Zen mk3 vs Zenith mk3 regarding the difference in sound quality...

[Peder]

@Stephen Healy and others
How would you,.who have tried it describe the difference in sound quality between Zen mk3 and Zenith mk3.

 

[Stephen Healy]

As you move up the range, you get progressively better sound staging and separation, lower noise floor and blacker background, and more sense of an 'analogue effortlessness'. I often find that bass clears up also and is able to reach a little further down into the lower frequencies. I am biased of course, so would gladly welcome the input from any owners who have experienced this comparison.

 

[Peder]

As you move up the range, you get progressively better sound staging and separation, lower noise floor and blacker background, and more sense of an 'analogue effortlessness'. I often find that bass clears up also and is able to reach a little further down into the lower frequencies. I am biased of course, so would gladly welcome the input from any owners who have experienced this comparison.

Hi ...
Thanks for that...

Then my next consideration is...
If you combine the Zenith mk3 with the InnuOs Phoenix USB-reclocker...
How close does the above mentioned combination come to the new Zen NG in sound quality..??
This if you were to hypothetically speculate in percentage.?
60, 70 percent,.or maybe even closer.

Why I ask is,.should I upgrade my Zen mk3 to Zenith mk3,with the InnuOs USB reclocker I already have...
Or,.if I should sell my Zen mk3 and USB reclocker,.and buy a Zen NG instead....

 

[Stephen Healy]

It would be more efficient to go straight to a ZEN NG, plus the benefits of being on the very latest platform. ZEN NG has numerous other benefits besides just the sound quality difference, such as modularity for capacity and output type, plus the overall running speed.

 

[TomasB]

I am living in the neighbourhood of the Innuos factory in Faro and I recently managed to get a private audition in their listening room. The term “effortless” is exactly how also I would like to describe the Zenith as compared to the Zen. It opens up the soundstage, giving it more depth, more dynamic headroom and a slightly wider frequency response. The differences are subtle but big enough for me to buy the Zenith (before the auditioning, I thought the Zen would suit me just fine). Then we compared the Zenith to the Statement NG, and again I was astonished that it was relatively easy even for my old ears to hear differences in sound quality. The Statement went a step further in the direction of “effortlessness” in reproducing music. However, the law of diminishing returns kicked in here and I didn’t think the Statement offered enough to justify the significantly higher price (and it therefore also would have failed my wife approval factor). The Zen vs Zenith offers a bigger sound quality upgrade than the Zenith vs Statement, in my opinion.