*New* - Olive "Opus"

[Blindamood]

For those of you who are interested in a music server / CD player...you might want to check this out. The 'audiophile' version of Olive Musica/Symphony. Just announced today, and added to their web site.

A bit steep in price, but wow...

Olive Opus

[Alaric]

Oh my....

More than a "bit" pricey for me , but , wow I'm not familiar with Olive , but if the fidelity is half as good as it is beautiful , my turntable may have been bumped another notch down the (wish) list! :E
I generally prefer black , but the silver shows off what a gorgeous piece it is. :drool: Excuse me , I think my Visa card is burning.....

[Blindamood]

Maybe we can all get together and work out a volume discount... :B

I think the better option for me at this point is the Olive Musica. Still fairly expensive, but I might be able to work it out, rather than going with a standard CD/SACD player as I've inquired about in another thread. The concept of having direct access to my entire CD collection, as well as to streaming Internet radio via the wi-fi connection is very attractive.

[george_k]

I know this might be a little off-topic but who is the composer of this classical piece and what is its name?

http://www.olive.us/p_bin/?cid=01_01_symphony > click Explore Olive | SYMPHONY and let it load

[David Meek]

One of the issues Jen and I have been dealing with since moving into the Orcas house is what to do with all my media now that we're in a much smaller home. As I only have 625 or so CDs the Opus would give me access to my entire collection in a single component-size unit. That's not really a new concept, but the seriousness of the attempt at getting audiophile-quality sound from digital data DOES intrigue as well as does the styling. The "pre-load" option isn't something I'd be interested in as ripping the CDs to the drive would be part of the fun, but I can see where some would benefit from that. Another thing that could be (is?) a real plus is the update/upgrade availability from either the 'Net or CD.

Overall it's an impressive package, and at a reasonable (not great) price. BUT, what does it sound like? :scratchhead:

[ThomasW]

I know this might be a little off-topic but who is the composer of this classical piece and what is its name?

The composer is Johann Pachelbel, the piece is his "Canon in D"

[Kingdaddy]

Roll your own music server for a fraction of the cost. I don’t see a need to buy any hardware other then a bigger HD to store your music on. Perfect bit for bit rips and loss-less encoding is freeware and not that difficult to obtain, the only advantage I see to this unit is the DAC's and that's only if your processor has older lesser quality DAC's, my processors DAC's are close to the same quality so I'm already there. I use EAC and Accurip to a 300Gb internal drive, then Cinemar’s Music Lobby as a front end for organizing all my coverart and song lists, very flexible and customizable. The music from this server sounds identical to the CD played through my 555ES CD player. I still need to purchase a external drive to backup all my collection so I don’t have to re-rip them in case of a failure, but this system would be no more immune to losing data then any computer so you would need to do the same.

Ultimately I wish to have all my DTS music and DVD video concerts ripped to individual tracks so I can play a mix of music and concert songs, this IMO, is the holy grail of music servers and when I can do this I will be able to conquer the world.

[JonMarsh]

Nice one piece product, not inexpensive, but then depending on how all the individual parts work, might be worth it for some, considering the convenience.

For $3K, I could do one of the new Mac mini's, a miniStack V2 drive addon, a widescreen LCD display, a Benchmark DAC1, and still have change. A fair amount of change, at that. But it would require a little bit of setup- like plugging in the Benchmark to the Apple through the digital out, and connecting the external 500GB HD. Wow, really broke a sweat doing that.















OTOH, I'd also have another computer and a 20" widescreen display... and DVD capabilities.

[PewterTA]

I like Kingdaddy's idea because it's even less than the MAC...and you wouldn't have to deal with Apple. That's with the Benchmark DAC1.

[Bob]

Jon Marsh,
I like the way you think. You can also even use one of Apples new 60 GB IPODs. The secret, of course, is not to use MPEG. Then maybe a outboard DAC. Didn't either Stereophile or Absolute sound have a article about doing this?
I know all my CDs fit on my IPOD and there is still room for video. I have never had any reason to hook it up to my stereo but, I know that Micheal Fremer at Stereophile has done this.

[Lex]

One of Olive's reps was kind enough to post this at our forum, without I might add permission to do so, :roll:

I'll let all this great information stand here for a bit, while you all examine this topic, then I will delete it unless Olive wishes to advertise here.

At least it was tastefully done spam, and complete with all information, even the legal mumbo jumbo!

