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"Official" Olive Thread Opus 4, Opus 6, Melody 2, Olive 2, Olive 4/ 4HD, 06HD

645K views 4K replies 330 participants last post by  vincent.buuron 
#1 ·
This thread is for the discussion, questions and sharing of information regarding the new Olive products produced since mid-2007 to present (Opus 4. Olive 4, Olive 4 HD, Opus 6, Melody 2, Olive 2, etc).


If you are looking for information or to discuss the original Olive models based on the Hifidelio units (Symphony, Musica, Opus 3, Opus 5), please visit this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=703405 There is some previous discussion of the newer models in this older thread as well.


Here is (one) of my current systems:

Olive 4 HD (connected to network via the Ethernet port)

Cambridge Audio 840AV2 Amplifier,

Cambridge Audio 340T Tuner

Cambridge Audio DacMagic DAC attached to Olive 4 HD and DMP-BD35

B&W 683 Loudspeakers

HSU VFT2-MK3 Subwoofer

Panasonic DMP-BD35

Toshiba 26AV500U

Logitech Harmony 550 remote


I also have a Melody 2 which is attached to a small system in the garage. The Melody 2 is also hardwired.


I acquired an Opus 4 in August 2007, and the Melody 2 shortly thereafter. I upgraded to the Olive 4 HD in 2/2010.


So let the discussion begin (or continue).
 
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#2 ·
Good idea Z!


You might want to put the model numers in the title to make it easy for non avs members in a google search find this.


Anyways, finally got around to the new firmware today... Is it just me or is it now a lot quicker and responsive? Even the touch screen seems better. Love the new Play screen too!


Is there a setting for gapless or is it automatic?
 
#3 ·
Done...


The unit is much more responsive with the new firmware. You'll also find that putting playlists together isn't nearly as painful since it move along much quicker now.


Gapless is automatic. For instance, if you play an gapless album like Dark Side of the Moon, the unit goes seamlessly from one track to the next. If there are gaps between the songs, the Opus keeps the gaps in place.


There may be another small update in the next week or so to fix the album artwork update.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shamus /forum/post/15208071


Good idea Z!


You might want to put the model numers in the title to make it easy for non avs members in a google search find this.


Anyways, finally got around to the new firmware today... Is it just me or is it now a lot quicker and responsive? Even the touch screen seems better. Love the new Play screen too!


Is there a setting for gapless or is it automatic?
 
#4 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett /forum/post/15208138


Done...


The unit is much more responsive with the new firmware. You'll also find that putting playlists together isn't nearly as painful since it move along much quicker now.


Gapless is automatic. For instance, if you play an gapless album like Dark Side of the Moon, the unit goes seamlessly from one track to the next. If there are gaps between the songs, the Opus keeps the gaps in place.


There may be another small update in the next week or so to fix the album artwork update.

Im verrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy happy with this update...
 
#7 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by shamus /forum/post/15224793


Thanks!


Whats left on the to-do list????

Well, this is vastly improved over what we started with, but here are a few I can think of, both on the to-do and on the wish list:


1. Denon bug


2. Volume leveling


3. Getting the "Rondo" interface beyond beta


4. Improving the navigation on the touch screen so the lists "loop" rather than making you go straight from top to bottom


5. Improving the navigation in Maestro and the touchscreen so anytime you go back, it takes you back to where you were, rather than back to the beginning.


6. Random/Shuffle play by Genre


7. A search feature


8. The ability to export a list of tracks (you library) on the Opus in a .csv format.


9. Ability to edit artwork in other screens besides the artwork category


10. Ability to rename/delete top genre folders (i.e. spoken word)


11. Ability to pick drag and drop multiple albums/artists in Maestro while building a playlist


12. The ability to reboot the unit remotely through Maestro or Rondo


13. Rondo interface for Melody


14. Backup time indicator / incremental backup / automated backups


15. NTFS support on the backup drive


16. A random play feature when streaming music from the Opus to another device


Any more?
 
#8 ·
I also finally got my Cambridge Audio Dacmagic today (i've been waiting two months).

