer, removing noise from the path and improving sound quality on all network audio. Even lower quality audio sources can profit from this approach.
Anti-vibration Treatment
Vibration is known to be yet another source of signal degradation, and Innuos has you covered here, too. New asymmetrical isolation feet derived from the award-winning Innuos ZENith SE plus added chassis treatment help to combat harmful vibration that can affect a clean audio signal. This level of attention to detail sets Innuos apart from many other manufacturers of digital music servers, and your own two ears will be able to hear the difference.
In-Memory Playback
The ZEN Mk2 was killer. Mk3 is even better! Now with twice the memory of the Zen Mk2, the Zen Mk3 has 8GB RAM with 4GB dedicated memory. Music is loaded directly to memory for playback so that it doesn't engage the hard drive, improving sound quality.
MQA Core Decoding
The ZEN Mk3 supports MQA Core Software Decoding. This means you can playback MQA audio files and streams, delivering the sound of the original master recording. MQA Core software decoding is provided free of charge and enables streaming and playback of MQA files up to 24bit/96 kHz for non-MQA DACs and up to 24bit/384 kHz for MQA Renderer/Decoder DACs. It can also passthrough MQA files to MQA Full Decoder DACs.
(Please note that InnuOS Operating System 2.3 or higher is required for MQA Core Decoding.)
The Innuos Sense App Provides Easy Control
Managing your music should never get in the way of listening to your music. It should complement the experience. The Innuos Sense app is a powerful music management tool that works the way you do. It is made to help you manage, organize, and play your music and navigate streaming services with ease.
The Sense app is available as a free download and tightly integrates with high-end online music services and the innuOS Operating System to deliver optimal music playback with a multitude of features. These include seamless and automatic ripping of CDs on Innuos music servers, Qobuz and TIDAL integration including Artist Bios, Related Artists, Top Tracks, and more, and management of Qobuz and TIDAL albums together with albums stored on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) for a unified Music Library. (See our FEATURES & SPECS) tab for more.)
More Rave Reviews
"A custom motherboard (not off-the-shelf); a dual linear power supply from one Dr. Dean Jacobs; three asymmetrically aligned feet tuned to the resonant frequency of the chassis to combat microphonics – these are the core ingredients of the NEW MK3 from Innuous, the middle unit in the Portuguese company's current crop of server/streamers," notes a video review from John Darko, darko.audio.
"There are many companies that offer music servers, often based on standard motherboards and run-of-the-mill housings. Innuous is not one of those," reports Hans Beekhuyzen, The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel. "They use their own motherboard, housing, and firmware, all designed for low noise – both acoustically and electrically. And it's versatile, does LMS, UPnP, Sonos, and Roon. Yep, also Roon Core."