USB Output Delay

tortuga_Bob

New member
Nov 14, 2024
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Sarasota, FL
Hello! First time posting on the Forum. I am currently looking at Innuos products (Pulsar, Zen Next-Gen) to replace my current streaming setup and I'm finding the number of choices/options a bit overwhelming. I'd like to start with a simple but critical question: When using Sense, is there a setting to add an output delay when switching sample rates? My DAC is not the fastest at relocking when sample rates change so, without a delay, some tracks get the very beginning of the music clipped. I find this very annoying and really is a show-stopper for me. Using Squeezelite as an endpoint I currently have a 1200 ms delay set. Unfortunately, w/o actually owning a unit there is no way to see what settings are available in Sense. Thanks for your help.
 
Hi Bob, welcome to the forum and thanks for your question!
Yes, in the Sense audio settings there is delay that you can apply:
1731593972727.png

As you can see, the current maximum is 1000ms but we are currently considering whether to include larger delays.
 
Stephen, thank you for your response. I thought that I had found this info on the website some months ago but couldn't relocate it to confirm. Now I have the dilemma of sorting out the Pulsar vs Zen Next-Gen bit. I always thought it was best to isolate storage drives from streamer using a NAS, can you point me to some discussion on streamer vs server/streamer? I was originally only considering the Pulsar but now I'm also considering the Zen Next-Gen but cost would limit me to 4TB and the base USB output. I greatly appreciate your help.
 
It's something that could could be delved into a lot of details, so could be another candidate for an InnSights post!
But in short; conventional perception is storage/servers are noisy with rumbling drives, spinning fans, high frequency CPU noise, loud high-consumption power supplies, etc etc etc. Software is a whole other factor.
The point of Innuos devices is that they suffer none of these things - we've proven it is entirely feasible to make a very good-running server AND streamer that is very low-noise, and in fact when you do this you can then negate the problems of having separate server / streamer such as network noise, increased latency etc which we are finding are very underestimated in terms of harming sound quality. You can then also utilise a lot more bespoke firmware since we know the exact hardware we are using, so it's arguably a 'best of both worlds' in terms of sound and function.

The ZEN Next-Gen is a terrific sounding product that will give you more versatility than a PULSAR regarding file storage. Even the base USB output will sound very good, but you have an upgrade in the future to add the PhoenixUSB reclocker module. Don't forget, you could order the ZEN Next-Gen with no storage and add your own 4TB M2 SSD into the Expandable Storage Bay, if that helps with budgeting.
 
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