Innuos Next-Gen NET Audiophile Network Switch

Engineering the Network for Better Digital Audio

The network has become an increasingly important part of a modern digital audio system. While conventional network switches are designed primarily around data transmission, the Innuos Next-Gen NET takes a fundamentally different approach, treating the network as an integral part of a high-performance audio system.

Designed specifically for audiophile applications, Next-Gen NET is engineered to provide an exceptionally quiet and stable network environment for your music streamer or server. It is the ideal companion to the Innuos ZEN Next-Gen and ZENith Next-Gen, and can also be used to enhance the network stage of a high-end STATEMENT system.

WaveNET: A Network Board Designed for Audio

At the heart of Next-Gen NET is Innuos’ proprietary WaveNET board.

Rather than adapting a conventional enterprise or consumer networking platform, Innuos developed WaveNET specifically with high-performance audio in mind. Its design focuses on minimizing electrical interference and maintaining signal integrity throughout the network path.

WaveNET is derived from the architecture used in Innuos’ flagship NazaréNET, bringing advanced network engineering to the Next-Gen range.

Next-Generation Power Supply

The power supply is one of the most important aspects of the Next-Gen NET’s design.

A substantial 300VA transformer, shared in concept with the power architecture of the ZENith Next-Gen, feeds Innuos’ ARC6 active rectification system. This is combined with four independent CX regulator modules, providing separate power rails for critical sections of the network hardware.

Compared with the NET3’s two independent power rails, the Next-Gen NET uses four, allowing greater separation between the various digital and analogue sections of the network circuitry.

The objective is straightforward: provide each critical circuit with clean, stable power while reducing the opportunity for electrical noise generated by one section to affect another.

Four Independent Power Rails

Next-Gen NET’s four independently regulated power rails are a major part of its ultra-low-noise architecture.

By separating critical circuitry rather than powering everything from a common supply, Innuos aims to minimize electrical interaction between the network controller, clocking circuitry, and sensitive analogue portions of the network interface.

This careful power architecture helps create the quiet electrical environment required for reference-level digital audio.

SFP Fibre Connectivity

Next-Gen NET includes an SFP fibre connection, providing another way to isolate your audio system from electrical noise elsewhere on the network.

Because fibre transmits data optically rather than electrically, it can eliminate electrical continuity between network components at the point where it is introduced. This makes the SFP connection particularly useful for systems where minimizing electrical noise is a priority.

SmartStack Vibration Control

Innuos has also incorporated its SmartStack vibration-control technology, derived from the company’s flagship Nazaré platform.

Sensitive electronic components and transformers can be affected by mechanical vibration. SmartStack is designed to reduce these unwanted effects, helping keep the critical components within Next-Gen NET operating in a more stable environment.

The asymmetric chassis is also designed to work naturally with other Innuos Next-Gen products, allowing Next-Gen NET to be integrated into a complete system stack alongside the ZEN, ZENith, FLOW, or STATEMENT.

Built for Reference-Level Streaming

The Innuos Next-Gen NET is intended for listeners who have already invested in a high-performance digital audio system and want the network infrastructure feeding it to meet the same standard.

By combining an audio-specific WaveNET board, sophisticated power regulation, SFP fibre connectivity, custom firmware, and advanced vibration control, Next-Gen NET provides a purpose-built network foundation for high-resolution music streaming.

For owners of an Innuos ZEN Next-Gen, ZENith Next-Gen, or STATEMENT—or anyone building a reference-level streaming system—the Innuos Next-Gen NET is designed to bring the network stage up to the same uncompromising standard as the rest of the system.