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — March 1st, 2006 — Olive Media Products, Inc., a developer of innovative digital audio systems, today announced the new OPUS, a high-end CD Player with integrated 400GB hard drive. Designed and custom-built in the USA the OPUS is targeted at the audiophile market. The heart of its digital-to-analog conversion is powered by four Burr-Brown 24-bit/192 kHz DACs with 8X oversampling. A separate temperature-compensated crystal oscillator provides the DACs with an ideal clock reference, and virtually eliminates jitter. To minimize the noise level and prevent corruption of the analog signal the OPUS features an exclusively linear power supply. Combining premium audio technology with harmonious circuit architecture the OPUS delivers an audio experience on par with high-end CD players in its class, and sets a new standard for digital music players.

Like Olive®’s award-wining music center line, the OPUS allows users to record, tag and archive CDs with a simple button, using an ultra-quiet hard drive that holds up to 1,100 CDs in lossless quality. Once in the digital domain users can conveniently access their music and create playlists across their entire collection.

“Integrating convergence technology into a high-end audio device ultimately leads to a better music experience.” said Oliver Bergmann, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Olive Media Products, Inc. “But it also poses a great challenge due to its distortional influence on audio reproduction. Olive’s long-standing engineering experience with both worlds allows the OPUS to take advantage of the digital audio revolution, while delivering a stunning sonic performance.”

The OPUS’ remarkable acoustic performance is complemented by its minimalist design. Built out of fine grade aluminum the solid chassis features a distinctive front
plate with an elegant CD door, and is optimized to reduce operating noise and vibration.

The Olive® OPUS in brief.

Harmonious circuit architecture.
• Hand-designed audio board with double-sided assembly provides clean signal path and considerable reduction in parasitic inductance and capacitance.
• Extensive use of separate analog and digital planes as well as separate power and ground planes reduces ground impedance, crosstalk, and noise floor.

Premium DAC design.
• 4x Burr-Brown 24-bit/192 kHz DACs ensure maximum resolution and accuracy.
• 8X oversampling with 352.8 kHz sample rate eliminates ultrasonic noise and allows the use of gentle analog filters.
• Ultra-low jitter master clock eliminates timing error-induced distortion.
• Precision analog output section maintains linearity and low noise.
• Passive anti-image filter avoids slew-induced distortion and power supply
modulation.

Clean power.
• Independent supplies for analog and digital sections, including toroidal
transformers, prevent corruption of analog signal.
• Low noise linear regulators keep noise levels low while supplying tightly
regulated power.
• Large reservoir capacitance provides current reserves for transients and
extended bass response.
• Power-line EMI/RFI filtering reduces noise induced from mains.

Audible design.
• Solid chassis and closed front plate eliminate noise of CD & HD mechanism.
• Special 8X bearing for HD eliminates vibration and operating noise.
• Power efficient components allow fan-less design.

Convenience.
• Ultra-quiet 400GB hard drive stores up to 1,100 CDs in lossless quality.
• Integrated CD database provides music information.
• High-resolution LCD and intuitive jog-shuttle for convenient navigation.
• Play, burn or copy audio CDs.
• Update your Apple® iPod™.
• Stream music to multiple rooms (build-in Ethernet hub and 802.11g access point)
• Free preload of the customer’s music collection with purchase of the OPUS
(Limited time offer. See website for terms and conditions.).

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The Olive® OPUS will be available beginning of March 2006 for US$2,999. Products are available through certified resellers or directly by phone (1.877.BY.OLIVE), and online at www.olive.us.

ABOUT OLIVE MEDIA PRODUCTS
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Olive® is a privately held company driven by a team of music aficionados with a vision to create the perfect audio experience. With a deep understanding of audio and convergence technology, Olive® solutions deliver the best of both worlds, combining high fidelity sound andinnovative features with intuitive navigation and attractive design. For more information about Olive® and its many fine products visit www.olive.us or call 1.877.BY.OLIVE.

FOR MEDIA INFORMATION
Olive Corporate Communications
Telephone: (415) 908 3870
E-mail: communication@olive.us

TRADEMARKS
Olive is a registered trademark of Olive Media Products, Inc. in the US and in the countries where Olive products are sold or distributed. Olive OPUS, and Olive Preload are trademarks of Olive Media Products, Inc. Other brands and names are the property of their respective owners.

[audioqueso]

Dangggggg... that is just a little bit pricey. My media server is just a little bigger, and does the same thing (400GB/Prodigy 7.1/lossless/bit-perfect/tv menu) and I only spent less than $400. That's nice though.

[mickster1972]

I've taken a listen to the Musica at a Berkeley high-end shop and it was quite good. I can only imagine the Opus is better, considering the Burr-Brown DACs. But wow, that price is crazy!