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=320


It handles the 96-khz/24-bit HD tracks I downloaded without any issues, and upsamples everything thrown at it to 192-khz. While the DAC in the Opus sounds very good, the Dacmagic really opened up the image, smoothed out the sound, and tightened up the bottom end. It is quite a value at only $400, seeing how my relatively unsophisticated ears detect a big overall improvement, almost as if I got a new set of speakers. It is a nice compliment to the Opus 4 if you are inclined to spend the money.


BTW... It has the same effect on my Cambridge Audio 540D DVD/CD player. All I can say is WOW.
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett /forum/post/15231139


Well, this is vastly improved over what we started with, but here are a few I can think of, both on the to-do and on the wish list:


1. Denon bug


2. Volume leveling


3. Getting the "Rondo" interface beyond beta


4. Improving the navigation on the touch screen so the lists "loop" rather than making you go straight from top to bottom


5. Improving the navigation in Maestro and the touchscreen so anytime you go back, it takes you back to where you were, rather than back to the beginning.


6. Random/Shuffle play by Genre


7. A search feature


8. The ability to export a list of tracks (you library) on the Opus in a .csv format.


9. Ability to edit artwork in other screens besides the artwork category


10. Ability to rename/delete top genre folders (i.e. spoken word)


11. Ability to pick drag and drop multiple albums/artists in Maestro while building a playlist


12. The ability to reboot the unit remotely through Maestro or Rondo


13. Rondo interface for Melody


14. Backup time indicator / incremental backup / automated backups


15. NTFS support on the backup drive


16. A random play feature when streaming music from the Opus to another device


Any more?

That sounds pretty good for now!
 
#10 ·
Regarding NTSF.

The reason the Olives use FAT32 for externals is because it is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. It's the only simple solution to have it both ways. Most Mac users would be required to add programs and make changes to their system to conform NTSF, this can be a real hassle for most.
 
#11 ·
Understood, but the additional compatibility for the NTFS file system is on the list. They were trying to get it done before the release, but it was pushed back. I suspect because getting Linux to read the NTFS file system isn't an easy task (at least from my personal experience).


Quote:
Originally Posted by dogface1 /forum/post/15232371


Regarding NTSF.

The reason the Olives use FAT32 for externals is because it is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. It's the only simple solution to have it both ways. Most Mac users would be required to add programs and make changes to their system to conform NTSF, this can be a real hassle for most.
 
#12 ·
I added some songs to my playlist.... very nice.


Can you pass along the same bug Ive posted before? Its when your searching on the display. Say your scrolling the artist on the right side. When youve scrolled through several pages and then make a selection, it will start the list all over again on the left hand side and you have to start again.
 
#13 ·
That is #5 on my list.



Quote:
Originally Posted by shamus /forum/post/15255594


I added some songs to my playlist.... very nice.


Can you pass along the same bug Ive posted before? Its when your searching on the display. Say your scrolling the artist on the right side. When youve scrolled through several pages and then make a selection, it will start the list all over again on the left hand side and you have to start again.
 
#15 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett /forum/post/15231139


Well, this is vastly improved over what we started with, but here are a few I can think of, both on the to-do and on the wish list:


1. Denon bug


2. Volume leveling


3. Getting the "Rondo" interface beyond beta


4. Improving the navigation on the touch screen so the lists "loop" rather than making you go straight from top to bottom


5. Improving the navigation in Maestro and the touchscreen so anytime you go back, it takes you back to where you were, rather than back to the beginning.


6. Random/Shuffle play by Genre


7. A search feature


8. The ability to export a list of tracks (you library) on the Opus in a .csv format.


9. Ability to edit artwork in other screens besides the artwork category


10. Ability to rename/delete top genre folders (i.e. spoken word)


11. Ability to pick drag and drop multiple albums/artists in Maestro while building a playlist


12. The ability to reboot the unit remotely through Maestro or Rondo


13. Rondo interface for Melody


14. Backup time indicator / incremental backup / automated backups


15. NTFS support on the backup drive


16. A random play feature when streaming music from the Opus to another device


Any more?

This is a good list.


An additional problem that is frustrating me occurs when using Maestro to fix metadata within albums and songs. I know everyone recommends using a different tool for this on your PC and then import it onto the Opus, but sometimes you just want to fix a few minor details.


