I've had the lucky opportunity to have these two on demo for a couple of weeks, and boy I am somewhat torn on which one to go for. They are feeding an Aqua La Voce S3 DAC.
Aside from the obvious differences - Zenith has SSD and CD slot, Aries has neither (but both can be added), The Aries has a screen and different outputs, not just USB like the Zenith, Aeries has Wifi, Zenith just ethernet. They are both exceptional streamers. I genuinely thought that my previous NAIM ND5XS2 could'nt be better until these two arrived. Comparing any of these three to say a StrawberryandcustardPi has made me realised that I never had to dislike listening to digital music, I just needed a good streamer. I have a used G2 and brand new Zenith (120 hours burn in on it currently), both on good deals, so the price between them is only a couple of hundred quid. Originally, at retail prices, when the G2 was sold it was £3899 and at the time, the Zenith Mk3 was £2999, now the Zenith is £3499 and the new G2.1 is £4199.
Both of these units give a very different presentation. I use Roon on both to avoid OS software discrepancies.
The Aries G2 (not G2.1) has this very solid sound, with a real thump in the lower regions. It sounds 'perfect' but borders on sound too perfect, you can hear that it is digital, very much 'controlled'. It has an amazing control of voices, but the top end can be over overshadowed by the bottom and can be aggressive at times.
The Zenith Mk3 has a more relaxed analogue sound, but can at time really overcook it on the top end and has a lack of low end thump, it can often sound 'all symbols' and no body but does give a bigger more expansive sound width. It has a little sibilance on voices, but it can be enjoyed for longer, and it does soften poor recordings. The Aries does not soften a thing, you get it raw, but with that, a more prominent 'wow' factor.
Both of them are very smooth and non fatiguing, but the Zenith is softer and smoother overall. The Aries is much more raw.
Both of them benefitted from a good mains cable, the difference was remarkable between using a freebie, which I then replace to a Naim Powerlite (barely any improvement), and then to a cable I picked up years ago for about £80, a Argentum Acoustics Proteus-12, which was a great match for both of them. Im using an EWA USB cable, and have a Shunyata Venom coming this week. The EWA cable tends to be a top heavy and low bass cable based on EWA's others in the range, so I'll be looking forward to trying the Shunyata.
The Zeniths symbol addiction can melt my brain, as can the Aries low end dominance. It's almost like I want a hybrid of them both! When you plug back in a Pi unit, its like going back to a Sony Walkman.
Any thoughts/experiences of these units would be very welcome!
Aside from the obvious differences - Zenith has SSD and CD slot, Aries has neither (but both can be added), The Aries has a screen and different outputs, not just USB like the Zenith, Aeries has Wifi, Zenith just ethernet. They are both exceptional streamers. I genuinely thought that my previous NAIM ND5XS2 could'nt be better until these two arrived. Comparing any of these three to say a StrawberryandcustardPi has made me realised that I never had to dislike listening to digital music, I just needed a good streamer. I have a used G2 and brand new Zenith (120 hours burn in on it currently), both on good deals, so the price between them is only a couple of hundred quid. Originally, at retail prices, when the G2 was sold it was £3899 and at the time, the Zenith Mk3 was £2999, now the Zenith is £3499 and the new G2.1 is £4199.
Both of these units give a very different presentation. I use Roon on both to avoid OS software discrepancies.
The Aries G2 (not G2.1) has this very solid sound, with a real thump in the lower regions. It sounds 'perfect' but borders on sound too perfect, you can hear that it is digital, very much 'controlled'. It has an amazing control of voices, but the top end can be over overshadowed by the bottom and can be aggressive at times.
The Zenith Mk3 has a more relaxed analogue sound, but can at time really overcook it on the top end and has a lack of low end thump, it can often sound 'all symbols' and no body but does give a bigger more expansive sound width. It has a little sibilance on voices, but it can be enjoyed for longer, and it does soften poor recordings. The Aries does not soften a thing, you get it raw, but with that, a more prominent 'wow' factor.
Both of them are very smooth and non fatiguing, but the Zenith is softer and smoother overall. The Aries is much more raw.
Both of them benefitted from a good mains cable, the difference was remarkable between using a freebie, which I then replace to a Naim Powerlite (barely any improvement), and then to a cable I picked up years ago for about £80, a Argentum Acoustics Proteus-12, which was a great match for both of them. Im using an EWA USB cable, and have a Shunyata Venom coming this week. The EWA cable tends to be a top heavy and low bass cable based on EWA's others in the range, so I'll be looking forward to trying the Shunyata.
The Zeniths symbol addiction can melt my brain, as can the Aries low end dominance. It's almost like I want a hybrid of them both! When you plug back in a Pi unit, its like going back to a Sony Walkman.
Any thoughts/experiences of these units would be very welcome!
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