Blindamood, I'm intrigued by your music server for under $400. Are there forum posts you could direct me to that discuss design ideas with instructions?

[Cowanrg]

yeah, and when you roll your own, you get to listen to the sound of a computer in your system, yeah!

i would LOVE to have a media server like that. however, there is NO way im killing my noise floor by having a computer in my rack. so, for all you guys saying you can do it for $500, try again. theirs doesnt have a fan. it appears to be all dedicated hardware.

[Blindamood]

Blindamood, I'm intrigued by your music server for under $400. Are there forum posts you could direct me to that discuss design ideas with instructions?

Hey mickster, wasn't me with the home-grown server. Maybe audioqueso can provide more details or link?

[mickster1972]

Oops... I meant Kingdaddy's audio server ideas... and audioquesto's or anyone else's for that matter!

[mickster1972]

Now that I've explored the Mac mini JonMarsh has mentioned, I'm wondering why I'd want to build something myself. Thanks for alerting us to this!

[Kingdaddy]

Its all about the ripping software and interface, the rest is easy. I have my server about 30' away from my rack and use a DIY digital coax to connect a good 24/192 sound card to my processors input, the sound is every bit as good as any CD transport I've heard.

[Blindamood]

Decision made!

Well, I finally went for it today...ordered a new silver Olive Musica for my two-channel system. :B

I'm really looking forward to having direct access to my entire CD collection from a single box. I think this will be the perfect solution for me, since it will also be able to pull internet radio stations from my existing wi-fi setup. Will report back when I receive it and get a chance to listen.

[David Meek]

Cool Brad! I'm very curious to see if the sonics do hold up once you get to extensively sample the music you are most familiar with through the unit.

[Audiophiliac]

I like the looks of the Olive stuff. And they sure seem to advertise their "audiophile" sound quality. Let us know what you think.

As for me, I think I will try the Sonos ZP80. The only full-on media server that I feel would get me excited enough to drop a lot of dough on, is the Kaleidescape. They should be adding the ability to import files from your PC soon to their server. Once they have this sorted out, I may bring myself to start saving. If you havent used one, you shouldnt. Because you want to use anything else! It is really that cool. At least for movies. I havent seen the music interface yet, but I imagine it is similar or even more flexible. But...I can see where most people balk at the price tag. It is very expensive.

[Bob]

I followed Jon's lead and bought a Mac mini and a Wavelength Cosecant tube DAC. Now all my cd's are in four places. In portable CD storage books for putting them in the car. On my portable computer, which I could have used instead of the Mac mini but, I wanted something that stayed in the room, and on my IPOD. In order to get all the music on my IPOD I had to give up using the WAV storage and went to MPEG but, for what I use the IPOD for that's fine.
As to fan noise, I'm not familiar with other than Mac computers but, I certainly can't hear the mini.

[tboooe]

just out of curiousity, does anyone use SONOS.com? Its a great solution for whole house wireless audio. I have my 40k+ songs ripped to a 1tb NAS which the Sonos system can access. Via their great handheld controller, I can now stream music to every part of my house. Just a thought.

[Audiophiliac]

And for anyone who wants to go mobile with your FLAC or MP3 or OGG collections in your car, look up Ural CDD....its a russian head unit that will support a soon to be released ATAPI box that houses your 2.5" HDD of any size. You take it in, load it up, and put it in your car. I am about to get one.

[jbatesy]

Has anyone tried using a Squeezebox for this type of setup? To me it makes a lot of sense. It has wireless networking so you can keep the computer away from your listening area. The Squeezebox is supposed to have good DACs and supports FLAC. I would be interested to know how the sound compares to the Opus or a good CD player.

[JimmyNeutron]

Waaaayyy too pricey for what it does. I built my own. It does more. It cost less. It looks cooler. It runs FLAC off 2 300 gig drives. It's all remote controlled. It has fans so quiet you don't hear them. Best of all, my McIntosh handles the D to A conversion.

[Blindamood]

Well, I did finally receive my Olive Musica last Wednesday. Unfortunately, I had to go out of town on Thursday, and didn't get to unpack and play with it until Sunday night.

Initial reviews are very positive. Sound quality of CD playback is excellent on my two-channel system (B&K pre-pro and amp). I was only able to load about 4 CDs in so far, while experimenting with the various features and settings. I chose FLAC (lossless) format, and there is an option to listen to the CD while it is being "imported."

Also got it connected to my wi-fi network without hassle. Pulled in tons of Internet radio stations...will take some time to wade through and find some favorites. Nice feature, though.