For example, I had two different albums from two separate artists that were both called Greatest Hits. When looking at the albums via the Artists interface in Maestro they looked like two separate albums (as they should). When looking at them in the Albums interface they were grouped together under the same album. I tried changing the name of the album to separate them manually, e.g., rename one of the albums "Greatest Hits - The Doors". Unfortunately, if you changed it for one it changed it for both. Eventually, I had to delete one of the albums and will need to fix the problem before importing.


Problems like this with Maestro are rampant. It's also very slow.


Overall, the unit is getting better with each update, which is encouraging, but it's still not there yet.
 
#16 ·
Have you tried the latest update? It really speeds things up and I think it should have taken care of the Greatest Hits issue.

http://www.olive.us/contact/softwarehistory_O4_M2.html


Quote:
Originally Posted by gfd /forum/post/15262258


This is a good list.


An additional problem that is frustrating me occurs when using Maestro to fix metadata within albums and songs. I know everyone recommends using a different tool for this on your PC and then import it onto the Opus, but sometimes you just want to fix a few minor details.


For example, I had two different albums from two separate artists that were both called Greatest Hits. When looking at the albums via the Artists interface in Maestro they looked like two separate albums (as they should). When looking at them in the Albums interface they were grouped together under the same album. I tried changing the name of the album to separate them manually, e.g., rename one of the albums "Greatest Hits - The Doors". Unfortunately, if you changed it for one it changed it for both. Eventually, I had to delete one of the albums and will need to fix the problem before importing.


Problems like this with Maestro are rampant. It's also very slow.


Overall, the unit is getting better with each update, which is encouraging, but it's still not there yet.
 
#17 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett /forum/post/15265048


Have you tried the latest update? It really speeds things up and I think it should have taken care of the Greatest Hits issue.

http://www.olive.us/contact/softwarehistory_O4_M2.html

Yes, I do have the latest update. The release notes suggest that the fix will solve the problem at source, i.e., when importing (and maybe ripping), but I wasn't able to fix albums that had already been imported or ripped even with the update. I can always delete them and re-import them. I'll let you know if they are imported properly.


Thanks!
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by gfd /forum/post/15270588


Yes, I do have the latest update. The release notes suggest that the fix will solve the problem at source, i.e., when importing (and maybe ripping), but I wasn't able to fix albums that had already been imported or ripped even with the update. I can always delete them and re-import them. I'll let you know if they are imported properly.


Thanks!

If I recall correctly, if you goto artist section than the greatest hits album and change the name there, it should switch it correctly. Dont try to change it in the album section. (i could be wrong though).
 
#19 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett /forum/post/15231171


I also finally got my Cambridge Audio Dacmagic today (i've been waiting two months).

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=320


It handles the 96-khz/24-bit HD tracks I downloaded without any issues, and upsamples everything thrown at it to 192-khz. While the DAC in the Opus sounds very good, the Dacmagic really opened up the image, smoothed out the sound, and tightened up the bottom end. It is quite a value at only $400, seeing how my relatively unsophisticated ears detect a big overall improvement, almost as if I got a new set of speakers. It is a nice compliment to the Opus 4 if you are inclined to spend the money.


BTW... It has the same effect on my Cambridge Audio 540D DVD/CD player. All I can say is WOW.

It's nice to hear you're enjoying your DACMagic. Have you compared its performance with other DAC?
 
#20 ·
I have at least for the time being worked out my problem with the low volume playback issue on the Opus 4. I recently puchased an Audio Research Ls-25 Mk2 that I use with with my AR D-115 power amp or my McShane Harmon Kardon Citation2. The Ls-25 has a memory built in with three separate input volume settings that you can adjust for whatever your inputs are and it will store what you set them at. I set my CD and Polk Sirius Tuner at medium inputs and my aux ( for the Olive) at low input. It balances them out almost perfectly and whenever I switch from one to the other it remembers what I have them set at so the operation is almost seamless. It's certainly not what I would have wanted and do expect Olive to correct the volume issue..even with some comonent changes, but at least for the time being it's working for me. I still have some problems with the wireless connection. I have 2 DNS server numbers for it...one digit apart. I can go through all the steps to set it up...( and I'm always picking the wrong one the first time) and finally get it working, but the next time I go to use it, it won't work and I discover that now it wants the other DNS server number.

