STREAM Series Megapost

[Dadams7378]

The new devices are still music servers - the storage is just optional, as we had huge demand for this.

Do keep in mind the new STREAM series perform way higher than the previous entry-models, and are greatly more versatile too. So with much higher performance, price does need to reflect that.
Certainly there will be lower cost options out there, but we do strive to provide good support with these products that are made in Europe and are sustained by a large software development team, and so on.

Thanks for the clarity, that’s appreciated. I’m interested by what you say about ‘much higher performance’ though, as when I contacted Innuos support direct I was told the sound of the STREAM 1 plus LPSU was on a par with the Zen MkIII and the Pulse. I appreciate that those models were not the ‘entry level’, but once you start adding modules the STREAM 1 does end up at a pretty punchy price point, and it then becomes difficult to choose that over - for example - a very lightly used second hand Zen or Pulse which are typically around £1700 from dealers on eBay (when even Innuos are saying it wouldn’t sound any better). I’m not here to criticise pricing decisions as only you know what the margins are, it just looks comparatively expensive and I’m struggling a little to see where the justification for that comes from.

 

[Stephen Healy]

But I'll also pay for a streamer, which I already have on my system.

This was already the case with the Mk3 - they were all streamers too, so in that sense there should not be much change in terms of 'feature redundancy'. Feel free to outline your system a bit more specifically and where your concerns might be if you would like me to try and address that a bit more.

I was told the sound of the STREAM 1 plus LPSU was on a par with the Zen MkIII and the Pulse. I appreciate that those models were not the ‘entry level’, but once you start adding modules the STREAM 1 does end up at a pretty punchy price point

This is two subtly different things - without an output module and using the normal on board USB, yes I would say the performance is relatively comparable with the favour on the side of the STREAM1+LPS1. When you add a module to it, it does indeed get more costly - and the sound quality goes even further ahead of ZEN Mk3/PULSE towards ZENith Mk3. You do then get the other quality of life benefits of 3x operating speed, new IR remote support, new accessible storage bay and so on. Our starting price has indeed increased, but so has the starting baseline of performance.
The used market options will always be very comparatively compelling and I think it affects all brands. It's like a car; the second it's driven off the forecourt, it suddenly loses a lot of its price from being 'used'.

 

[Dadams7378]

This was already the case with the Mk3 - they were all streamers too, so in that sense there should not be much change in terms of 'feature redundancy'. Feel free to outline your system a bit more specifically and where your concerns might be if you would like me to try and address that a bit more.

This is two subtly different things - without an output module and using the normal on board USB, yes I would say the performance is relatively comparable with the favour on the side of the STREAM1+LPS1. When you add a module to it, it does indeed get more costly - and the sound quality goes even further ahead of ZEN Mk3/PULSE towards ZENith Mk3. You do then get the other quality of life benefits of 3x operating speed, new IR remote support, new accessible storage bay and so on. Our starting price has indeed increased, but so has the starting baseline of performance.
The used market options will always be very comparatively compelling and I think it affects all brands. It's like a car; the second it's driven off the forecourt, it suddenly loses a lot of its price from being 'used'.

Understood, and thanks for clarifying. As I mentioned in a previous post, in my system and using my ears, I found the Rose RS130 to materially outperform the Stream 1 plus LPS1 in all respects (£700 price difference). Perhaps an output module would have narrowed the gap, and obviously that’s just my (and my wife’s) impression, and everyone’s mileage will no doubt vary.

 

[JeffM]

I'm new to all this, having just discovered the new model ranges because the hard drive on my Zen Mini MK3 has died. While waiting to learn the repair cost, it occurred to me it might be better simply to replace the Zen Mini with a new unit to get a SSD. Would it be possible to use my old LPSU with a new STREAM1?

 

[DanCollier]

I'm new to all this, having just discovered the new model ranges because the hard drive on my Zen Mini MK3 has died. While waiting to learn the repair cost, it occurred to me it might be better simply to replace the Zen Mini with a new unit to get a SSD. Would it be possible to use my old LPSU with a new STREAM1?

Hi Jeff, Yes the original LPSU is compatible with the ZENmini indeed.