Will report back when I get a chance to listen more extensively...

[David Meek]

Jaime, did you use a Mac chassis? It certainly LOOKS familiar.

Brad, I'm so jealous man! :T With FLAC, what kind of file sizes are you seeing?

[ThomasW]

Jaime, did you use a Mac chassis? It certainly LOOKS familiar

David

I think you'll find the answers to most of your questions in the link below.

http://www.jimmyneutron.org/MS-100%20media%20server.htm

[David Meek]

That's impressive. Thanks for the link Thomas.

[JimmyNeutron]

Jaime, did you use a Mac chassis? It certainly LOOKS familiar.

Thanks David. So you noticed it looks like a Mac, huh? That's cool, as I designed it to look like a McIntosh unit since my gear is all McIntosh. I made the case and front panel. It's actually 2 sheets of plexiglass: the back side is black high gloss and is where the LCD screen sits in. The outer is a lighter smoked thin plexiglass that is made to cover the LCD and give it a smooth mirror like glass finish - it worked :W . I got tired of looking for and removing CD's from their jewel cases and thought it would be great to buy the McIntosh music server, but the price was too high and it's capabilities were outdated. So I built one. It gets constant daily use by the family.

Jimmy

[Blindamood]

Brad, I'm so jealous man! :T With FLAC, what kind of file sizes are you seeing?

Hey David, not sure yet how to figure out the file size per song/CD ops: Will explore more this weekend and let you know. All I've seen so far is the total % of disk space left after importing about a dozen more discs. Still exploring the range of features available on this thing...

Latest development: heard from Olive tech support that you can now use any external hard drive (via USB connection) to provide additional storage capacity, and/or for storing backup files. (Used to be you had to purchase a specific drive from Olive.) So, just ordered a 200GB Maxtor drive that I will initially use for backups only. Definitely a must for protecting all of the manual labor of loading CDs onto the music server!

Also played with the browser-based configuration screens a bit. Using the wi-fi connection to access the server via any web browser, you can easily modify the meta data, playlists, etc. from anywhere in the house. Would be nice to have display connected to my tv, but this option works pretty well too.

[grit]

Brad,

So you can access the server via a web browser? Interesting. How's the actual unit display operate? My concern is that the display is too small and/or difficult to navigate when you want to find a particular CD.

What about making play lists or random play lists (eg, play anything from a particular LIST of CDs, etc)?

And could you touch on the playback quality and how you have it connected (digital/analog)?

Thanks so much!

[Blindamood]

Grit, yes you can access via browser to update much of what you can do through the display. From what I understand (don't have one myself) the interface on the box is very similar to an iPod. I find it very easy to navigate and find what I want to play. When a song is playing, the text displayed is much larger...I can see it clearly from my couch (~8 ft. away).

It's very flexible as far as what to play. Can play by artist, disc, genre, custom playlists, etc.

I've got it connected via analog cables to my 2-channel B&K pre-pro. Sound quality to me is fantastic, either directly from disc, or from FLAC-encoded file.

[Blindamood]

A couple of updates on my new Olive Musica, as well as a pic.

First lesson learned is to *always* back up material recorded on a disc! After ripping a bunch of CDs to the internal hard drive, I ran into a glitch and had to use the restore disc to get things working again (all recorded CDs lost in the process...).

So, my next step was to order an external hard disc, which I just got hooked up today. Allows you not only to copy all ripped music for backup purposes, but you can also add up to two separate units for extending the storage capacity. So, my new method is to burn a few discs at a time, let the FLAC conversion complete, and then make a copy of everything on external disk. Seems to be working well so far.

As far as file sizes (per David's earlier question), I'm seeing a range of about 25-50MB per song. One album I looked at came to about 256MB. This is after conversion to FLAC, so smaller than the native files would be.

Sound continues to be awesome!

[Blindamood]

Just a couple more comments...

The pic above shows the Maxtor 200GB external drive sitting on top of the Olive. Connected by USB.

Also wanted to mention that the Olive tech support has been very helpful during my process of getting up and running with the Musica--thanks!

Last note...I'm not sure this type of unit is for everyone. I've got a fairly extensive computer background, so I have a bit more patience and knowledge about how to upgrade the OS, install the backup disc, etc. But I'm not sure the 'casual' home audio consumer is going to have such a good time (yet). Of course, I do find it much easier than rolling my own, as some above have described.

[Blindamood]

Just wanted to note that Olive introduced this week a software update (2.3) for all of its music servers that reorganizes the menus more logically, and provides a much more advanced (and faster) Web interface. Previously, you could update the meta data of your CDs via the Web interface, but now you can perform any operation available from the unit's menu (e.g., play songs, reorganize playlists, etc.).

