432 EVO

I will stick with my Innous Statement for now but I am interested in seeing a independent review for sure. 

Gentlemen - I’m interested in getting a streaming / server front end to feed my digital system.

I am considering the Innuos MkIII or Statement and a 432 System. Hard drive and specific 432 model isn’t determined at this time.

For me, a deep, wide soundstage with 3 dimensional images is critical. I also do not prefer a presentation that is pushed up in front of the speakers but one that occurs both in front and behind the speakers - presented as the recording engineer created the recording.

I use live music as a reference. What might sound more pleasing and more enjoyable to listen to doesn’t always coincide with what real music sounds like. I state this because, with well recorded music on a system that is dialed in and presents the music as it was performed - the emotion of the musician is conveyed and the experience is unmatched. On most recordings, the performance is behind the speakers, on some - the audience is in front of the speakers and on a very few - sounds come from the sides and even behind the listening position! Just my humble experience :-).

I’ll also have to look into audiophile grade Ethernet switches and Ethernet and USB cables, something I have NO experience with. So if anyone can contribute THEIR EXPERIENCE would be greatly appreciated. Please - no contributions without experience.

I’m interested in getting feedback from "firstgrowth" with his 432 Aeron. Very interested.

Finally - let’s everyone contribute our experiences and findings nicely. We don’t have to attack each other but can rather say something like "I experienced something different. This is my system and what I was listening to and what I experienced."

If there’s no direct experience, not to be rude - but I don’t find that useful in evaluating a product for purchase. And let’s not argue - it accomplishing nothing constructive.

Kindest regards to all, TJF

Well then, the ground rules have been laid. I’m interested in replies to this request. As the OP, I still have yet to hear the EVO so those who have, fire away!

Ok, I had the server in my system for a couple of hours this morning and here are my impressions.

It comes with dual power supplies, one is a 9v and the other 12. Hopefully I got this right but the 12v is the main power supply and the 9v is for the motherboard.

It took a good 20 minutes for the server to warm up from a cold start. We tried it with 2 different USB cables, I don’t recall the brands used but there was a big difference in price. One was $1200 and the other $3000. I played it with both but much preferred the more expensive cable. It focused the soundstage and made it bigger.

I only used Roon since the ripped files weren’t mine and I wanted familiar music for the audition. Tracks I played were Norah Jones "Come Away with me" Tom Waits "Looking for the heart of Saturday night" America "Sister golden hair" Grateful Dead from Barton Hall 5/8/77 "Scarlet Begonias" Alison Krauss "The lucky one" Steely Dan "Babylon Sister" and Paul Simon "Late in the evening". There were huge differences between recordings and I chose the America track due to it’s lack of quality. It sounded pretty lousy! The rest sounded at least as good as my Modwright/Oppo spinner setup but most sounded better. There was more detail and the bass took on weight. My speakers are open baffles, Spatial audio X3 which sound on the thin side with my regular CD player used as a transport. There was none of that here. The sound covered the spectrum. With the upgraded cable the players had a much more specific place on the stage. Not much changed tonally but I found the sound more engaging. The added flexibility of being able to stream is a huge bonus for me. I pulled the trigger.

I don’t write reviews for a living so I apologize for anything I might have missed. If anyone has any questions I’m capable of answering please ask. I’ve given up on waiting for the transport I ordered. I’m not getting any younger and I wanted to get on with my life.

Jeff

Thanks for the report @thyname.  If I understand you correctly, you compared the 432 Aeon (into which Dac?) to your Modwright OPPO (which model?) and liked what you heard using a $3,000 USB cable enough that you ordered the Aeon? 

You found your system sounded richer while also providing more detail and sounding more engaging through the Aeon.  Do I have that right?

What were you using to stream to the Modwright OPPO, or were you playing CDs?

Would you have ordered the Aeon with the $1,200 USB cable?

Thanks for any additional info.