Is there a way around this? I'm tired of going through all the button pushing to set it up only to find out I have it wrong and when I get it right it only lasts for a day....then wants the other. I'm now just running a cable out to it everytime I need to access the internet or communicate with my computer. What a pain. Aside from that and an occasional skip in the music...( might have been my uploading) I really like the unit and am happy with the Dac it has in it. It sounds just fine through my system. I don't think I'll be getting a separate Dac for it.
 
#21 ·
This is my first external DAC so I don't have others to compare it to besides the internal DACs on the Opus 4 and 540D. While I'm not a super critical listener, to my ears, the Dacmagic provides a definite improvement.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Audi0phile /forum/post/15278362


It's nice to hear you're enjoying your DACMagic. Have you compared its performance with other DAC?
 
#22 ·
The Dacmagic fixed my volume level issues too.


Your DNS problem is strange. If your ISP has given you two DNS server addresses, they should both work all of the time. Have you tried using a different DNS server all together? You could try Verizon's DNS servers, which are pretty reliable. They start at 4.2.2.1 and go up to 4.2.2.6.


Or, you could sign up for Open DNS. I use it and have never had a problem with it. htp:// www.opendns.com

Quote:
Originally Posted by fxbill /forum/post/15278712


I have at least for the time being worked out my problem with the low volume playback issue on the Opus 4. I recently puchased an Audio Research Ls-25 Mk2 that I use with with my AR D-11 memory built in with three separate input volume settings that you can adjust for whatever your inputs are and it will store what you set them at. I set my CD and Polk Sirius Tuner at medium inputs and my aux ( for the Olive) at low input. It balances them out almost perfectly and whenever I switch from one to the other it remembers what I have them set at so the operation is almost seamless. It's certainly not what I would have wanted and do expect Olive to correct the volume issue..even with some comonent changes, but at least for the time being it's working for me. I still have some problems with the wireless connection. I have 2 DNS server numbers for it...one digit apart. I can go through all the steps to set it up...( and I'm always picking the wrong one the first time) and finally get it working, but the next time I go to use it, it won't work and I discover that now it wants the other DNS server number.

Is there a way around this? I'm tired of going through all the button pushing to set it up only to find out I have it wrong and when I get it right it only lasts for a day....then wants the other. I'm now just running a cable out to it everytime I need to access the internet or communicate with my computer. What a pain. Aside from that and an occasional skip in the music...( might have been my uploading) I really like the unit and am happy with the Dac it has in it. It sounds just fine through my system. I don't think I'll be getting a separate Dac for it.
 
#24 ·
Thanks for the new (separated) thread guys. So far, I'm deleriously happy with my Opus4, and to date I've ripped 513 of my CD's so far. The audio portion of my system is:


Opus4

Musical Fidelity A3.2CR DAC

Yamaha RX-V1

Aerial Acoustics 7B speakers


The Opus is networked wirelessly and running OS 3.2.1. I'll be loading the 3.2.2 image tonight.


Off to work. Everyone stay warm and dry....
 
#25 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett /forum/post/15231139


14. Backup time indicator / incremental backup / automated backups


Any more?

Zbrett, since you asked, I'd really like to expand on the Backup item. Could we get a completion message with status on the backups? I'd like to know just what is going on with my backup. Examples:

backup completed successfully

435,756 MBytes

7 hours, 36 minutes



and

backup failed



I mean it's a Linux box - this would be comparatively easy. I s'pose my previous life as a sys admin/dba is showing through.
 
#26 ·
I agree. I know that something along those lines in on "the list," but I haven't heard an ETA.


How do you like the new upgrade?


There may be another upgrade yet in December, though Olive hasn't put anything official on the release notes page.

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Meek /forum/post/15329119


Zbrett, since you asked, I'd really like to expand on the Backup item. Could we get a completion message with status on the backups? I'd like to know just what is going on with my backup. Examples:

backup completed successfully

435,756 MBytes

7 hours, 36 minutes



and

backup failed



I mean it's a Linux box - this would be comparatively easy. I s'pose my previous life as a sys admin/dba is showing through.
 
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