When connected to the Internet, the update is provided at the push of a button, and take less than a minute to complete.

Oh yeah...I'm still enjoying the sound of this player more every day. :T

[Blindamood]

For the benefit of those who may be considering an Olive music server, here are a few screen shots of the new Web interface. First one is a list of albums; second is information about the current selection; and the third is one of one of the configuration pages.

[David Meek]

Thanks Brad. Y'know, you're really chipping away at my "let's just save a little more first" justification.

[Blindamood]

Ha, ha. Well, I just have a hard time curbing my enthusiasm when I find something that I like... :W

[fauzigarib]

I've been following this thread for a while now, and I fail to see the difference between the new Opus and the SqueezeBox.

The only feature lacking in the SB is the hard drive, hence you have to have a network and a music server. Makes more sense to me this way.

Other than that, each has their own respective (and quite respectable, I might add) DAC's, Internet radio, etc...

The Squeezebox also comes with a 3 month free trial of Pandora, the LastFM like internet service.. this service alone is worth the 300 bucks of the Squeezebox.

What am I missing here?

Fauzi

[Blindamood]

Fauzi, yes the Squeezebox looks like a very interesting device. The big difference is not only the hard disc, however, but the Olive is also a high-quality CD player and provides the ability to rip and encode CDs to the hard disc. For those of us who do not use a computer to download and/or encode music files, the Olive provides more of a self-contained solution.

It looks like a more direct comparison could be made to the new Transporter...now this one looks pretty interesting. But expensive, of course.

[fauzigarib]

Fauzi, yes the Squeezebox looks like a very interesting device. The big difference is not only the hard disc, however, but the Olive is also a high-quality CD player and provides the ability to rip and encode CDs to the hard disc. For those of us who do not use a computer to download and/or encode music files, the Olive provides more of a self-contained solution.

It looks like a more direct comparison could be made to the new Transporter...now this one looks pretty interesting. But expensive, of course.

Brad,

Yes, you're right... the CD player. I think, however, that part goes without saying.

My point is simply this: I'd like to see the comparitive numbers on the performance values of the DAC's in the Squeezebox as opposed to the BB's in the Olive... but I'd go as far to say that the performance level of both units in question would be closer rather than miles apart.

Hence, the only benefit that you are actually getting (let's assume for argument's sake that they are identical in performance) is the transport that comes with the Olive unit.

I haven't downloaded a single song in my collection because the SB, along with my system, really shows up the lacking in the source material. I think the only difference between how I rip my cd's and how you do 'em is that you simply plug them into the the Olive, and I have to plug them into my laptop and copy them onto the server.

Please dont' get me wrong, I don't mean to challenge anyone's decision at all. It just seems to me that Slim Devices really hit the nail on the head with the Squeezebox. Great price, excellent perfomance, and didn't make their customers (the more technically savvy of the lot) feel that they were being taken for a ride on the price.

I absolutely LOVE the way the Opus looks and would love to have it in my rack... but I keeping the above logic in mind, I can't seem to justify it to myself.

So, like I said earlier... Am I missing something?

Fauzi

[Blindamood]

Hence, the only benefit that you are actually getting (let's assume for argument's sake that they are identical in performance) is the transport that comes with the Olive unit.

Fauzi, not sure what else you're looking for here, but the additional benefits that I see include:

- CD transport (as you mention)
- Internal hard disc to store and manage ripped CDs
- PowerPC chip to perform ripping and other processing functions
- The ability to manage and play my music without the need for a PC

If the Squeezebox is what works for you, then I'm glad you've found your solution! The Olive Musica (not the Opus, btw) happens to be mine.

As an aside, I noticed on the Slim Devices site that they charge to rip your CDs for you, whereas Olive will deliver the Symphony/Musica/Opus to you preloaded with your entire CD collection for free. This may be worth several hundred $$ alone vs. what Slim Devices charges.

[fauzigarib]

Fauzi, not sure what else you're looking for here, but the additional benefits that I see include:

Brad,

Not looking for anything really... just curious about whether or not I made a wise decision.

When I was looking for a network music player, I considered the Musica also... And ended up going for the SB... Was just looking to see if my thought process was flawed...

In the end, I guess it just comes down to your own personal requirements...

... Just thinking out loud, I guess... Didn't mean to offend.

I'm really excited and curious about further impressions of yours with the Musica... Do tell when you get a chance...

Thanks,

Fauzi